The blind pursuit of high yields via increased fertilizer inputs increases the environmental costs. Relay intercropping has advantages for yield, but a strategy for N management is urgently required ...to decrease N inputs without yield loss in maize-soybean relay intercropping systems (IMS). Experiments were conducted with three levels of N and three planting patterns, and dry matter accumulation, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), competition ratio (CR), system productivity index (SPI), land equivalent ratio (LER), and crop root distribution were investigated. Our results showed that the CR of soybean was greater than 1, and that the change in root distribution in space and time resulted in an interspecific facilitation in IMS. The maximum yield of maize under monoculture maize (MM) occurred with conventional nitrogen (CN), whereas under IMS, the maximum yield occurred with reduced nitrogen (RN). The yield of monoculture soybean (MS) and of soybean in IMS both reached a maximum under RN. The LER of IMS varied from 1.85 to 2.36, and the SPI peaked under RN. Additionally, the NUE of IMS increased by 103.7% under RN compared with that under CN. In conclusion, the separation of the root ecological niche contributed to a positive interspecific facilitation, which increased the land productivity. Thus, maize-soybean relay intercropping with reduced N input provides a very useful approach to increase land productivity and avert environmental pollution.
Submicron aerosol (PM1) species measured by aerosol mass spectrometers have been widely used to validate chemical transport models; however, the uncertainties due to chemical differences between PM1 ...and PM2.5 are poorly constrained. Here we characterized such differences in a highly polluted environment in north China in winter. Our results showed that the changes in PM1/PM2.5 ratios as a function of relative humidity (RH) were largely different for primary and secondary species. Secondary organic and inorganic aerosol (SOA and SIA) presented clear decreases in PM1/PM2.5 ratios at RH > 60% during periods with high SIA contributions (>50%), likely driven by the changes in aerosol hygroscopicity and phase states, while the traffic and coal combustion OA had limited dependence on RH. Thermodynamic modeling showed negligible impacts of PM differences on predictions of particle acidity, yet these impacts can cause a difference in aerosol water content by up to 50–70%.
Plain Language Summary
Current air pollution studies rely largely upon aerosol mass spectrometers that provide real‐time measurements of submicron aerosol (PM1) species, and in many studies, PM1 aerosol species are used to validate those of PM2.5 in chemical transport models and estimate particle acidity and aerosol water content which are key parameters in studying heterogeneous reactions. However, the uncertainties in air pollution studies due to the chemical differences of PM1 and PM2.5 are poorly constrained, particularly in highly polluted environment, for example, China and India. We found that the changes in PM1/PM2.5 ratios as a function of relative humidity were largely different for primary and secondary aerosol species in highly polluted environment, which was likely driven by the changes in aerosol hygroscopicity and phase states. The chemical differences of PM1/PM2.5 ratios were also found to have negligible impacts on predictions of particle acidity, yet these impacts can cause a difference in aerosol water content by up to 50–70%. Considering the rapid increases in the deployments of aerosol mass spectrometers worldwide, the results in this study are of great importance for a better understanding of the uncertainties in both modelling and observations.
Key Points
We observed large chemical differences between PM1 and PM2.5 under high relative humidity periods in highly polluted environment
The RH dependence of PM1/PM2.5 ratios of primary and secondary species was largely different due to different hygroscopicity
The chemical differences between PM1 and PM2.5 have negligible influences on particle acidity prediction, yet have a large impact on AWC
The objective of the present Viewpoint set is to elucidate the state-of-art of this growing research field. Several key issues on mechanical properties/performance and mechanism of heterogeneous ...materials, mainly focus on gradient and laminated structures, will be addressed. Experimental studies combined with simulation and modeling are focusing on revealing the underlying mechanism of heterogeneous structures.
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Currently, developing high voltage (beyond 2 V) rechargeable Mg-ion batteries still remains a great challenge owing to the limit of corrosive electrolyte and low compatibility of anode material. Here ...we report a facile one step solid state alloying route to synthesize nanoclustered Mg3Bi2 alloy as a high-performance anode to build up a 2 V Mg-ion battery using noncorrosive electrolyte. The fabricated nanoclustered Mg3Bi2 anode delivers a high reversible specific capacity (360 mAh g–1) with excellent stability (90.7% capacity retention over 200 cycles) and high Coulombic efficiency (average 98%) at 0.1 A g–1. The good performance is attributed to the stable nanostructures, which effectively accommodate the reversible Mg2+ ion insertion/deinsertion without losing electric contact among clusters. Significantly, the nanoclustered Mg3Bi2 anode can be coupled with high voltage cathode Prussian Blue to assemble a full cell using noncorrosive electrolyte, showing a stable cycling (88% capacity retention over 200 cycles at 0.2 A g–1) and good rate capability (103 mAh g–1 at 0.1 A g–1 and 58 mAh g–1 at 2 A g–1). The energy and power density of the as-fabricated full cell can reach up to 81 Wh kg–1 and 2850 W kg–1, respectively, which are both the highest values among the reported Mg-ion batteries using noncorrosive electrolytes. This study demonstrates a cost-effective route to fabricate stable and high voltage rechargeable Mg-ion battery potentially for grid-scale energy storage.
Previous studies have been reported the immune dysfunction of various live tissues. However, the potential molecular mechanism of post-transcriptional regulation of immune related genes in ...hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still not clear. We tried to identify crucial immune related biomarkers associated with HCC patients' outcomes and to reveal the transcriptional regulation.
The fractions of 22 immune cells in tumor and adjacent tissues were estimated by CIBERSORT. Kruskal-Wallis test and differentially expressed analyzes were used for comparative studies. Cox proportional hazard regression model, Kaplan-Meier estimates and Log-rank test were used for survival analyses.
From The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the gene, lncRNA and miRNA expression profiles of 379 HCC samples with clinical information were used for comparative studies. Eleven adaptive and innate immune cell types were significantly altered in HCC samples, including B cell memory, regulatory T cells and follicular helper T cells. Differentially expressed competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network associated with patients' overall survival was identified. Then, the novel pathway, including LINC00261, MiR105-5p and selectin L(SELL) was found and may be potential novel biomarkers for patients' outcomes and immunotherapy. Furthermore, SELL was significantly positively correlated (correlation coefficients: 0.47-0.69) with 12 known gene signatures of immunotherapy except for programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1).
Our findings could provide insights into the selection of novel LINC00261/MiR105-5p/SELL pathway which is associated with overall survival and may impact on efficacy of immunotherapy in HCC.
In a dynamic and competitive business environment, managerial ability emerges as a pivotal strategic factor for capitalizing on new opportunities within the technological revolution and digital ...transformation of enterprises. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms spanning from 2009 to 2019, this study integrates insights from the upper echelons theory and the behavioral theory of the firm to investigate the moderating roles of historical aspiration shortfalls and industrial competitiveness on the relationship between managerial ability and enterprise digital transformation from internal and external pressure perspectives. Our findings indicate a positive impact of managerial ability on digital transformation. The relationship between managerial ability and digital transformation is reinforced by historical aspiration shortfalls; nevertheless, industrial competitiveness has attenuated the aforementioned relationship. This study contributes to a better understanding of the strategic implications of managerial ability within the context of organizational innovation strategies. It offers valuable insights into the decision-making processes of firms as they navigate the challenges of digital transformation within an ever-evolving business environment.
Using highly dispersed metal fluoride nanoparticles to construct a uniform fluorinated alloy type interfacial layer on the surface of Li metal anodes is realized by an
ex situ
solution chemical ...modification method. The fluorinated alloy-type interfacial layer can effectively inhibit the growth of undesirable Li dendrites while enhancing the performance of Li metal anodes.
A uniform LiF/Li-M alloy functional interfacial layer based on chemical modification effectively stabilizes LMBs by inhibiting the growth of Li dendrites.
The mammalian Golgi comprises tightly adjacent and flattened membrane sacs called cisternae. We still do not understand the molecular organization of the Golgi and intra-Golgi transport of cargos. ...One of the most significant challenges to studying the Golgi is resolving Golgi proteins at the cisternal level under light microscopy. We have developed a side-averaging approach to visualize the cisternal organization and intra-Golgi transport in nocodazole-induced Golgi ministacks. Side-view images of ministacks acquired from Airyscan microscopy are transformed and aligned before intensity normalization and averaging. From side-average images of >30 Golgi proteins, we uncovered the organization of the pre-Golgi, cis, medial, trans, and trans-Golgi network membrane with an unprecedented spatial resolution. We observed the progressive transition of a synchronized cargo wave from the cis to the trans-side of the Golgi. Our data support our previous finding, in which constitutive cargos exit at the trans-Golgi while the secretory targeting to the trans-Golgi network is signal dependent.
To realize miniaturization of high-power microwave (HPM) systems, a high-efficiency GW-level relativistic magnetron (RM) operating at a relatively low applied voltage is presented, which does not ...require a large high-energy pulsed power source. An eight-cavity anode block with rectangular vanes is adopted. The resonators in the anode block, where the high-frequency energy is directly stored, are enlarged by introducing rectangular vanes. The microwave extraction is accomplished by a step-like diffraction output, which benefits the compact magnet system design. In experiments, several transparent cathodes have been employed to investigate the cathode effects on the magnetron performance, including cathode configurations, cathode endcaps, and emission length. With the optimal cathode, the proposed RM can radiate microwave power of 1.1 GW with a power conversion efficiency of 51% at 2.72 GHz when the applied voltage is around 380 kV and the axial magnetic field is 0.44 T.
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The gut microbiota decomposes the ingredients in TCM into secondary metabolites with high biological activity, promotes the entry of medicines into the circulation, and has a ...beneficial effect on pathological sites. At the same time, the ingredient of TCM can well change the composition and structure of the gut microbiota, thereby realising the function of diseased organ/tissues through the systemic action of the gut microbiota.
In recent years, the interaction between the bioactive ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and gut microbiota has been a focus of many studies. When TCM enters the digestive tract, some bioactive ingredients are not absorbed into the gut well thus leading to low bioavailability. Ingredients of TCM are metabolised, or biotransformed by gut microbiota, thereby producing new bioactive molecules, and promote medicine absorption into the circulation. At the same time, the ingredients of TCM effect the composition and structure of gut microbiota, thereby influencing the remote function of diseased organs / tissues through the systemic action of the gut microbiota. In this review, we summarise the gut microbiota-mediated metabolism of flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, polysaccharides, phenylpropanoids, and organic acids, along with a discussion on the metabolites formed and the biotransformation pathways involving various enzymes. We also highlight the importance of bioactive ingredients of TCM in regulating gut microbiota.
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