Tree allometry responses to competition and complementarity in mixed-species plantations of Betula alnoides

Tree allometry plays a crucial role in tree survival,stability,and timber quantity and quality of mixed-species plantations.However,the responses of tree allometry to resource utilisation within the framework of interspecific competition and complementarity remain poorly understood.Taking into consideration strong-and weakspace competition(SC and WC),as well as N_(2)-fixing and non-N_(2)-fixing tree species(FN and nFN),a mixedspecies planting trial was conducted for Betula alnoides,a pioneer tree species,which was separately mixed with Acacia melanoxylon(SC+FN),Erythrophleum fordii(WC+FN),Eucalyptus cloeziana(SC+nFN)and Pinus kesiya var.langbianensis(WC+nFN)in southern China.Six years after planting,tree growth,total nitrogen(N)and carbon(C)contents,and the natural abundances of^(15)N and^(13)C in the leaves were measured for each species,and the mycorrhizal colonisation rates of B.alnoides were investigated under each treatment.Allometric variations and their relationships with space competition and nutrient-related factors were analyzed.The results showed a consistent effect of space competition on the height-diameter relationship of B.alnoides in mixtures with FN or nFN.The tree height growth of B.alnoides was significantly promoted under high space competition,and growth in diameter at breast height(DBH),tree height and crown size were all expedited in mixtures with FN.The symbiotic relationship between ectomycorrhizal fungi and B.alnoides was significantly influenced by both space competition and N_(2) fixation by the accompanying tree species,whereas such significant effects were absent for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.Furthermore,high space competition significantly decreased the water use efficiency(WUE)of B.alnoides,and its N use efficiency(NUE)was much lower in the FN mixtures.Structural equation modeling further demonstrated that the stem allometry of B.alnoides was affected by its NUE and WUE via changes in its height growth,and crown allometry was influenced by the mycorrhizal symbiotic relationship.Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms driving tree allometric responses to above-and belowground resource competition and complementarity in mixed-species plantations,which are instructive for the establishment of mixed-species plantations.

Stabilizing iridium sites via interface and reconstruction regulations for water oxidation in alkaline and acidic media

Exploring effective iridium(Ir)-based electrocatalysts with stable iridium centers is highly desirable for oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Herein,we regulated the incorporation manner of Ir in Co_(3)O_(4)support to stabilize the Ir sites for effective OER.When anchored on the surface of Co_(3)O_(4)in the form of Ir(OH)_6 species,the created Ir-OH-Co interface leads to a limited stability and poor acidic OER due to Ir leaching.When doped into Co_(3)O_(4)lattice,the analyses of X-ray absorption spectroscopy,in-situ Raman,and OER measurements show that the partially replacement of Co in Co_(3)O_(4)by Ir atoms inclines to cause strong electronic effect and activate lattice oxygen in the presence of Ir-O-Co interface,and simultaneously master the reconstruction effect to mitigate Ir dissolution,realizing the improved OER activity and stability in alkaline and acidic environments.As a result,Ir_(lat)@Co_(3)O_(4)with Ir loading of 3.67 wt%requires 294±4 mV/285±3 mV and 326±2 mV to deliver 10 mA cm^(-2)in alkaline(0.1 M KOH/1.0 M KOH)and acidic(0.5 M H_(2)SO_(4))solution,respectively,with good stability.

Excess Activity Tuned by Distorted Tetrahedron in CoMoO_(4) for Oxygen Evolution

Oxygen vacancies enable modulating surface reconstruction of transition metal oxides containing metal-oxygen polyhedrons into metallic oxyhydroxide for oxygen evolution reaction(OER),while revealing reconstructing mechanism is stuck by the requirement to precisely control exact sites of these vacancies.Herein,oxygen vacancies are localized only within MoO_(4)tetrahedrons rather than CoO_(6)octahedrons in CoMoO_(4)catalyst,guaranteeing coherent reconstruction of CoO_(6)octahedrons into pure CoOOH with tunable activities for OER.Meanwhile,distorted tetrahedron accelerates the dissolution of Mo atoms into alkaline electrolyte,triggering spontaneous transition of partial CoMoO_(4)into Co(OH)_(2).CoO_(6)octahedrons in both CoMoO_(4)and Co(OH)_(2)can transform pure CoOOH completely at lower potential,resulting in excess intrinsic activity whose summit is identified by overpotential at 10 mA cm^(-2)with 22.9%reduction and Tafel slope with 65.3%reduction.Well-defined manipulation over the distorted polyhedrons offers one versatile knob to precisely modulate electronic structure of oxide catalysts with outstanding OER performance.

Transformer-Aided Deep Double Dueling Spatial-Temporal Q-Network for Spatial Crowdsourcing Analysis

With the rapid development ofmobile Internet,spatial crowdsourcing has becomemore andmore popular.Spatial crowdsourcing consists of many different types of applications,such as spatial crowd-sensing services.In terms of spatial crowd-sensing,it collects and analyzes traffic sensing data from clients like vehicles and traffic lights to construct intelligent traffic prediction models.Besides collecting sensing data,spatial crowdsourcing also includes spatial delivery services like DiDi and Uber.Appropriate task assignment and worker selection dominate the service quality for spatial crowdsourcing applications.Previous research conducted task assignments via traditional matching approaches or using simple network models.However,advanced mining methods are lacking to explore the relationship between workers,task publishers,and the spatio-temporal attributes in tasks.Therefore,in this paper,we propose a Deep Double Dueling Spatial-temporal Q Network(D3SQN)to adaptively learn the spatialtemporal relationship between task,task publishers,and workers in a dynamic environment to achieve optimal allocation.Specifically,D3SQNis revised through reinforcement learning by adding a spatial-temporal transformer that can estimate the expected state values and action advantages so as to improve the accuracy of task assignments.Extensive experiments are conducted over real data collected fromDiDi and ELM,and the simulation results verify the effectiveness of our proposed models.

Growth and nutrient dynamics of Betula alnoides seedlings under exponential fertilization

Betula alnoides is a fast-growing hardwood species grown in large plantations in Southeast Asia and South China.Nitrogen requirements for producing robus seedlings,growth and nutrient dynamics were investigated using exponential fertilization treatments.Root collar diameter,height,dry mass and nutrient contents of seedlings increased exponentially in all fertilization treatments as time progressed.Moreover,with water soluble fertilizer（Plant Products plus microelements N–P2O5–K2O：20–20–20）,300 mg N seedling-1was adequate.Vector analysis revealed that P was the most responsive nutrient element followed by N and K.Dilutions of N and K were evident in the plants without N addition,which induced initial P sufficiency and then luxury consumption probably due to the antagonistic interaction between N and P.However deficiencies of N,P and K were mostly observed in al exponential regimes during the experiment because seedling growth rate exceeded nutrient uptake rate,inferring that further study on improving the nutrient uptake efficiency is needed.Analysis of relationships among nutrient supply,dry mass,N content and N concentration demonstrated that 100–400 mg N seedling-1induced sufficiency to luxury consumption of nitrogen without significant change in dry mass,and 400 mg N seedling-1is recommended to apply for nutrient loading of seedlings before outplanting.The findings will help improve seedling quality and enhance the production of robust seedlings for plantation forestry of this species.

Simulating the heartwood formation process of Erythrophleum fordii in South China

We studied the formation of heartwood in Ery- throphleumfordii Oliv., an endangered rosewood species, by cross-section analysis on 52 stumps aged 28-57 years and arbitrarily sampled from natural forests in South China. Width and area of heartwood were positively correlated with age and xylem width （XW）, and were independent of annual radial growth. The proportions of heartwood and sapwood areas were equal at about 40 years. The heartwood formation pro- cess was simulated by linear regression of age and XW.

Morphometric study confirms the presence of only Vatica mangachapoi on Hainan Island, China

To date only one species of the genus Vatica Linn.(Dipterocarpaceae) has been identified, and a subspecies and three varieties have been reported on Hainan Island, China. However, it remained controversial whether the species was Vatica mangachapoi or a new species Vatica hainanensis, and whether the subspecies or varieties are taxonomically valid. We evaluated here morphometric variations of 133 trees collected from nine populations and herbarium specimens of Vatica spp. using 16 traits of leaf and fruit. Among these, leaf traits varied more within and among populations than did fruit traits. Four traits of ratios were more stable than directly-measured traits within and among populations. The ranges of lamina length, lamina width and height of maximum lamina width point were the greatest among the 16 traits, while number of lateral veins varied least among the 12 directly-measured traits. Measurements from all 9 populations overlapped for each morphological trait, and variation of each trait was continuous among both individuals and populations. The range of variation did not distinguish any specimen from V mangachapoi as described in the flora of Southeast Asia By cluster analysis, individuals of each population as wel as specimens of each variety formed no distinct clusters The published varieties thus were characterized by no distinguishing variations in comparison with the nine sampled populations. In conclusion, the new species V hainanensis as well as the subspecies and varieties were not supported by our comparisons, and only V. man gachapoi without any subspecies or varieties occurs on Hainan Island, China.

Effect of H_2O_2 on Growth of Collard( Brassis oleracea L. ) Seedlings Under Salt Stress

Collard variety( Brassis oleracea L. var. acephala f. tricolor Hort.) as a research material was treated with exogenous H_2O_2 and H_2O_2 scavenger dimethyl thiourea under 100 mmol/L NaC l stress. Two days later,growth rate,dry weight,fresh weight and relative water content of the plants were determined. After 6h of treatment,the activity and gene expression of three antioxidant enzymes,superoxide dismutase( SOD),catalase( CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase( APX) in plants,were measured. The results showed that the growth rate,dry weight,fresh weight,relative water content,and the activity and gene expression of the three antioxidant enzymes in collard seedlings were higher in the treatment of salt stress with the addition of 0. 05 mmol/L exogenous H_2O_2 than in the simple salt stress treatment; and when endogenous H_2O_2 was removed,the growth rate,dry weight,fresh weight,relative water content,and the activity and gene expression of the three antioxidant enzymes in plant seedlings were lower than those under simple salt stress. It is speculated that under salt stress,H_2O_2 is involved in the regulation of antioxidant defense gene expression,and it might be an important regulator of salt-induced antioxidant system in collard leaves.

GTF2H4 regulates partial EndMT via NF-κB activation through NCOA3 phosphorylation in ischemic diseases

Partial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EndMT)is an intermediate phenotype observed in endothelial cells(ECs)undergoing a transition toward a mesenchymal state to support neovascularization during(patho)physiological angiogenesis.Here,we investigated the occurrence of partial EndMT in ECs under hypoxic/ischemic conditions and identified general transcription factor IIH subunit 4(GTF2H4)as a positive regulator of this process.In addition,we discovered that GTF2H4 collaborates with its target protein excision repair cross-complementation group 3(ERCC3)to co-regulate partial EndMT.Furthermore,by using phosphorylation proteomics and site-directed mutagenesis,we demonstrated that GTF2H4 was involved in the phosphorylation of receptor coactivator 3(NCOA3)at serine 1330,which promoted the interaction between NCOA3 and p65,resulting in the transcriptional activation of NF-κB and the NF-kB/Snail signaling axis during partial EndMT.In vivo experiments confirmed that GTF2H4 significantly promoted partial EndMT and angiogenesis after ischemic injury.Collectively,our findings reveal that targeting GTF2H4 is promising for tissue repair and offers potential opportunities for treating hypoxic/ischemic diseases.

Layer-by-layer enriching active Ni-N_(3)C sites in nickel-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts for enhanced CO_(2)-to-CO reduction

Transition metal and nitrogen co-doped carbons(M-N-C)have proven to be promising catalysts for CO_(2)electroreduction into co because of the high activity and selectivity.Effective enrichment of the active transition metal coordinated nitrogen sites is desirable but is challenging for a practical volumetric productivity.Herein,we report four kinds of model electrocatalysts to unveil this issue,which include the NC structures with surface N-functionalities,Ni-N-CI with one layer of surface Ni-NsC sites,NC@Ni-N-CI with surface N-functionalities and underneath Ni-N3C sites as well as Ni-N-C_II with doubled surface Ni-NsC sites.The X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicates the coordination configuration of Ni-NsC.For NC catalysts,when N-doping level increased from 3.5 at%to 8.4 at%,the CO partial current density increased from below 0.1 mA/cm^(2)to 3 mA/cm^(2).Introducing one layer of Ni-N_(3)C onto the NC structures leads to a 54 times higher CO partial current density than that of NC,in the meantime the FE_(CO) is 66 times higher.Furthermore,doubling the density of surface Ni-N_(3)C sites by a layer-by-layer method doubles the CO partial current density Gco,indicating its potential to achieve a high density of active coordinated sites and current densities.

Electronic structure engineering of transition metal dichalcogenides for boosting hydrogen energy conversion electrocatalysts

Electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production is an appealing strategy to reduce carbon emissions and generate renewable fuels.This promising process,however,is limited by its sluggish reaction kinetics and high-cost catalysts.The two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs)have presented great potential as electrocatalytic materials due to their tunable bandgaps,abundant defective active sites,and good chemical stability.Consequently,phase engineering,defect engineering and interface engineering have been adopted to manipulate the electronic structure of TMDCs for boosting their exceptional catalytic performance.Particularly,it is essential to clarify the local structure of catalytically active sites of TMDCs and their structural evolution in catalytic reactions using atomic resolution electron microscopy and the booming in situ technologies,which is beneficial for exploring the underlying reaction mechanism.In this review,the growth regulation,characterization,particularly atomic configurations of active sites in TMDCs are summarized.The significant role of electron microscopy in the understanding of the growth mechanism,the controlled synthesis and functional optimization of 2D TMDCs are discussed.This review will shed light on the design and synthesis of novel electrocatalysts with high performance,as well as prompt the application of advanced electron microscopy in the research of materials science.

Cooperative energy acceptor of three Yb^(3+) ions

Our previous work first reported the cooperative sensitized luminescence from Cu2＋ or Pb2＋ by three clustered Yb^3＋ ions, in which three NIR photons can be converted into a high energy photon. Could a reverse process happen that a high energy photon is cut into three NIR photons？ This work demonstrated an example of three-photon quantum cutting （QC） phosphor, CaF2：Ce^3＋,Yb^3＋, in which three clustered Yb^3＋ ions （Yb^3＋-trimer） cooperatively and indirectly received a 306 nm ultraviolet （UV） photon energy transferred from a Ce^3＋ ion in 5d excited state and emitted three 975 nm near-infrared （NIR） photons. The cluster destruction experiments were designed to verify the necessity of the presence of Yb^3＋-trimers for QC. The dynamical analysis on luminescence of Ce^3＋ ions confirmed the energy transfer from Ce^3＋ ions to Yb^3＋-trimers. The doping concentration effect on luminescence was investigated. Furthermore, the maximum energy transfer （ET） efficiency and the corresponding QC efficiency were estimated to be 61% and 222%, respectively. Therefore, the reported three-photon QC phosphor has an attractive prospect in efficiently harvesting solar energy for silicon solar cells.

柱面镜旋转对整形光束远场焦斑的影响

基于惠更斯-菲涅耳衍射理论进行数值计算,发现柱面望远镜整形系统的柱面镜旋转失调不仅会导致平行光束远场焦斑旋转倾斜,还会导致其在倾斜方向上出现拉长、离焦现象,该像差来源于柱面镜旋转导致的像散与离焦的叠加,上述结果说明远场焦斑的离焦也可以出现在旋转失调的柱面镜整形系统中。此外,定量给出包含激光中心波长、整形光束尺寸、柱面镜间距、放大率的归一化相位系数与远场焦斑形态的相关关系,该系数可以用于评判柱面整形系统对柱面镜旋转失调的敏感度。最后搭建了相应的实验装置进行验证,实验结果与计算结果较好地吻合。

Recent advances of amorphous-phase-engineered metal-based catalysts for boosted electrocatalysis

Amorphous metal-based catalysts(AMCs)have sparked intense research interests in the field of electrocatalysis elicited by their hallmark features such as unlimited volume and morphology,manipulated electronic structures,enriched defects,and unsaturated surface atom coordination.Nevertheless,the manipulation of the amorphous phase in metal-based catalysts is so far impractical,and thus their electrocatalytic mechanism yet remains ambiguous.In this review,the latest advances in AMCs are systematically reviewed,covering amorphous-phase engineering strategy,structure manipulation,and amorphization of various material categories for electrocatalysis.Specifically,a series of applications of AMCs in electrocatalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR),hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)are summarized based on the classification criteria of substances.Finally,we put forward current challenges that have not yet been clarified in the field of AMCs,and propose possible solutions,particularly from the perspective of the evolution of electron microscopy.It is expected to promote the understanding of the amorphization-catalysis relationship and provide a guideline for designing high-performance electrocatalysts.

Hypertrophic preconditioning attenuates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury through the deacetylation of isocitrate dehydrogenase 2

To test the hypothesis that transient nonischemic stimulation of hypertrophy would render the heart resistant to subsequent ischemic stress,short-term transverse aortic constriction(TAC)was performed in mice and then withdrawn for several days by aortic debanding,followed by subsequent myocardial exposure to ischemia/reperfusion(I/R).Following I/R injury,the myocardial infarct size and apoptosis were markedly reduced,and contractile function was significantly improved in the TAC preconditioning group compared with the control group.Mechanistically,hypertrophic preconditioning remarkably alleviated I/R-induced oxidative stress,as evidenced by the increased reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADP)ratio,increase in the reduced glutathione(GSH)/oxidized glutathione(GSSH)ratio,and reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(ROS)production.Moreover,TAC preconditioning inhibited caspase-3 activation and mitigated the mitochondrial impairment by deacetylating isocitrate dehydrogenase 2(IDH2)via a sirtuin 3(SIRT3)-dependent mechanism.In addition,the expression of a genetic deacetylation mimetic IDH2 mutant(IDH2 K413R)in cardiomyocytes,which increased IDH2 enzymatic activity and decreased mitochondrial ROS production,and ameliorated I/R injury,whereas the expression of a genetic acetylation mimetic(IDH2 K413Q)in cardiomyocytes abolished these protective effects of hypertrophic preconditioning.Furthermore,both the activity and expression of the SIRT3 protein were markedly increased in preconditioned mice exposed to I/R.Treatment with an adenovirus encoding SIRT3 partially emulated the actions of hypertrophic preconditioning,whereas genetic ablation of SIRT3 in mice blocked the cardioprotective effects of hypertrophic preconditioning.The present study identifies hypertrophic preconditioning as a novel endogenous self-defensive and cardioprotective strategy for cardiac I/R injury that induces IDH2 deacetylation through a SIRT3-dependent mechanism.A therapeutic strategy targeting IDH2 may be a promising treatment for cardiac ischemic injury.

Modification Mechanism and Uniaxial Fatigue Performances of A356.2 Alloy Treated by Al-Sr-La Composite Refinement-Modification Agent

Modification mechanism and uniaxial fatigue properties of A356.2 alloy treated by Al-6Sr-7La and traditional Al-5Ti-1B/Al-10Sr(hereinafter refers to traditional treated alloy) were investigated by constant stress amplitude method. Microstructure, dislocation and Si twinning of the alloys were studied by thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results showed that Al-6Sr-7La possesses better refining and modification effect than Al-5Ti-1B/Al-10Sr. Meanwhile, fatigue properties of the alloy treated by Al-6Sr-7La are higher than traditional treated alloy, and this is mainly owing to that Al-6Sr-7La treated alloy has more twins in eutectic Si and lower twin spacing. In addition, higher density of nanophases formed on twin faces and La-rich clusters appear at multiple twin intersections. Stacking faults and entrapped nanophases appeared on growing Si twin faces. Impurity induced twinning(IIT) mechanism and twin plane re-entrant edge(TPRE) mechanism are valid for eutectic Si which are important for mechanical optimization of A356.2 alloy.