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Rhododendron delavayi is an evergreen shrub with large scarlet flowers that make it highly attractive as an ornamental species. The species is native to southwest China (Cai et al. 2015). From May to July in 2022, symptoms of leaf spot were observed on R. delavayi over a wide portion of the Baili Azalea Forest Area (N 27°10'-27°20', E 105°04'-106°04'), Guizhou Province, China. About 500 plants were surveyed and the incidence of leaf spot on R. delavayi leaves was 20 to 30%, significantly reducing their ornamental and economic value. The affected leaves had irregular, dark brown lesions with a clear blackish brown boundary and black conidiomata in a grayish center. To isolate the pathogen, 15 symptomatic leaves were collected from 10 plants. A few black dots were picked from the lesions with a sterilized needle, plated on water agar and incubated at 25℃ for 24 h to observe spore germination (Choi et al. 1999). Then the germinated spores were transferred onto PDA for further purification and morphological observation. Three single-spore isolates (GUDJ 61, GUDJ 62, GUDJ 63) that produced identical in morphology were obtained. The isolate GUDJ 61 was used for further study. Colonies on PDA grew velvety white on the upper surface and light yellow on the lower surface. Conidia were 5-celled, spindle- to ellipsoid-shaped, straight or slightly curved, 4-septate, and measured 39.0 ± 3.7 × 10.4 ± 0.79 µm (n=50). The morphological features were consistent with the description of Pestalotiopsis scoparia Maharachch., K.D. HydeCrous, (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014). The pathogen was confirmed to be P. scoparia by amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the partial β-tubulin (TUB), and the partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF) genes using primers ITS4/ITS5, T1/Bt-2b, and EF1-728F/EF-2, respectively. Sequences from PCR amplification were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers OP048045 (ITS), OP058111 (TUB) and OP058114 (TEF), respectively. BLAST searches of the sequences revealed 99% (549/552 nt), 99% (711/714 nt), and 82% (130/158 nt) homology with those of P. scoparia CBS 176.25T form GenBank (KM199330, KM199393, and KM199478), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis (MEGA 7.0) using the maximum likelihood method placed the isolate GUDJ 61 in a well-supported cluster with P. scoparia. The pathogen was thus identified as P. scoparia based on the morphological characterization and molecular analyses. The pathogenicity of GUDJ 61was tested through a pot assay. Ten healthy R. delavayi plants were scratched with a sterilized needle (0.45 mm in diameter) on three leaves per plant. Plants were inoculated by spraying a spore suspension (106 spores mL-1) of GUDJ 61 onto leaves until runoff, and the control leaves sprayed with sterile water. The plants were maintained at 25°C and 75% relative humidity in a growth chamber. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times (Fang 2007). After 12 days, the treated leaves developed brown lesions similar to those in the field, while the control had no symptoms. The same fungus was reisolated from the infected leaves and identified based on a morphological characterization and molecular analyses. These results fulfilled Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot on R. delavayi caused by P. scoparia in China. The fungal pathogen identification will provide valuable information for prevention and management of leaf spot disease associated with R. delavayi.

This study endeavors to explore the impact of different environmental regulations and their heterogeneity on air pollution control in China. By employing a slacks-based measure of directional distance function model, considering undesirable outputs, the efficiency of air pollution control of China’s 30 provinces during 2001–2014 is evaluated. The estimates indicate that the efficiency of air pollution control is fluctuating, and there is obvious regional differences. By using provincial-level panel data and panel threshold models, empirical results show that: (1) There is a nonlinear relationship between environmental regulation and air pollution control efficiency, and it can be positively correlated, but it is constrained by the stringency of regulation: there is a single threshold for formal (command-and-control (CAC) and market-based) regulation, while there is a double threshold for informal regulation. (2) Different environmental regulations have different governance effects. Compared with CAC regulation, market regulation can attract more attention of enterprises. (3) It may be ineffective to expect informal regulation to improve the air pollution control efficiency. Therefore, in order to achieve real sustainable development, the government should set up reasonable regulation stringency and optimize the combination of regulation tools.

Unraveling the influence of microbes on C content at aggregate scale is pivotal for promoting soil C accumulation. Previous studies were based mainly on the mutual transformation process between ag...

A series of MnM/palygorskite (PG) (M = La, W, Mo, Sb, Mg) catalysts was prepared by the wetness co-impregnation method for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3. Conversion efficiency followed the order Sb > Mo > La > W > Mg. A combination of various physico-chemical techniques was used to investigate the influence of Sb-modified Mn/PG catalysts. MnSb0.156/PG catalyst showed highest NO conversion at low temperatures in the presence of SO2 which reveals that addition of Sb oxides effectively enhances the SCR activity of catalysts. A SO2 step-wise study showed that MnSb0.156/PG catalyst displays higher durable resistance to SO2 than Mn/PG catalyst, where the sulfating of active phase is greatly inhibited after Sb doping. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction results showed that Sb loading enhances the dispersion of Mn oxides on the carrier surface. According to the results of characterization analyses, it is suggested that the main reason for the deactivation of Mn/PG is the formation of manganese sulfates which cause the permanent deactivation of Mn-based catalysts. For Sb-doped Mn/PG catalyst, SOx ad-species formed were mainly combined with SbOx rather than MnOx. This preferential interaction between SbOx and SO2 effectively shields the MnOx as active species from being sulfated by SO2 resulting in the improvement of SO2 tolerance on Sb-added catalyst. Multiple information support that, owing to the addition of Sb, original formed MnOx crystallite has been completely transformed into highly dispersed amorphous phase accounting for higher SCR activity.

Soil water repellency (SWR) has significant effects on soil degradation by changing some soil processes (e.g., carbon sequestration and soil erosion). Understanding the influence factors of SWR under conservation agriculture are playing a vital role in the sustainable development for improving soil quality. However, how soil pore structure influence on SWR remains unclear. We aim to assess the impact of hydrophobic substances and pore structure on SWR. Here we conducted two long‐term experimental fields with three treatments: conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no‐tillage (NT). X‐ray tomography and the sorptivity method were used to measure soil pore structure and SWR, respectively. We found that soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were higher in RT and NT treatments than in CT. MBC had significant influences on soil water sorptivity (Sw) and water repellency index (RI; p 0.05). MBC also showed a closer relationship with SWR than SOC in redundancy analysis. The RT and NT increased the porosity of 55–165 μm that had a positive relationship with ethanol sorptivity and RI (p

The evolution of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) with the ability to acquire and develop resistance to antibiotics has been described as a distinct strain emergence event. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is responsible for most global S. aureus bacteremia cases. Bacterial biofilms are one of the primary reasons for drug resistance. Biofilms formed by S. aureus are the most common cause of biofilm-associated infections, which increase the difficulty of treatment. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent promising candidates for the future treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial and biofilm-associated infections. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of analogs to increase the druggability of the natural antimicrobial peptide CPF-C1. Among the analogs, CPF-2 showed high antimicrobial activity against MRSA and multidrug-resistant S. aureus isolated from clinics. In the serum and physiological salt environment, CPF-2 also exhibited effective antimicrobial activity. Importantly, CPF-2 did not determine resistance and showed no hemolytic activity at the active concentration. Concerning the mechanism of action, CPF-2 produced a rapid bactericidal effect by interrupting the bacterial membranes. Even more surprisingly, CPF-2 showed an excellent ability to prevent and eradicate biofilms caused by S. aureus and MRSA not only in vitro but also in vivo. Our results suggested that CPF-2 has potential as a lead compound to treat infections caused by S. aureus and MRSA, including the associated biofilms.

Tan, J, Shi, X, Witchalls, J, Waddington, G, Lun Fu, AC, Wu, S, Tirosh, O, Wu, X, and Han, J. Effects of pre-exercise acute vibration training on symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2339-2348, 2022-Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) normally occurs after unaccustomed high-intensity eccentric exercises. Symptoms of EIMD include delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), tenderness, stiffness, swelling, reduced strength, and increased creatine kinase (CK) levels in the blood. Vibration training (VT) may be useful as a pre-exercise intervention in attenuating EIMD on the basis of tonic vibration reflex (TVR) through a more efficient distribution of contractile stress over muscle fibers. The objective of this meta-analysis is to examine the effects of acute VT on symptoms of EIMD when performed as the pre-exercise intervention. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the 8 databases of Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Airiti Library and WanFang Data from 1966 (the earliest available time) to January 2019 were searched. A total of 2,324 records were identified and 448 articles were screened with the title and abstract. Two investigators identified eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias independently. Review Manager 5.3 designed by Cochrane was used for the current meta-analysis. Six RCTs involving 180 subjects were included in the analysis. A low-to-moderate methodological quality of the included studies was revealed using the physiotherapy evidence database scale. The results showed that acute VT was superior to the control group for the reduction of DOMS on pain visual analogue scale at 24, 48 hours and pressure pain threshold at 24 hours. In addition, superior effects of acute VT were also found on the indirect markers of muscle damage including CK at 24, 72 hours, and lactate dehydrogenase at 24 hours. The current meta-analysis has collated the evidence to demonstrate that receiving acute VT before unaccustomed high-intensity eccentric exercises may be effective in attenuating markers of muscle damage and the development of DOMS when compared with a control group. The possible mechanisms of this effect could be attributed to an improved synchronization of muscle fiber caused by TVR, which could result in even distribution of exterior loads and eventually attenuate disruptions of muscle fibers. In addition, increased blood flow may also be helpful to prevent accumulation of metabolic substances and attenuate subsequent symptoms of EIMD. Vibration training may be used as a pre-exercise intervention to alleviate symptoms of EIMD caused by unaccustomed high-intensity eccentric exercise. Because of the limited quantity and quality of included studies, more high-quality studies are required to ascertain the effect of VT on symptoms of EIMD.

Sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction and inflammatory response are life-threatening symptoms without effective treatment. Fisetin, a dietary flavonoid extracted from berries and family Fabaceae, has displayed neuroprotective and anti-oxidant activities. In this study we investigated whether fisetin exerted a protective effect against sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction in mouse cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) model. The mice were injected with fisetin (10 mg/kg, ip) 0.5 h prior to CLP, and sacrificed 18 h after CLP. We found that fisetin administration significantly alleviated CLP-induced lung, liver and kidney injury, as well as the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-1β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), application of fisetin (3–10 μM) dose- dependently inhibited the expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Furthermore, fisetin dose-dependently inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, MK2, and transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase (TAK) 1 via attenuating the interaction between TAK1 and TAK-binding proteins (TAB) 1. These results demonstrate that fisetin is a promising agent for protecting against sepsis-induced inflammatory response and organ injury via inhibiting macrophage activation.

Palatability is one of the most critical characteristics of oral preparations. Therefore, the exploration of new techniques to mask the aversive taste of drugs is in continuous demand. In this study, we fabricated and characterized composites based on mesoporous silica (MPS) that consisted of MPS, a bitter drug, and release regulators. We conducted a palatability evaluation to assess the taste-masking efficacy of the composites. The composites were prepared using the dry impregnation method combined with hot-melt extrusion. Morphology and components distribution in composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, powder flow properties evaluation, and nitrogen-sorption measurement. The results demonstrated that drugs mainly existed in the inner pore of composites, and release regulators existed in the inner pore and covered the composites' surface. Interactions among the composite components were studied using powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The drug loaded into the composites was amorphous, and an intermolecular interaction occurred between the drug and the MPS. Taste-masked composites significantly reduced drug release levels under mouth conditions; thus, they prevented the interaction of the dissolved drug with taste receptors and improved palatability. An electronic tongue evaluation and a human taste panel assessment confirmed the better palatability of taste-masked composites. Moreover, the desired drug release behavior can be adjusted by choosing an appropriate release regulator, with stronger hydrophobicity of release regulators resulting in slower drug release. This work has provided new insights into taste-masking strategies for drugs with unpleasant tastes.

Tillage practices can influence soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE), which is critical for carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. The effect of tillage practices could also be regulated by nitrogen (N) addition. However, the soil microbial mechanism about N fertilizer effect on microbial CUE under no-tillage is still unclear. We investigated how N fertilizer regulates the effect of tillage management on microbial CUE through changing microbial properties and further assessed the impact of microbial CUE on particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic matter carbon (MAOC) using a 16-yr field experiment with no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT), both of which combined with 105 (N1), 180 (N2), and 210 kg N ha (N3) N application. We found that microbial CUE increased with increasing N application rate. NT increased microbial CUE compared with CT under N1. The bacterial and fungal diversities of NT was higher than CT and N application decreased their diversities in the 0-10 cm layer. The partial least squares path model showed that bacteria diversity, fungal diversity, and fungal community structure played more critical roles in increasing microbial CUE. Furthermore, POC and MAOC under NT were higher than CT and they also increased with increasing N application rate. This could be explained by the finding that increasing microbial CUE induced by N application had the potential to increase POC and MAOC. Overall, N addition is an important pathway to influence microbial CUE, which is mainly regulated by bacterial and fungal diversities rather than their biomass under no-tillage.

Conventional fertilization of agricultural soils results in increased N

Manganese oxide-supported palygorskite (MnOx/PG) catalysts are considered highly efficient for low-temperature SCR of NOx. However, the MnOx/PG catalyst tends to be poisoned by SO2. The effect of SO2 on activity of the SO2-pretreated poisoning catalysts under ammonia-free conditions was explored. It was determined that the MnOx/PG catalyst tends to be considerably deactivated by SO2 in the absence of ammonia and that water-washed regeneration can completely recover activity of the deactivated catalyst. Based on these results and characterizations of the catalysts, a reasonable mechanism for the deactivation of MnOx/PG catalyst by SO2 was proposed in this study. SO2 easily oxidized to SO3 on the surface of the catalyst, leading to the formation of polysulfuric acid, wrapping of the active component and blocking the micropores. The deactivation of the MnOx/PG catalyst is initially caused by the formation of polysulfuric rather than the deposition of ammonia sulfate, which occurs later.

PURPOSE The effects of short-term blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise on muscle blood flow perfusion and performance during high-intensity exercise were determined in elite para-alpine standing skiers to assess whether this would be an effective training regimen for elite athletes with disabilities. METHODS Nine national-level para-alpine standing skiers (mean age, 20.67 ± 1.34 y; four women) were recruited. Non-dominant lower limbs were trained with BFR (eight in final analyses); dominant lower limbs without BFR (seven in final analyses). The 2-week protocol included high-load resistance, local muscle endurance (circuit resistance training), and aerobic endurance (stationary cycling) training performed 4 times/wk, with BFR during local muscle endurance and aerobic endurance sessions. Muscle strength was measured by maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in the knee extensors; microcirculatory blood perfusion (MBP), by laser doppler blood flow; and muscle strength and endurance, by the total amount of work (TW) performed during high-intensity centrifugal and concentric contractions. RESULTS BFR significantly increased absolute and relative MVIC (P < 0.001, P = 0.001), MBP (P = 0.011, P = 0.008), and TW (P = 0.006, P = 0.007) from pretraining values, whereas only absolute MVIC increased without BFR (P = 0.047). However, the MVIC increase with BFR exercise (35.88 ± 14.83 N·m) was significantly greater (P = 0.040) than without BFR exercise (16.71 ± 17.79 N·m). CONCLUSIONS Short-term BFR exercise significantly increased strength endurance, muscle strength, and microcirculatory blood perfusion in national-level para-alpine standing skiers. Our study provides new evidence that BFR exercise can improve local muscle blood perfusion during high-intensity exercise and informs BFR exercise strategies for athletes with disabilities.

Municipal household waste (MHW) separation is a fundamental way to achieve waste reduction and a recycling economy. This study takes the positions of government and residents in MHW separation as the research object, and aims to explore the change process and influencing factors of their decision-making behavior, which is of great significance to attract residents to participate in MHW separation and establish an effective MHW separation mechanism to solve MHW pollution. This paper firstly establishes an evolutionary game model between government and residents in MHW separation, secondly, the payoff matrix of the system is determined, and the replication dynamic equations under different constraints are calculated to obtain the evolutionary stability strategy of the system, and the stability conditions are analyzed, Finally, through numerical simulation, the decision-making behavior of MHW separation and its influencing factors are studied, and the rationality of the model is verified. The results show that: (1) In the process of MHW separation, residents often choose not to separate without government regulation, (2) Environmental fee rates and government effort have great impacts on residents’ decision-making behavior, (3) The increase of penalty intensity can significantly drive residents to separate MHW, (4) The sensitivity of residents’ behavior decision to subsidy coefficient is the lowest among all the variables, and the incentive effect of increasing subsidy coefficient is not obvious. The research results can not only provide theoretical guidance for policy makers to develop waste management policies, but also provide valuable insights for local communities to guide residents’ MHW separation behavior.

Background. Little is known about the efficacy and safety of single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) in patients with Peutz−Jeghers syndrome (PJS). The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of SBE for the treatment of small bowel polyps in patients with PJS. Methods. We conducted a single-center observational study, which included all patients diagnosed with PJS who underwent SBE for polypectomy between January 2018 and March 2021. Complete treatment was defined as the absence of polyps ≥10 mm after SBE resection. The clinical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results. 102 patients (including 40 men and 62 women) with a mean age of 28.7 years (range 13–55 y) were enrolled in our study. The intubation depth via the oral approach of patients with a history of laparotomy was significantly shorter than that of the patients without a history of laparotomy ([241.6 ± 64.2] cm vs [280.9 ± 40.2] cm, P = 0.008 ). The maximum size of the resected polyps via anus during the second hospitalization was significantly smaller than that during the first hospitalization ([2.25 ± 1.29] cm vs [4.26 ± 3.51] cm, P = 0.032 ). For patients with total enteroscopy, the complete treatment rate was 98% (49/50). For patients without total enteroscopy, all polyps larger than 10 mm in the examined segment of small bowel were resected successfully. Complications occurred in 10 of 129 hospitalizations (delayed bleeding in 4, perforation in 3, and acute pancreatitis in 3). Conclusions. SBE is effective and safe for resection of small bowel polyps in patients with PJS.

Long-term fertilization alters soil microbiological properties and then affects the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool. However, the interrelations of SOC with biological drivers and their relative importance are rarely analyzed quantitatively at aggregate scale. We investigated the contribution of soil microbial biomass, diversity, and enzyme activity to C pool in soil aggregate fractions (&gt, 5 mm, 2–5 mm, 1–2 mm, 0.25–1 mm, and &lt, 0.25 mm) at topsoil (0–15 cm) from a 27-year long-term fertilization regime. Compared to CK (no fertilization management), NP (inorganic fertilization alone) decreased all of the microbial groups’ biomass, while NPS and NPM (inorganic fertilization plus the incorporation of maize straw or composted cow manure) significantly reduced this negative effect of NP on microbial biomass and increased the microbial contribution to C pool. The results show that microbial variables were significantly correlated with SOC content in &gt, 0.25 mm aggregates rather than in &lt, 0.25 mm aggregates. Fungal variables (fungal, AM biomass, and F/B ratio) and enzyme activities (BXYL and LAP) in &gt, 0.25 mm aggregates explained 21% and 2% of C, respectively. Overall, organic matter addition could contribute to higher C storage by boosting fungal community and enzyme activity rather than by changing microbial community diversity in macro-aggregates.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of leflunomide (LEF) combined with prednisone for the treatment of PLA2R-associated primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) and changes in anti-PLA2R antibody titers after treatment. Methods: Sixty patients with nephrotic syndrome, biopsy-proven MN and anti-PLA2R antibody positivity were included in this study conducted from December 2017 to February 2019. The patients were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). The patients in the experimental group were treated with LEF combined with prednisone, whereas the patients in the control group were treated with cyclophosphamide (CTX) combined with prednisone. We assessed 24-h urinary protein and serum albumin levels, kidney function markers, blood lipid levels and anti-PLA2R antibody titers before and after treatment. Adverse reactions during treatment were recorded. Results: After 16 weeks of treatment, there were 2 cases of complete remission and 6 cases of partial remission in the experimental group, with a total effective rate of 26.67%. In the control group, there were 4 cases of complete remission and 8 cases of partial remission, with a total effective rate of 40% (p > .05). After 24 weeks of treatment, the total effective rates of the experimental and control groups were 66.67% and 76.67%, respectively (p > .05). There were no significant differences in 24-h urinary protein, serum albumin, kidney function marker or blood lipid levels between the two groups after treatment (p > .05). However, there were fewer adverse reactions in the experimental group than in the control group (p .05). Conclusion: LEF combined with prednisone has a certain efficacy for the treatment of PLA2R-associated PMN and provokes few adverse reactions. A large-sample randomized double-blind controlled study with a long follow-up period is needed to verify the efficacy of LEF combined with prednisone.

Objective To investigate the expression of Linc00342 in peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy people and to identify Linc00342 as a biomarker of chronic kidney disease. Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 30 patients with chronic kidney disease and 10 healthy volunteers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, China. According to CKD classification, the patients were divided into three CKD groups (the CKD1/2 group, CKD3/4 group and CKD5 group) and a healthy volunteer group (the H group). The relative expression of Linc00342 in lymphocytes was detected by RT-PCR, while the IL-6 and IL-10 levels in the serum were detected by ELISA. In addition, the general data of the patients and healthy volunteers were recorded. Finally, SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. Results The expression level of Linc00342 in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of the four groups increased significantly as the CKD grade increased, and there were statistically significant differences (p < 0.01). There was a positive linear correlation between the expression of Linc00342 in peripheral blood lymphocytes and the eGFR (p < 0.05), which was expressed by the linear model equation: Y = 2.532 + 0.012X. Among the inflammatory factors for the early diagnosis of CKD, the area under the ROC curve for the expression of Linc00342 in peripheral blood lymphocyte was 0.953, the standard error was 0.034 and the 95% confidence interval was 0.000-1.000. Conclusion The expression level of Linc00342 in peripheral blood lymphocytes can reflect the severity of CKD, and Linc00342 is possibly used as a molecular marker of CKD.

Two-dimensional (2D) vertically stacked heterostructures based on layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have remarkable potential in future applications due to their rich interlayer related properties, such as interlayer excitons, tunable interlayer band alignments. However, the controlled growth of TMDC bilayer heterostructures with preferred stacking structure remains challenging. Here, we report a two-step van der Waals epitaxial vapor growth of WSe2/WS2 vertically stacked bilayer heterostructures with controllable commensurate crystallographic alignments (so called AA and AB stacking), by controlling the deposition temperature. Moire patterns were obtained in both AA and AB stacked WSe2/WS2 heterostructures. The stacking configuration of the vertical heterostructures was verified by the second harmonic generation signals. Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy studies further confirm that the heterostructures with different stacking configuration have obviously different optical properties, which is ascribed to the distinct interlayer coupling and resonance excitation between the distinguishing AA and AB stacked heterostructures. The controlled growth of AA and AB stacked heterostructures could provide an importance platform not only for fundamental researches but also for functional electronic and optoelectronic device applications.

In the quest for highly efficient low-temperature ammonia selective catalytic reduction (NH3-SCR) catalysts, the preparation of a series of catalysts (Mnx/SEP) in which manganese oxide is supported in sepiolite (SEP) is described for the first time. Three different methods are used, i.e., in situ deposition, impregnation, and precipitation, and the effect of the preparation method on the performance of the catalysts for the NH3-SCR reaction is evaluated. The catalysts are fully characterized by SEM, BET, TEM, XRD, XPS, and NH3-TPD. The results herein presented suggest that the Mn8/SEP catalyst prepared by in situ deposition method exhibits the highest catalytic activity in the temperature range of 100–300 °C, with a high apparent turnover frequency of around 3.1 × 10−4 s−1. Furthermore, the in situ deposition method affords the catalyst with the highest specific surface area and with more acidic sites, which is beneficial for the catalytic reaction. This improves the NH3 adsorption performance of the catalyst and the denitration activity.

Background: Limited research has examined health and fitness indicators among individuals with different categories of intellectual disabilities (ID). The purpose of this brief report was to examin...

Industrial green development (IGD) is a critical response to the over-consumption of natural resources and pollution caused by modern industry. Innovation-driven IGD has generated great interest in recent years. However, relatively less attention has been paid to the various aspects of IGD and the moderating role of regional factors, including the developmental stage of IGD, government-scale, and enterprise-scale. The present study was conducted to fill these research gaps using panel data across 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2015. The empirical results show that 1) innovation does promote IGD and is most effective in low-carbon production, followed by resource reduction, economic operation, and pollution abatement; 2) there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the regional IGD level and the role of innovation in IGD; and 3) both government-scale and enterprise-scale contribute to the innovation-driven IGD. These findings provide new insights into the impact of innovation on IGD and may shed light on future decisions related to green development. Accepted version

Based on provincial panel date of China for the period 2001–2014, this study empirically adopts the slacks-based measure of directional distance function model and spatial Durbin model to explore the impacts of environmental regulation and its spatial spillover effect on air pollution control. The results show that the increase of environmental regulation stringency will help to improve air pollution control efficiency or reduce air pollutant emissions. In terms of spatial effect, evidence has been found to support environmental regulation has significantly spatial spillover effects. Specifically, the increase of environmental regulation in other provinces will decrease local air pollution control efficiency or increase local air pollutant emissions, which implies that there is strategic interaction of environmental regulation among local governments. Moreover, the results of the time interval test indicate that the effects of environmental regulation on air pollution control have improved in recent years, and with the increase of environmental regulation stringency, its spatial spillover effects have increased.

In this study, we consider the sulfur dioxide emissions trading pilot scheme (SETPS) of China, with pilot provinces as the treatment group and other provinces as the control group. We employ the di...

To ascertain the effects of long-term conservation tillage and residue retention on soil organic carbon (SOC) content and aggregate distribution in a deep soil (>20-cm depth) in a dryland environment, this paper analyzed the SOC and aggregate distribution in soil, and the aggregate-associated organic carbon (OC) and SOC physical fractions. Conservation tillage (reduced tillage with residue incorporated (RT) and no-tillage with residue mulch (NT)) significantly increased SOC sequestration and soil aggregation in deep soil compared with conventional tillage with residue removal (CT). Compared with CT, RT significantly increased the proportion of small macroaggregates by 23%–81% in the 10–80 cm layer, and the OC content in small macroaggregates by 1%–58% in the 0–80 cm layer. RT significantly increased (by 24%–90%) the OC content in mineral-SOC within small macroaggregates in the 0–60 cm layer, while there was a 23%–80% increase in the 0–40 cm layer with NT. These results indicated that: (1) conservation tillage treatments are beneficial for soil aggregation and SOC sequestration in a deep soil in a dryland environment; and (2) the SOC in mineral-associated OC plays important roles in soil aggregation and SOC sequestration. In conclusion, RT with NT is recommended as an agricultural management tool in dryland soils because of its role in improving soil aggregation and SOC sequestration.

Drought is increasingly common due to frequent occurrences of extreme weather events, which further increases soil water repellency (SWR) and influences grain yield. Conservation agriculture is playing a vital role in attaining high food security and it could also increase SWR. However, the relationship between SWR and grain yield under conservation agriculture is still not fully understood. We studied the impact of SWR in 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm, and 10–20 cm layers during three growth periods on grain yield from a soil water availability perspective using a long-term field experiment. In particular, we assessed the effect of SWR on soil water content under two rainfall events with different rainfall intensities. Three treatments were conducted: conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no-tillage (NT). The results showed that the water repellency index (RI) of NT and RT treatments in 0–20 cm layers was increased by 12.9 %–39.9 % and 5.7 %–18.2 % compared to CT treatment during the three growth periods, respectively. The effect of the RI on soil water content became more obvious with the decrease in soil moisture following rainfall, which was also influenced by rainfall intensity. The RI played a prominent role in increasing soil water storage during the three growth periods compared to the soil total porosity, penetration resistance, mean weight diameter, and organic carbon content. Furthermore, although the increment in the RI under NT treatment increased the soil water storage, grain yield was not influenced by RI (p > 0.05) because the grain yield under NT treatment was mainly driven by penetration resistance and least limiting water range (LLWR). The higher water sorptivity increased LLWR and water use efficiency, which further increased the grain yield under RT treatment. Overall, SWR, which was characterized by water sorptivity and RI, had the potential to influence grain yield by changing soil water availability (e.g. LLWR and soil water storage) and RT treatment was the most effective tillage management compared to CT and NT treatments in improving grain yield.

Taking as an example the practical teaching of the design of children’s solar-energy-based ultraviolet disinfection products, we analyzed the practical activities in four stages of teaching—case background, research methods, product design, and practical results—in the practical teaching mode based on solar green energy. This paper presents and proposes a design solution for a solar-powered green energy-based multifunctional inductive UV disinfection product for children to provide additional services for school interventions and improve public health in primary and secondary schools. This new innovative design for a children’s disinfection product is based on solar green energy and enhances the graded disinfection strategy in schools, reducing the number of viruses and the potential risk of virus transmission in the educational environment. The proposed program aims to be project-oriented, combining green energy concepts with innovative educational concepts, classroom content with social prevention products, digital technology with innovative thinking, promoting the development of innovative and digital abilities of teachers and students, and promoting the development of practical teaching in digital media. The practical results show that the model has positive teaching effects, practical value for students, schools and society, cultivation of digital innovation ability of teachers and students, and reference significance for practical teaching.

In this paper, we theoretically reveal a 4 × 4 magneto-optical matrix to study the Kerr effects induced by the transverse-magnetic (TM) and transverse-electric (TE) polarized waves illuminating on a bulk Weyl semimetal (WSM). It is shown that the Kerr angles θp and θs maintain large absolute values of nearly 21°, which are mainly caused by the close cross-polarized and co-polarized reflection coefficients. What is more important, the Kerr angles can be further enhanced at two different frequencies close to the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) frequency, where the maximum Kerr rotation angles (absolute value) of 45° have been obtained due to the sharp increases of the co-polarized reflection coefficients. Remarkably, the ENZ frequency of WSM can be adjusted by altering the Fermi energy and tilt degree, thereby resulting in the enhanced Kerr angles at different frequencies. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the incident angle should be declined with the increase of WSM thickness to enable the further enhancement of the Kerr angle θs. We also examine the effect of Weyl node separation on the Kerr angles. Our studies provide a simple and effective method to enhance and adjust the Kerr angles with a WSM or other topological semimetals.

Long term fertilization alters soil microbiological properties and then affects soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. However, the interrelations of SOC with biological drivers and their relative importance are rarely analyzed quantitatively at aggregate scale. We investigated the contribution of soil microbial biomass, diversity and enzyme activity to C stock in soil aggregate fractions (> 5 mm, 2 − 5 mm, 1 − 2 mm, 0.25 − 1 mm and 0.25 mm aggregates rather than in 0.25 mm aggregates explained 21% and 2% on C, respectively. Overall, organic matter (OM) addition could contribute to higher C storage by boosting fungal community and enzyme activity rather than by changing microbial community diversity in macro-aggregates.

In the Loess Plateau of China, conventional tillage is defined as the tillage without crop residues left on the soil surface and ploughed twice a year. The use of alternative practices is a way to reduce soil erosion. Our objectives were to assess the long-term impacts of different soil tillage systems on soil physical and hydraulic characteristics, emphasizing management practices to improve the soil physical qualities (reduce bulk density and increase stability of aggregate) under the conservation tillage system in the Loess Plateau of China. Conventional tillage (CT), no tillage (NT), and sub-soiling (SS) were applied in this experiment. Soil wet aggregates distribution and stability, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil water retention curves and pore size distributions were measured. The results showed that in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depth soil layers, NT and SS treatments showed a significantly higher proportion of wet aggregates >250 μm (macroaggregates) compared to CT. In these two layers, the proportion of wet aggregates 250 μm than within the 250–53 μm and