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Microbial fouling is a serious problem in open recirculating cooling water systems. The bacterial communities that cause it have not been fully understood. In this study, we analyzed the community structure of free-living bacteria and particle-attached bacteria in cooling water, and bacteria in biofilm collected from the wall of the water reservoir in an industrial recirculating cooling water system by construction of a 16S rRNA gene clone library. Based on amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis, clones of all three libraries were clustered into 45 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Thirteen OTUs displaying 91-96% sequence similarity to a type strain might be novel bacterial species. Noted differences in community structure were observed among the three libraries. The relative species richness of the free-living bacteria in cooling water was much lower than that of particle-attached bacteria and bacteria in biofilm. The majority of the free-living bacterial community (99.0%) was Betaproteobacteria. The predominant bacteria in the particle-attached bacterial community were Alphaproteobacteria (20.5%), Betaproteobacteria (27.8%) and Planctomycetes (42.0%), while those in the biofilm bacterial community were Alphaproteobacteria (47.9%), Betaproteobacteria (11.7%), Acidobacteria (13.1%) and Gemmatimonadetes (11.3%). To control microbial fouling in industrial recirculating cooling water systems, additional physiological and ecological studies of these species will be essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Farmland shelterbelt systems (FSSs) can improve ecosystem functions over controls. • Environmental factors exhibit spatiotemporal heterogeneities in different FSSs. • Different patterns of FSSs had beneficial water retention and nutrient supply functions. • There were close relationships between environmental factors and ecosystem functions in FSSs. • Results provide a theoretical basis for ecological restoration in ecofragile regions. The farmland shelterbelt system is considered an effective form of land management to improve the eco-environment and soil quality in fragile agricultural areas. Clarifying the effects of farmland shelterbelt patterns on ecosystem functions can guide ecological restoration in fragile ecosystems. Four typical farmland shelterbelt patterns (i.e., two-line pattern, four-line pattern, five-line pattern, and eight-line pattern) in desert oasis ecotones of Hetao irrigated area, northern China, were selected in this study. In these treatments, measurements of soil properties at a depth of 0–100 cm; vegetation attributes; microclimate; and soil water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus storage were performed during three growing seasons in 2019–2021. The results demonstrated that the four-line pattern had higher soil organic content (0.339 g·kg−1), total nitrogen content (0.517 g·kg−1), and total phosphorus content (0.577 g·kg−1) than the other treatments, as well as the highest soil water (237.44 mm), carbon (544.93 g·m−2), nitrogen (953.72 g·m−2), and phosphorus storage (859.04 g·m−2) at the 0–100-cm soil layer. Moreover, dynamic variations in soil water and salt contents showed opposite trends during the growing season, i.e., they showed a gradual decrease and increase, respectively. Furthermore, principal component analysis, correlation matrix analyses, and network association analyses indicated close relationships among environmental factors, nutrient storage, and related ecosystem functions under different farmland shelterbelt patterns. The results of this investigation provide a useful theoretical basis for agricultural management and ecological restoration in ecofragile regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The TTC21B gene is now known as causative of nephronophthisisrelated ciliopathies (NPHP-RC).We reported two Chinese paediatric cases with end-stage renal disease and other phenotypes caused by the TTC21B gene mutations. Methods: The clinical features of Chinese paediatric cases with NPHP-RC were summarized. Mutation analysis of the TTC21B gene was performed using nextgeneration sequencing. Results: The twocases both had nephrotic proteinuria, renal failure, hypertension and abnormal liver function (or hepatic fibrosis). One case also presented situs inversus and short phalanges. They developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) at 1 year old and 8 years old, respectively, when renal pathology both showed focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) with tubulointerstitial lesions including interstitial fibrosis and atrophic tubules. Three novel diseasecausing TTC21B mutations were identified. One case carried homozygous mutation c.2211 +3A>G,while the other case carried compoundheterozygous mutations c.1552 T > C (p.C518R) and c.1456dupA (p.R486KfsX22). Conclusion: Mutations in TTC21B cause a range of ciliopathy phenotypes in humans. We identified 3 novel TTC21B mutations in two Chinese paediatric cases that both presented end-stage renal disease and other different features. This is the first TTC21B mutations ever reported in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland shelterbelt system (FSS) in oasis desert ecotones can effectively improve ecosystem services, especially in fragile agricultural areas. However, the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of its ecological effects still needs further clarity, because the interactions are complex and multiple. Understanding this allows us to know the key practical significance of ecological construction and agricultural management. In this study, four typical patterns of FSS (i.e. two lines pattern, TWLP; four lines pattern, FOLP; five lines pattern, FILP; eight lines pattern, EILP) were selected in a desert oasis ecotone in northern China to assess the distributions at vertical (0–100 cm), horizontal (0–3 H) and temporal (May- October) scales of soil properties, vegetation attributes, microclimates and variations of soil moisture storage (SMS) and soil salt contents (C) during the three growing seasons. The results showed that the major difference in soil properties and vegetation attributes of FSSs are the soil particle composition and canopy size, respectively. In FOLP and EILP, the silt contents were 51.6% and 41.5% respectively. The canopy size ranked from the highest to lowest values as follows: FOLP (8.70 m2) > EILP (6.91 m2) > TWLP (4.64 m2) > FILP (4.47 m2). Compared to the control, all patterns of FSSs registered significant effects on microclimate improvement. The FOLP and FILP achieved the same effects as well as EILP, with less spatial costs. Moreover, the variations of SMS and C were mainly different at the vertical scale. As indicated by the Redundancy (RDA) and variation partitioning (VP) analyses, soil properties played a more important role in reserving soil water and controlling soil salinity than vegetation attributes and microclimates, which the independent influence can explain 48.5% of total influence among all factors. Our results provide an efficient theoretical basis for FSS construction and agricultural water management practices. • Farmland shelterbelt system (FSS) can improve ecosystem services. • A spatio-temporal heterogeneity of ecosystem functions in FSSs is observed. • Soil properties play a more important role in controlling soil water content and salinity. • Results provide an efficient theoretical basis for agricultural water management in deserts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a Chinese girl with Frasier syndrome (FS). She presented with steroid-resistant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and male pseudohermaphroditism. The WT1 IVS 9 + 5 G>A mutation was detected in one allele in the proband. The ratio of +KTS/−KTS was 0.67 in the proband’s cDNA. The expression of podocyte molecules (WT1, nephrin, podocin, α-actinin 4 and CD2AP) were also investigated in a renal specimen of this FS patient. WT1 expression showed diffuse nuclear staining, with less obvious speckles in the patient’s glomeruli than in those of controls. The distribution and intensity of podocyte molecules were altered both in normal- and abnormal-appearing glomeruli. In conclusion, the study presented a case of FS by clinical manifestation, renal pathology, karyotype analysis and genetic testing. A lower ratio of +KTS/−KTS and an abnormal distribution of WT1, as well as abnormal expressions of other podocyte molecules, were also revealed. The mechanisms of WT1 mutation causing FS still need to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Twelve machine learning algorithms are compared to construct a retrieval model. • The TN concentration is retrieved using the UAV Hyper Spectral Remote Sensing data. • Spatial distribution of TN concentration is retrieved with high resolution. • Providing scientific references for water quality monitoring and management. Monitoring the water pollution level in real time is the most critical issue for protecting the water quality of water reservoirs. Due to the restrictions on flight areas of Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV), four sensitive regions with the area of 1–2 km2 were first selected in this study based on the spatial distribution of total nitrogen (TN) concentration changes estimated by the Landsat remote sensing data. And then twelve machine learning algorithms including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Bayesian Ridge Regression (BRR), Lasso Regression (Lasso), Elastic Net (EN), Linear Regression (LR), Decision Tree Regression (DTR), K Neighbors Regression (KNR), Random Forest Regression (RFR), Extra Trees Regression (ETR), AdaBoost Regression (ABR) and Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR) were compared to construct a more accurate retrieval model by using the UAV hyper spectral remote sensing and ground monitoring data. And then the TN concentration was estimated after the process of dimensionality reduction and compressed sensing denoing. Finally, spatial heterogeneity of the TN concentration was analyzed in four sensitive areas of the Miyun reservoir. The results demonstrated that among the tested algorithms the Extra Trees Regression was best suitable for the construction of a TN concentration retrieval model on the basis of UAV hyper spectral data, and its absolute squared error was 0.000065. The spatial distribution of the TN showed that the concentration was highest within the water area of the Bulaotun village and the Houbajiazhuang village, while it was relatively low for the Chao river dam and Bai river dam. Additionally, no significant differences regarding the concentrations were shown in the single UAV flight area except the Houbajia village, which indicated that the water quality in Miyun reservoir was relatively stable and changed in a small interval. These conclusions can provide scientific references for water quality monitoring and management in the water reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]