Responses of Soil Bacterial Diversity to Fertilization are Driven by Local Environmental Context Across China

Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization,which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes.Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds to fertilization across contrasting local ecological contexts.This knowledge is fundamental for predicting changes in soil microbial diversity in response to ongoing global changes.We analyzed soils from ten 20-year field fertilization(organic and/or inorganic)experiments across China and found that the national-scale responses of soil bacterial diversity to fertilization are dependent on ecological context.In acidic soils from regions with high precipitation and soil fertility,inorganic fertilization can result in further acidification,resulting in negative impacts on soil bacterial diversity.In comparison,organic fer-tilization causes a smaller disturbance to soil bacterial diversity.Despite the overall role of environmental contexts in driving soil microbial diversity,a small group of bacterial taxa were found to respond to fer-tilization in a consistent way across contrasting regions throughout China.Taxa such as Nitrosospira and Nitrososphaera,which benefit from nitrogen fertilizer addition,as well as Chitinophagaceae,Bacilli,and phototrophic bacteria,which respond positively to organic fertilization,could be used as bioindicators for soil fertility in response to fertilization at the national scale.Overall,our work provides new insights into the importance of local environmental context in determining the responses of soil microbial diver-sity to fertilization,and identifies regions with acidic soils wherein soil microbial diversity is more vul-nerable to fertilization at the national scale.

Effects of Addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium Inoculants to High-Nitrogen Fertilized Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) on Fermentation, Nutritive Value, and Feed Intake of Silage

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of addition of inoculant to high-nitrogen (N) fertilized timothy on fermentation, nutritive value, and feed intake of silage. The silage of timothy cultivated with a N fertilizer rate at two levels (high level (H), standard level (S)) was prepared with (SI, HI) or without (SC, HC) an inoculants. The CP content of H increased by 38 g&middotkg-1 DM compared with that of S, and the WSC and ADF contents decreased compared with those of S. Regarding the fermentation of silage, the pH and NH3-N ratio was significantly lower in the silage with inoculant (SI and HI), showing improvement of the fermentation compared with those of the silage without the addition (SC and HC). The CP content was significantly higher in HC and HI than in SC and SI, and the NDF content was the lowest in HI among the four treatments. The CP digestibility of HC and HI was significantly higher than those of SC and SI. The EE digestibility of SI was significantly higher than that of SC, and that of HI was significantly higher than that of HC. The DCP contents were significantly higher in HC and HI than in SC and SI. The TDN content was the lowest in SC and highest in HI. The DCP intakes of HC and HI were significantly higher than those of SC and SI. When the N fertilizer rate was increased, the DCP content and DCP intake of the silage increased, and the addition of inoculant improved the fermentation and increased the TDN content.

Prokaryotic Expression and Antigenic Analysis of Wbkc Gene from Brucella abortus

[ Objective ] This study aimed to clone and express formyltransferase （Wbkc） gene from Brucella abortus in E. coli, purify the expressed protein and analyze its immunogenicity. [Method] A gene encoding 27 -35 ku formyltransferase （Wbkc） was amplified from the genomic DNA of BruceUa abortus by PCR. The amplified fragments were digested with BamH I and Sal I, and inserted into pET28a vector. The constructed recombinant plasmid pET 28a-Wbkc was trans- formed into E. coli BL21 and was induced to express the fusion protein. Subsequently, the protein was purified by histidine-binding resin column chromatography, and the immunogenicity was detected by Western blot assay. The recombinant plasmid was identified by colony PCR, double digestion and sequencing analysis. [ Result] Wbkc was successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli. A specific protein band of 29 ku was detected by SDS-PAGE. Western blot showed specific im- munoreactivity of the purified fusion protein. [ Conclusion] This study provided a solid foundation for further investigating diagnostic proteins for brucellosis and developing Brucella gene-deletion vaccines.

A combined nanotherapeutic approach targeting farnesoid X receptor,ferroptosis,and fibrosis for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment

Obeticholic acid(OCA),a farnesoid X receptor(FXR)agonist with favorable effects on fatty and glucose metabolism,has been considered the leading candidate drug for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH)treatment.However,its limited effectiveness in resolving liver fibrosis and lipotoxicity-induced cell death remains a major drawback.Ferroptosis,a newly recognized form of cell death characterized by uncontrolled lipid peroxidation,is involved in the progression of NASH.Nitric oxide(NO)is a versatile biological molecule that can degrade extracellular matrix.In this study,we developed a PEGylated thiolated hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSN)loaded with OCA,as well as a ferroptosis inhibitor liproxsatin-1 and a NO donor S-nitrosothiol(ONL@MSN).Biochemical analyses,histology,multiplexed flow cytometry,bulk-tissue RNA sequencing,and fecal 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing were utilized to evaluate the effects of the combined nanoparticle(ONL@MSN)in a mouse NASH model.Compared with the OCA-loaded nanoparticles(O@MSN),ONL@MSN not only protected against hepatic steatosis but also greatly ameliorated fibrosis and ferroptosis.ONL@MSN also displayed enhanced therapeutic actions on the maintenance of intrahepatic macrophages/monocytes homeostasis,inhibition of immune response/lipid peroxidation,and correction of microbiota dysbiosis.These findings present a promising synergistic nanotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of NASH by simultaneously targeting FXR,ferroptosis,and fibrosis.

New signature of low mass Z'in J/ψdecays

We explored a new approach to search for a low-mass Z′particle through J/ψdecays by identifying its existence through parity-violating phenomena in the isospin-violating final states ofΛΣ¯^(0)and the corresponding charge conjugated states ofΛΣ¯^(0).Our investigation centered on a generation-independent and leptophobic Z′with mass below 10 GeV.Given the present experimental conditions at Beijing Spectrometer III(BESIII)and the anticipated opportunities at the Super Tau Charm Factory(STCF),we conducted Monte-Carlo simulations to predict possible events at both facilities.Notably,we foresee a substantial enhancement in the precision of the lower limit estimation ofαNP as well as a reduction in statistical uncertainty with upcoming STCF experiments.Furthermore,it is essential to highlight that a null result in the measurement ofαNP would impose stringent constraints,requiring the Z′−q−q couplings to be in the order of 10^(−2).

Transcriptome sequencing of black and white hair follicles in the giant panda

With the completion of the draft assembly of the giant panda genome sequence,RNA sequencing technology has been widely used in genetic research on giant pandas.We used RNA-seq to examine black and white hair follicle samples from adult pandas.By comparison with the giant panda genome,75963 SNP loci were labeled,2426 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified,and 2029 new genes were discovered,among which 631 were functionally annotated.A cluster analysis of the DEGs showed that they were mainly related to the Wnt signaling pathway,ECM–receptor interaction,the p53 signaling pathway,and ribosome processing.The enrichment results showed that there were significant differences in the regulatory networks of hair follicles with different colors during the transitional stage of hair follicle resting growth,which may play a regulatory role in melanin synthesis during growth.In conclusion,our results provide new insights and more data support for research on the color formation in giant pandas.

Synthesis and assembly of full-length cyanophage A-4L genome

Artificial cyanophages are considered to be an effective biological method to control harmful cyanobacterial bloom.However,no synthetic cyanophage genome has been constructed and where its obstacles are unclear.Here,we survey a stretch of 16 kb length sequence of cyanophage A-4L that is unclonable in Escherichia coli.We test 12 predicted promoters of cyanophage A-4L which were verified all active in E.coli.Next,we screen for eight ORFs that hindered the assembly of intermediate DNA fragments in E.coli and describe that seven ORFs in the 16 kb sequence could not be separately cloned in E.coli.All of unclonable ORFs in high-copy-number plasmid were successfully cloned using low-copy-number vector,suggesting that these ORFs were copy-number-dependent.We propose a clone strategy abandoned the promotor and the start codon that could be applied for unclonable ORFs.Last,we de novo synthesized and assembled the full-length genome of cyanophage A-4L.This work deepens the understanding of synthetic cyanophages studies.

Two-dimensional tellurium saturable absorber for ultrafast solid-state laser

Two-dimensional(2 D) Te nanosheets were successfully fabricated through the liquid-phase exfoliation(LPE) method. The nonlinear optical properties of 2 D Te nanosheets were studied by the open-aperture Z-scan technique. Furthermore, the continuous wave mode-locked Nd:YVO4 laser was successfully realized by using 2 D Te as a saturable absorber(SA) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Ultrashort pulses as short as 5.8 ps were obtained at 1064.3 nm with an output power of 851 m W. This primary investigation indicates that the 2 D Te SA is a promising photonic device in the fields of ultrafast solid-state lasers.

Dynamic alterations of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in patients with chronic neck pain

Background:The pathogenesis of neck pain in the brain,which is the fourth most common cause of disability,remains unclear.Furthermore,little is known about the characteristics of dynamic local functional brain activity in cervical pain.Objective:The present study aimed to investigate the changes of local brain activity caused by chronic neck pain and the factors leading to neck pain.Methods:Using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations(ALFF)method combined with sliding window approach,we compared local brain activity that was measured by the functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)of 107 patients with chronic neck pain(CNP)with that of 57 healthy control participants.Five pathogenic factors were selected for correlation analysis.Results:The group comparison results of dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(dALFF)variability showed that patients with CNP exhibited decreased dALFF variability in the left inferior temporal gyrus,the middle temporal gyrus,the angular gyrus,the inferior parietal marginal angular gyrus,and the middle occipital gyrus.The abnormal dALFF variability of the left inferior temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with the average daily working hours of patients with neck pain.Conclusions:The findings indicated that the brain regions of patients with CNP responsible for audition,vision,memory,and emotion were subjected to temporal variability of abnormal regional brain activity.Moreover,the dALFF variability in the left inferior temporal gyrus might be a risk factor for neck pain.This study revealed the brain dysfunction of patients with CNP from the perspective of dynamic local brain activity,and highlighted the important role of dALFF variability in understanding the neural mechanism of CNP.