Plant non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), which largely comprise starch and soluble sugars, are essential energy reserves to support plant growth and physiological functions. While it is known that ...increasing global deposition of nitrogen (N) affects plant concentration of NSCs, quantification of seasonal responses and drivers of woody species leaf and root NSCs to N addition at larger spatial scales remains lacking. Here, we systematically analyzed data from 53 field experiments distributed across China, comprising 1202 observations, to test for effects of N addition on woody plant leaf and root NSCs across and within growing and non-growing seasons. We found (1) no overall effects of N addition on the concentrations of leaf and root NSCs, soluble sugars or starch during the growing season or the non-growing season for leaves. However, N addition decreased root NSC and starch concentrations by 13.8 % and 39.0 %, respectively, and increased soluble sugars concentration by 15.0 % during the non-growing season. (2) Shifts in leaf NSC concentration under N addition were driven by responses by soluble sugars in both seasons, while shifts in root NSC were driven by soluble sugars in the non-growing season and starch and soluble sugars in the growing season. (3) Relationships between N, carbon, and phosphorus stoichiometry with leaf and root NSCs indicated effects of N addition on woody plant NSCs allocation through impacts on plant photosynthesis, respiration, and growth. (4) Effects of N addition on leaf and root NSCs varied with plant functional types, where effects were more pronounced in roots than in leaves during the non-growing season. Overall, our results reveal divergent responses of woody plant leaf and root NSCs to N addition within non-growing season and highlight the role of ecological stoichiometry and plant functional types in woody plant allocation patterns of NSCs in response to ongoing N deposition under global change.
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•N addition did not affect leaf NSCs during the growing and non-growing seasons.•N addition affected root NSCs in non-growing season, but not in growing season.•N reduced root NSC (13.8 %) but raised soluble sugars (15 %) in non-growing season.•Soluble sugars mainly drove NSC concentration in both seasons under N addition.•Effects of N addition on leaf and root NSCs varied with plant functional types.
The genus
contains 188 species including several major human pathogens as well as numerous other environmental species. We report here comprehensive phylogenomics and comparative genomic analyses on ...150 genomes of
species to understand their interrelationships. Phylogenetic trees were constructed for the 150 species based on 1941 core proteins for the genus
, 136 core proteins for the phylum Actinobacteria and 8 other conserved proteins. Additionally, the overall genome similarity amongst the
species was determined based on average amino acid identity of the conserved protein families. The results from these analyses consistently support the existence of five distinct monophyletic groups within the genus
at the highest level, which are designated as the "
," "
"
," "
," and "
" clades. Some of these clades have also been observed in earlier phylogenetic studies. Of these clades, the "
clade forms the deepest branching lineage and does not form a monophyletic grouping with the "
" clade of fast-growing species. In parallel, our comparative analyses of proteins from mycobacterial genomes have identified 172 molecular signatures in the form of conserved signature indels and conserved signature proteins, which are uniquely shared by either all
species or by members of the five identified clades. The identified molecular signatures (or synapomorphies) provide strong independent evidence for the monophyly of the genus
and the five described clades and they provide reliable means for the demarcation of these clades and for their diagnostics. Based on the results of our comprehensive phylogenomic analyses and numerous identified molecular signatures, which consistently and strongly support the division of known mycobacterial species into the five described clades, we propose here division of the genus
into an emended genus
encompassing the "
" clade, which includes all of the major human pathogens, and four novel genera viz.
gen. nov.,
gen. nov.,
gen. nov. and
gen. nov. corresponding to the "
"
"
," and "
clades, respectively. With the division of mycobacterial species into these five distinct groups, attention can now be focused on unique genetic and molecular characteristics that differentiate members of these groups.
•The study aims at constructing wall-to-wall estimates of forest growing stock (GSV).•We combine NFI plot data, remotely sensed and auxiliary variables.•We applied the methodology in Mediterranean ...Forest.•We create a wall-to-wall GSV forest map in a large test area.•The GSV map was used to produce model-based estimates of GSV at small scale.
Spatial predictions of forest variables are required for supporting modern national and sub-national forest planning strategies, especially in the framework of a climate change scenario. Nowadays methods for constructing wall-to-wall maps and calculating small-area estimates of forest parameters are becoming essential components of most advanced National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. Such methods are based on the assumption of a relationship between the forest variables and predictor variables that are available for the entire forest area. Many commonly used predictors are based on data obtained from active or passive remote sensing technologies. Italy has almost 40% of its land area covered by forests. Because of the great diversity of Italian forests with respect to composition, structure and management and underlying climatic, morphological and soil conditions, a relevant question is whether methods successfully used in less complex temperate and boreal forests may be applied successfully at country level in Italy.
For a study area of more than 48,657 km2 in central Italy of which 43% is covered by forest, the study presents the results of a test regarding wall-to-wall, spatially explicit estimation of forest growing stock volume (GSV) based on field measurement of 1350 plots during the last Italian NFI. For the same area, we used potential predictor variables that are available across the whole of Italy: cloud-free mosaics of multispectral optical satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM), microwave sensor data (JAXA PALSAR), a canopy height model (CHM) from satellite LiDAR, and auxiliary variables from climate, temperature and precipitation maps, soil maps, and a digital terrain model.
Two non-parametric (random forests and k-NN) and two parametric (multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression) prediction methods were tested to produce wall-to-wall map of growing stock volume at 23-m resolution. Pixel level predictions were used to produce small-area, province-level model-assisted estimates. The performances of all the methods were compared in terms of percent root mean-square error using a leave-one-out procedure and an independent dataset was used for validation. Results were comparable to those available for other ecological regions using similar predictors, but random forests produced the most accurate results with a pixel level R2 = 0.69 and RMSE% = 37.2% against the independent validation dataset. Model-assisted estimates were more precise than the original design-based estimates provided by the NFI.
•We compared vegetation phenology from a SIF product (CSIF) and from MODIS NDVI.•We found similar spatial patterns in CSIF and NDVI derived phenology.•NDVI data indicated an earlier start and later ...end of the growing season than CSIF.•Models based on leaf greenness may overestimate photosynthesis active period.
Vegetation phenology is highly sensitive to climate change, although the data and methods used to estimate key phenological states can influence this sensitivity. Because of its direct relation to leaf photosynthetic carbon uptake, remotely sensed solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) can provide new insight assessing changes in vegetation phenology. Here, we investigated the potential of using a SIF time series product named contiguous SIF (CSIF) to estimate spring, summer, and autumn phenology in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere (>30°N) and compared the results with those based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the period 2001–2018. Overall, we found similar spatial patterns in phenological states. However, specific dates of key phenological events differed when using CSIF vs. MODIS NDVI data. NDVI data indicated that the growing season started earlier (by 10.1 days on average) and ended later (11.5 days on average) relative to CSIF data. This implies that actual periods for photosynthetic activity are shorter (by 21.6 days on average) than those estimated from vegetation indices more directly related to changes in canopy structure. These large differences between results from NDVI and that from CSIF suggest that vegetation indices such as NDVI seem to overestimate the period for active photosynthesis over the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, while phenology of the early growing season is dominated by temperature for both NDVI and CSIF data, phenology of the late growing season is mainly controlled by temperature for NDVI but by precipitation for CSIF. Our findings were further confirmed by other SIF (GOME-2 SIF) and vegetation index (MODIS EVI) datasets. Phenology modes in Earth system modelling are often parameterized using leaf unfolding and senescence from either station or satellite observations. Our results imply that canopy structure-based parameterization schemes may have overestimated photosynthesis active period, and thus productivity responses. We conclude that SIF data offers a novel and unique approach for assessing phenological change - one that is more directly tied to the carbon cycle and how it is being influenced by climate change.
How did thousands of Chinese migrants end up working alongside African Americans in Louisiana after the Civil War? With the stories of these workers, Coolies and Cane advances an interpretation of ...emancipation that moves beyond U.S. borders and the black-white racial dynamic. Tracing American ideas of Asian labor to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, Moon-Ho Jung argues that the racial formation of coolies in American culture and law played a pivotal role in reconstructing concepts of race, nation, and citizenship in the United States.
Jung examines how coolies appeared in major U.S. political debates on race, labor, and immigration between the 1830s and 1880s. He finds that racial notions of coolies were articulated in many, often contradictory, ways. They could mark the progress of freedom; they could also symbolize the barbarism of slavery. Welcomed and rejected as neither black nor white, coolies emerged recurrently as both the salvation of the fracturing and reuniting nation and the scourge of American civilization.
Based on extensive archival research, this study makes sense of these contradictions to reveal how American impulses to recruit and exclude coolies enabled and justified a series of historical transitions: from slave-trade laws to racially coded immigration laws, from a slaveholding nation to a nation of immigrants, and from a continental empire of manifest destiny to a liberating empire across the seas.
Combining political, cultural, and social history, Coolies and Cane is a compelling study of race, Reconstruction, and Asian American history.
•Annual GPP variation is controlled by three indicators: GSstart, GPPmax, and GSend.•The statistical model explains 90% of annual GPP variability among 27 flux sites.•GPPmax contributes more than ...GSstart and GSend to annual GPP variability.
Climate variability influences both plant phenology and physiology, resulting in inter-annual variation in terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP). However, it is still difficult to explain the inter-annual variability of GPP. In this study, we propose a Statistical Model of Integrated Phenology and Physiology (SMIPP) to explain the contributions of maximum daily GPP (GPPmax), and start and end of the growing season (GSstart and GSend) to the inter-annual variability of GPP observed at 27 sites across North America and Europe. Strong relationships are found between the anomalies of GSstart and spring GPP (r=0.82±0.10), GPPmax and summer GPP (r=0.90±0.14), and GSend and autumn GPP (r=0.75±0.18) within each site. Partial correlation analysis further supports strong correlations of annual GPP with GSstart (partial r value being 0.72±0.20), GPPmax (0.87±0.15), and GSend (0.59±0.26), respectively. In addition, the three indicators are found independent from each other to influence annual GPP at most of the 27 sites. Overall, the site-calibrated SMIPP explains 90±11% of the annual GPP variability among the 27 sites. In general, GPPmax contributes to annual GPP variation more than the two phenological indicators. These results indicate that the inter-annual variability of GPP can be effectively estimated using the three indicators. Investigating plant physiology, and spring and autumn phenology to environmental changes can improve the prediction of the annual GPP trajectory under future climate change.
•Straw and plastic mulching increased maize yield and reduced its variability.•Plastic mulching was more effective in increasing yield than straw mulching.•Ridge-furrow and plastic mulching system ...was the most effective practice.•Positive yield effects of plastic mulching decreased with increasing temperature.•Positive yield effects of plastic mulching decreased with increasing precipitation.
Ridge-furrow mulching can reduce soil evaporation and conserve rainfall, thereby increasing crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in dryland cropping systems. In this study, we collected 837 observations from 50 published papers and used meta-analysis to investigate whether ridge-furrow and mulching practices are equally effective on maize yield, WUE and evapotranspiration (ET) across a range of precipitation and temperature gradients and soil types in China. Five practices were included: (i) straw mulch on flat plots (SMF), (ii) straw mulch on ridge-furrow plots (SMR), (iii) plastic mulch on flat plots (PMF), (iv) plastic mulch on ridge-furrow plots (PMR), and (v) flat plots without mulch, which was used as a control (CK). The meta-analysis showed that both straw mulch and plastic mulch significantly increased maize yields and WUE (except for SMR), and that plastic mulch was more effective than straw mulch in increasing yields, particularly in cold and dry environments. PMR has the highest yields and is more effective in clay loam than in silt loam soils. Straw mulch, but particularly plastic mulch, increased the soil moisture compared to the CK, while plastic mulch increased soil temperature, mainly in spring. However, the positive effect of plastic mulch on maize yield diminished with increasing mean growing-season temperature and precipitation, reaching zero (similar to the CK of no mulch and flat plots) when the growing-season precipitation was greater than 770 mm and the mean growing-season air temperature exceeded 24 °C. The small benefit of straw mulch (on average about 12%) was similar across the precipitation and temperature gradients, including when the benefits of plastic mulch reached zero. While our analysis has shown the benefits of ridge-furrow plastic mulch on yield and water-use efficiency, it has also highlighted the limitations of the benefits. The results provide a guide to the regions where plastic-film mulch and ridge-furrow planting are likely to improve maize yields and regions where the benefits are likely to be limited.
Describe the surgical technique and experience using the LSZ growing system in skeletally immature patients for two–stage surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).
Eleven ...skeletally immature patients who underwent two-stage surgical treatment of AIS in our center were retrospectively analyzed. Patients initially treated with the LSZ growing system were observed for an average of 40.5 months (range 23–64 months) and for 4 years after planned replacement of the LSZ growing system with a standard pedicle screw system.
The average preoperative angle of the main thoracic curve was 64.55 ± 3.21°, and that of the lumbar curve was 46 ± 5.52°. After instrumentation using the LSZ growing system, the thoracic curve was corrected to 17.63 ± 5.14°, and the lumbar curve to 9.2 ± 5.45°. The correction percentages were 72.52 ± 8.35 and 80.59 ± 10.77, respectively. After planned replacement of the LSZ system with a pedicle screw system, the angle of the thoracic curve changed to 11.45 ± 4.84°, and the lumbar curve to 6.4 ± 4.72°. The percentages of final correction were 82,1 ± 7,91 and 85,64 ± 5,47, respectively. The difference in the “LSZ growth coefficient” was 0.063 ± 0.037, which indicates continued growth of the spine along the instrumented region. None of the patients had neurological or infectious complications.
Our study demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of 2-stage treatment of AIS using the LSZ system, which allows for spine growth during the period between stages.
Since the study of Thompson, et al in 2005, use of dual-growing rod constructs have become the gold standard for operative treatment in early-onset scoliosis. However, use of dual-growing rod ...constructs may not be possible, due to patient size and the type, location and severity of the spinal deformity.
The purpose of this study is to: (1) describe the deformities treated with single-growing rod constructs, and (2) report the outcomes of single-growing rods since 2005.
Observational, descriptive case series
A prospective, multi-center, international database of early-onset scoliosis patients were queried to identify all patients with single traditional growing rods (sTGR) or magnetically-controlled growing rods (sMCGR) since the 2005. Patients were excluded if there were greater than 1 rod or if there was less than 2 years of follow-up postoperatively. Twenty-five patients (13 female, 12 male) were identified from the database query, which satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Mean age at index surgery was 4.7 years (1.3 to 9.3 years) and mean follow-up was 4.3 years (2.0 to 10.6 years). Eleven patients were classified as congenital (all mixed-type), six neuromuscular, five idiopathic and three syndromic. Proximal foundations were ribs in 23 patients and pedicle screws in two patients. The distal foundations were the spine in 25 patients and three pelvic S-hooks. All single rods were on the concave side of the deformity. Interpretation of preoperative radiographs determined in 72% (18/25) of cases dual growing rods would be difficult and/or suboptimal due to patient size (longitudinal a/o weight) and/or kyphosis/kyphoscoliosis with severe rotation. Maximal coronal deformity improved 30% (83.9 degrees to 58.6 degrees) at latest follow-up. Maximal kyphosis increased 17% (45.6 degrees to 57.4 degrees). Postoperative length increase: T1-T12, 17.0 mm (4.6 mm/year); T1-S1, 34 mm (9.4 mm/year). Total secondary surgeries for TGRs were 100: 66 lengthenings, 32 revisions, two unknown. 10 MCGRs secondary surgeries occurred in nine patients (seven for maximized actuators and three for foundation migration). At latest follow-up 20 continued with lengthenings (five TGR & 15 MCGR), four underwent definitive fusions, and one completed lengthening (implants retained).
Treatment of severe EOS with single rods demonstrated a 30% coronal correction. T1-S1 length increased at 9.4 mm/year and T1-T12 length at 4.6 mm/year, which are comparable to published reports on dual MCGRs. Single TGRs and MCGRs in EOS can provide acceptable short-term outcomes when dual rods are not deemed appropriate.
The use of single growing rod constructs, in the 4-8 years old patient with EOS, can achieve reasonable short-term radiographic outcomes.
Cross-sectional case-control study.
Compare psychosocial profile of magnetically-controlled growing rod (MCGR) patients to traditional-growing rod (TGR) with an array of psychiatric tools, expecting ...improvement in MCGR due to decreased number of surgical procedures.
TGR treatment has had positive clinical and radiographic results; however, upward of 10 surgical sessions and high complication rates have called into question the quality of life of these children. Improvement with the introduction of the MCGR is expected.
GR patients with minimum of 2-years follow-up were recruited. None had neurological conditions. All underwent testing with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, and only those in the normal range were included. Patients filled out questionnaires with mental health professionals to measure psychosocial status. MCGR patients' results were compared to TGR patients.
Twenty-seven patients met criteria (10 MCGR, 17 TGR): average age at enrollment 11.8 years (range 5.9-17). MCGR group was significantly younger (9.1 vs. 13.3 yr) and had significantly shorter follow-up (45.6 vs. 82.8 mo) (P < 0.05). TGR patients underwent an average of 16 surgical procedures, MCGR an average of 1.5 (including complications, P < 0.05). Age at index surgery (6 yr), preoperative and postoperative major curve magnitudes (60°, 40° respectively) were statistically similar.There was no difference in current psychiatric diagnoses between the groups. MCGR patients scored worse than TGR patients in general functionality domains. TGR patients showed increased functionality and prosocial scores with increased number of procedures. This effect was not observed in MCGR.
The expected improvement in psychosocial status with the MCGR was not observed at a 31.6-month-follow-up. It appears that provided the patient spends enough time in the treatment process to notice benefit and does not experience major complications, noninvasiveness of lengthening procedures does not show up as an advantage with the psychosocial tools utilized in this study.
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