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Introduction: Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) has the characteristics of high resolution, real-time imaging, and no radiation, which is helpful for the precise and effective implementation of transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB). The study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of TBCB combined with CLE (CLE group) or fluoroscopy (fluoroscopy group) in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Methods: From a prospective randomized controlled trial, 80 patients with undiagnosed ILD or ILD requiring biopsy between January 2022 and November 2022 were randomly assigned to CLE group and fluoroscopy group. The rate to reach an etiological diagnosis of ILD, maximum cross-sectional area of specimens, operation time, and complications were compared between the two groups. Results: The rate to reach an etiological diagnosis in the CLE group was significantly higher than that in the fluoroscopy group (95.0% vs. 80.0%, p < 0.05), but there was no difference in the maximum cross-sectional area of the specimens (42.1 ± 10.1 mm2 vs. 41.5 ± 10.3 mm2, p > 0.05). In terms of operation time, the CLE group was significantly shorter than the fluoroscopy group (37.6 ± 10.6 min vs. 54.8 ± 24.9 min, p < 0.05). The bleeding volume in the CLE group was significantly lower than that in the fluoroscopy group (4.9 ± 3.6 mL/case vs. 9.0 ± 9.2 mL/case, p < 0.05). Further analysis showed that the incidence of moderate bleeding was also lower in the CLE group (20.0% vs. 75.0%, p < 0.001). In addition, the incidence of pneumothorax in the CLE group was significantly lower than that in the fluoroscopy group (0 vs. 25.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Compared with simple fluoroscopy, the combination of CLE significantly improves the rate of etiological diagnosis, shortens the operation time, and reduces complications such as bleeding and pneumothorax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive N critically depresses soil properties. Biochar has the potential to enhance soil health. A two-year field experiment was conducted to analyze the effects of biochar (0, 10, 20 and 40 t ha−1, namely, B0, B10, B20 and B40) combined with N (180, 144 and 108 kg ha−1, namely, N100, N80 and N60) on soil microorganisms. Results showed that B10 significantly promoted soil microbial biomass and had a strong correlation with most microbial groups, mainly reflected in a15:00, 10Me17:0, i18:0, i19:0, i16:0, 16:1w5c, 10Me18:0, 18:0 2OH and 18:00, while N60 decreased fungi and actinomycete content. Soil microbial functional activity was also significantly increased under B10 and B20 treatments and decreased under N80 and N60 treatments, compared to B0 treatment and N100 treatment, respectively. Microbial functional composition was also changed greatly by biochar, and B10 and B20 were closely related to most carbon sources. The combination of B10 and N80 significantly increased soil microbial biomass (total PLFA by 1.4 nM kg−1) and functional activity (Shannon index and Evenness index by 0.8%) compared with conventional N management (N100B0). Our findings reveal that biochar can achieve N reduction and enhance soil microbial diversity and community stability in purple soil regions of southwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To demonstrate the effects of combined application of biochar and different types of nitrogen fertilizers on the growth of plant roots and on purple soil properties such as soil nutrients, soil carbon content and soil respiration, a 206-day greenhouse pot experiment with rapeseed was conducted. Three types of nitrogen fertilizer were used: urea (UR), controlled-release urea (RU), a mixture of 60% urea and 40% controlled-release urea (40% RU), and biochar was added at mass fractions of 0% (C0), 2% (C1) and 4% (C2), with a control treatment (CK) without nitrogen fertilizer and biochar. The results showed that biochar significantly improved soil nutrient status, with the best effect observed when 40%RU was co-applied with biochar. The addition of biochar significantly increased soil total organic carbon (TOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC). Soil respiration increased with increasing biochar application, and the combination of 2% biochar and 40% RU showed a reduction in carbon emissions compared to the UR and RU treatments. The number of rapeseed root tips (NT), forks (NF) and crossings (NC) increased significantly with the addition of biochar, and the combination of biochar and 40% RU was more beneficial for root growth and development than RU and UR. Considering the improvement in soil nutrition, increased soil organic carbon content, reduced carbon emissions, and enhanced rapeseed growth and development, the co-application of 2% biochar and 40% RU is recommended for large-scale application in rapeseed cultivation in the hilly purple soil of southwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar has the potential to effectively improve yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of upland crops in different soil types. However, it is unclear for rapeseed in purple soil under N reduction. A 2 years field experiment was conducted in southwest China, to evaluate the combined effects of nitrogen (180, 144 and 108 kg ha−1, named N100, N80 and N60, respectively) and biochar (0, 10, 20 and 40 t ha−1, named B0, B10, B20 and B40, respectively) on rapeseed growth, NUE and yield. Compared with B0, B10 significantly improved growth, NUE and yield, while nitrogen reduction had an opposite effect. The better management practices were N80B10 and N100B10, which increased NUE by 10.0% and 10.2%, and grain yield by 16.1% and 21.8%, respectively, compared with N100B0. Path analysis revealed that effective pods and root surface area, root volume had significant and direct path coefficients with variances in seed yield and NUE, respectively. Besides, positive residual effectiveness of biochar was preserved for at least 2 years. This study indicated that B10 could replace 20% nitrogen to promote rapeseed root development and yield formation, thus achieving both high yield and high NUE for at least 2 years in upland purple soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furrow sowing on side of film mulch is an effective technology for yield increase of dry cultivated, which can significantly improve the ecological conditions of soil water and temperature. Based on field experiments, the effects of different periods of mulching (sowing stage, seedling stage, bolting stage, initial flowering stage and ending flowering stage) on agronomic characters, yield and quality of rapeseed planted by furrow sowing were analyzed. The results indicated that the furrow sowing on side of film mulch could effectively increase the accumulation of chlorophyll and dry matter of rapeseed, and improve the distribution of stem and branch in rapeseed population. With the decrease of mulching time, the branches position, length of main inflorescence and 1 000-grain weight increased, the plant height, effective branch number, effective pod number, seeds number per pod and yield per plant decreased. Compared with the non-mulched treatment, mulched rapeseed yield increased by 4.40% ~ 26.18%, the oil content and protein content increased by 0.18% ~ 2.48%, and erucic acid and sulfuric glucoside content decreased by 0.21% ~ 12.65%. Furrow sowing on side of film mulch can not only improve the yield and quality of rapeseed, but also facilitate the formation of high-yield, high-quality rapeseed plants through plastic film mulching in the earlier growth stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]