Intensive vegetable cultivation has developed very rapidly in China, and investigation of current soil nutrient problems in vegetable fields and their potential environmental risk is important for ...local soil nutrient management strategies. Three hundred and sixty‐six soil samples were collected from greenhouse vegetable fields, open vegetable fields and rice/wheat rotation fields in southern Jiangsu Province, the most intensive vegetable‐producing areas in Yangtze River Delta, China, for the analysis of their soil fertility status. Soil acidification and P enrichment were the main problems identified in this area of vegetable production, with about 20 and 17% of the open and greenhouse vegetable field soils, respectively, being extremely acid with soil pH values below 5.0. In contrast, no soils under rice/wheat rotation fields were as acidic. Percentages of sites with Olsen‐P concentrations < 90 mg/kg were 61, 85 and 0% for soils growing greenhouse vegetable, field vegetable and rice/wheat, respectively. The nitrogen (N) surplus for vegetable fields exceeded 170 kg/ha/crop, and the phosphorus (P) surplus exceeded 40 kg/ha/crop. Thus, current vegetable production leads to potential environmental risks of N and P pollution of nearby aquatic bodies. Insufficient supplementation with potassium fertilizers was found in some vegetable fields. Several ameliorative measures are proposed.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury (RI) is a common cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness in elderly and critical unmet medical need. While no effective treatment is available for ...RI, microglial activation and local immune responses in the retina are thought to play important roles in the pathophysiology of neurodegeneration. While survival and activation of microglia depend critically on colony-stimulating factor receptor (CSF-1R) signaling, it remains unclear if targeting the retinal immune microenvironments by CSF-1RAb after RI is sufficient to rescue vision and present a potentially effective therapy. Here we used rodent models of RI and showed that retinal ischemia induced by acute elevation of intraocular pressure triggered an early activation of microglia and macrophages in the retina within 12 h. This was followed by lymphocyte infiltration and increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Intravitreal injection of CSF-1R neutralizing antibody (CSF-1RAb) after RI significantly blocked microglial activation and the subsequent T cell recruitment. This also led to improved retinal ganglion cell survival and function measured by cell quantification and electroretinogram positive scotopic threshold responses, as well as increased visual acuity and contrast sensitivity as assessed by optomotor reflex-based assays, when compared to the isotype-treated control group. Moreover, the administration of CSF-1RAb efficiently attenuated inflammatory responses and activation of human microglia in culture, suggesting a therapeutic target with human relevance. These results, together with the existing clinical safety profiles, support that CSF-1RAb may present a promising therapeutic avenue for RI, a currently untreatable condition, by targeting microglia and the immune microenvironment in the retina to facilitate neural survival and visual function recovery.
It has been fundamentally important and technologically challenging to elucidate the migration behavior of solute atoms in solvents, which can help to understand the growth of nanoparticles. ...Recently, ascribed to the booming development of start-of-the-art liquid environmental transmission electron microscopes (LETEMs), it has become possible to disclose, in situ, the phase segregation mechanism of elementary units in a solvent at the nanoscale. In addition, bombardment with an electron beam can induce a locally positive potential, with the application of low-conductive Si3N4 and water in LETEMs. Such merits can enable modification of the dynamic distribution and reductive behavior of the solute ions in water solutions. Herein we report the migration and segregation behaviors of Au atoms in a solvent during real time, by exploiting a charging effect in a dilute HAuCl4 water solution under electron irradiation. As a consequence, the growth kinetics of Au nanoparticles can be successfully controlled with an accelerated kinetics model. Through dynamically capturing the segregation behavior of the hydrated atoms, a resultant size-controlling mechanism is clarified with three cycles of nanoparticle growth behavior. A new insight is consequently gained into microscopically manipulating the hydrothermal synthesis of nanomaterials.
In standard bilateral living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT), the right and left lower lobes from 2 healthy donors are implanted in the recipient in place of whole right and left lungs. In ...other words, total 10 lobes (5 lobes in each donor) are shared by the 2 donors (4 lobes in each donor) and the recipient (2 lobes) in this transplant procedure. This study aimed to compare pulmonary function between donors and recipients before and after LDLLT.
We performed 76 LDLLT procedures between June 2008 and March 2017. After excluding 12 single LDLLT and 11 native–lung-sparing LDLLT procedures, we identified 38 recipients of bilateral LDLLT who survived >1 year and underwent routine pulmonary function testing. Acquired recipient pulmonary function was compared with lost donor pulmonary function at 1 year post-LDLLT.
The median age of the 38 recipients was 44 years (range, 8-62 years); 14 were men. The median age of the 76 donors was 41.5 years (range, 20-60 years); 50 were men. One year post-LDLLT, acquired recipient forced vital capacity was significantly greater than lost donor forced vital capacity (1889.5 ± 581.3 mL vs 1073.9 ± 661.6 mL; P < .001). Similarly, acquired recipient forced expiratory volume in 1 second at 1 year post-LDLLT was significantly greater than lost donor forced expiratory volume in 1 second (1646.8 ± 483.0 mL vs 1064.2 ± 534.5 mL; P < .001).
These results indicated that acquired recipient pulmonary function was better than lost donor pulmonary function in bilateral LDLLT.
In comparing the lost donor pulmonary function and the acquired recipient pulmonary function after living-donor lobar lung transplantation, it was observed that the acquired recipient pulmonary function was significantly better than the lost donor pulmonary function. Display omitted
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
MagR (IscA1) is a member of the iron–sulphur cluster assembly proteins, which plays vital roles in many physiological processes, such as energy metabolism, electron transfer, iron homeostasis, heme ...biosynthesis and physiologically magnetic response. Its deletion leads to the loss of mitochondrial DNA, inactivation of iron–sulphur proteins and abnormal embryonic development in organisms. However, the physiological roles of MagR in insects are unclear. This study characterized the effects and molecular regulatory mechanism of MagR gene silencing on the reproduction of brachypterous female adults of Nilaparvata lugens. After silencing the MagR gene using RNAi approach, the duration of reproductive period was shortened and the fecundity and hatchability reduced significantly. A total of 479 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for female adults after 2 days of dsRNA injection through RNA‐sequencing technology, including 352 significantly upregulated DEGs and 127 significantly downregulated DEGs, among which 44 DEGs were considered the key genes involved in the effects of NlMagR silencing on the reproduction, revealing the regulatory mechanism of MagR at RNA transcription level and providing a new strategy for the control of N. lugens.
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DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
TianQin is a proposed space-borne gravitational-wave (GW) observatory composed of three identical satellites orbiting around the geocenter with a radius of 10
5
km. It aims at detecting GWs ...in the frequency range of 0.1 mHz–1 Hz. The detection of GW relies on the high-precision measurement of optical path length at the 10
−12
m level. The dispersion of space plasma can lead to the optical path difference (OPD, Δ
l
) along the propagation of laser beams between any pair of satellites. Here, we study the OPD noises for TianQin. The Space Weather Modeling Framework is used to simulate the interaction between the Earth magnetosphere and solar wind. From the simulations, we extract the magnetic field and plasma parameters on the orbits of TianQin at four relative positions of the satellite constellation in the Earth magnetosphere. We calculate the OPD noise for single link, Michelson combination, and Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) combinations (
α
and
X
). For single link and Michelson interferometer, the maxima of ∣Δ
l
∣ are on the order of 1 pm. For the TDI combinations, these can be suppressed to about 0.004 and 0.008 pm for
α
and
X
. The OPD noise of the Michelson combination is colored in the concerned frequency range; while the ones for the TDI combinations are approximately white. Furthermore, we calculate the ratio of the equivalent strain of the OPD noise to that of TQ, and find that the OPD noises for the TDI combinations can be neglected in the most sensitive frequency range of TQ.
The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages resulted in increased transmission rates and reduced protection from vaccines. To counteract these effects, multiple booster strategies were used ...in different countries, although data comparing their efficiency in improving protective immunity remain sparse, especially among vulnerable populations, including older adults. The inactivated CoronaVac vaccine was among the most widely distributed vaccine worldwide and was essential in the early control of SARS-CoV-2-related hospitalizations and deaths. However, it is not well understood whether homologous versus heterologous booster doses in those fully vaccinated with CoronaVac induce distinct humoral responses or whether these responses vary across age groups. We analyzed plasma antibody responses from CoronaVac-vaccinated younger or older individuals who received a homologous CoronaVac or heterologous BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 booster vaccine. All three evaluated boosters resulted in increased virus-specific IgG titers 28 days after the booster dose. However, we found that both IgG titers against SARS-CoV-2 Spike or RBD and neutralization titers against Omicron sublineages were substantially reduced in participants who received homologous CoronaVac compared with the heterologous BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 booster. This effect was specifically prominent in recipients >50 years of age. In this group, the CoronaVac booster induced low virus-specific IgG titers and failed to elevate neutralization titers against any Omicron sublineage. Our results point to the notable inefficiency of CoronaVac immunization and boosting in mounting protective antiviral humoral immunity, particularly among older adults, during the Omicron wave. These observations also point to benefits of heterologous regimens in high-risk populations fully vaccinated with CoronaVac.
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