CoAl-LDH has a larger specific surface area than ZCS nanoparticles, which makes ZCS evenly dispersed and inhibits its aggregation. The uniform dispersion of the ZCS nanoparticles exposes more active ...sites and facilitates the catalyst reaction. In addition, the 2D heterostructure formed by ZCS and CoAl-LDH is beneficial to the increase of hydrogen production.
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CoAl-LDH and ZnxCd1-xS (ZCS) were successfully assembled. By studying the microstructure of the catalysts, it was found that the agglomerated ZCS nanoparticles were equably dispersed on the hexagonal plate-like CoAl-LDH surface. The increase of the specific surface area of the composite catalyst further proves that the agglomeration state of ZCS nanoparticles has been improved. When the mass of the introduced CoAl-LDH is 20% of the ZCS, the maximum hydrogen production after the optimization is 1516 μmol/5h, which is about 6.9 times that of pure ZCS. UV–vis DRS in the range of 250–800 nm proved that the visible light absorption intensity of the composite is enhanced compared to pure materials. Electrochemical and photoluminescence experiments proved that the heterostructure formed between ZCS and CoAl-LDH accelerates photoelectron transfer and inhibits the recombination of electrons and holes. In addition, possible mechanisms of the sample were explored by UV–vis DRS and Mott-Schottcky.
Bats are presumed reservoirs of diverse coronaviruses (CoVs) including progenitors of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. However, the ...evolution and diversification of these coronaviruses remains poorly understood. Here we use a Bayesian statistical framework and a large sequence data set from bat-CoVs (including 630 novel CoV sequences) in China to study their macroevolution, cross-species transmission and dispersal. We find that host-switching occurs more frequently and across more distantly related host taxa in alpha- than beta-CoVs, and is more highly constrained by phylogenetic distance for beta-CoVs. We show that inter-family and -genus switching is most common in Rhinolophidae and the genus Rhinolophus. Our analyses identify the host taxa and geographic regions that define hotspots of CoV evolutionary diversity in China that could help target bat-CoV discovery for proactive zoonotic disease surveillance. Finally, we present a phylogenetic analysis suggesting a likely origin for SARS-CoV-2 in Rhinolophus spp. bats.
Mountains in western China, hosted rich biodiversity and millions of people and inhabitant with vital ecosystem services, had experienced the most serious biodiversity loss with fragile ecological ...problems. Even though increasing attentions had been paid to this issue, we still lacked efficient methods to assess the change of plant biodiversity at medium/large scale due to the poor data and co-existing multiple habitat types. This study proposed an integrated method combining InVEST-habitat quality model, NPP and landscape pattern indexes to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of plant biodiversity and its spatiotemporal change on raster cell scale. The results indicated that plant biodiversity service was high in Bailongjiang watershed with obvious spatial pattern variations. The land area containing higher plant biodiversity were 3161 km
2
, which mainly distributed in the National Nature Reserve and forestry area. While the areas with lower plant biodiversity accounted for 37.67% and mainly distributed in the valleys between Zhouqu-Wudu-Wenxian County, the valley of Minjiang in Tanchang County and alpine mountain snow-covered regions. During 1990–2010, plant biodiversity level tended to increase and the higher plant biodiversity area increased from 14.13% to 17.15% due to ecological restoration and afforestation, while plant biodiversity decreased in the area with intensive human activities, such as cultivated land, urban and rural land. The results showed that combining InVEST-habitat quality model, NPP and landscape pattern indexes can effective reveal mountain plant biodiversity change. The study was useful for plant biodiversity conservation policy-making and human activity management for the disaster-impacted mountainous areas in China.
This study used the three-level EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) to assess the quality of life (QOL) of Chinese Shidu parents (who have lost their only child) and conducted an in-depth ...investigation into the factors affecting their QOL using non-parametric tests and the Tobit regression model. A total of 651 Shidu parents were enrolled in this study. The questionnaire included a general information survey, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and the three-level EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L). The results revealed that approximately 60% of Shidu parents reported no problems in all five dimensions. Pain and discomfort were the most frequently reported problems among Shidu parents, affecting 23.35% of participants. The Tobit regression model revealed that GDS-15 scores, marital status, education, and self-reported health status were significantly associated with EQ-5D scores. Additionally, SSRS scores, GDS-15 scores, and self-reported health status were significantly associated with EQ-VAS scores. Based on the study's findings, relevant recommendations were proposed.
•Biochar species can affect the long-term stabilization of Cd and Cu in acid soils.•Corn straw biochar consistently reduces the bioavailability of Cd and Cu.•Aging process of biochar influences the ...immobilization stability of Cd and Cu.•More oxygen-containing groups can form on corn straw biochar in acid condition.
Long-term effect of biochar on PTEs (potential toxic elements) immobilization depends upon biochar own property and its aging process in soil. To understand the role of biachar type on PTEs stabilization, two types of biochar, corn-straw-derived biochar (CB) and hardwood-derived biochar (HB), were compared for their efficacy in achieving a stable decrease in the bio-availability of Cd and Cu in soils. The 3-year pot-culture experiment showed that HB reduced the concentration of CaCl2-extractable Cd and Cu by 57.9 and 63.8% in soil, and Cd and Cu uptake by 63.6 and 56.3% in rice tissue respectively, in the first year, whereas these values increased in the next two years. On the other hand, CB decreased these values steadily year by year. At the end of the 3 years, CB at 5% level had lowered the levels of CaCl2-extractable Cd and Cu by 53.6 and 66.8%, respectively. These variations between CB and HB were due to the differences in the way the two types of biochar age in the soil. The aging process was simulated in the laboratory, and the XPS results showed that the oxidization of the biochars introduced more oxygen-containing groups (especially carboxyl) on the surface of CB than HB, leading to a correspondingly greater number of oxygenated binding sites for Cd and Cu in the case of CB. The content of lignin was the major factor resulting in the variation of oxidation degree in two biochars. These results suggest that it is important to select the right kind of biochar to stably decrease the bio-availability of potential toxic elements (Cd and Cu) in contaminated soils.
A novel bat-origin coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and continues to spread across China and the world. At the time of writing, a massive global response has been implemented to ...control the disease as it spreads from person to person. Yet the high-risk human-wildlife interactions and interfaces that led to the emergence of SARS-CoV and of 2019-nCoV continue to exist in emerging disease hotspots globally. To prevent the next epidemic and pandemic related to these interfaces, we call for research and investment in three areas: 1) surveillance among wildlife to identify the high-risk pathogens they carry; 2) surveillance among people who have contact with wildlife to identify early spillover events; and 3) improvement of market biosecurity regarding the wildlife trade. As the emergence of a novel virus anywhere can impact the furthest reaches of our connected world, international collaboration among scientists is essential to address these risks and prevent the next pandemic.
Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is one of the most dangerous tick-borne viral pathogens for humans. It can cause severe tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), multiple neurological complications, and ...death. The European subtype (TBEV-Eu), Siberian subtype (TBEV-Sib), and Far-Eastern subtype (TBEV-FE) are three main TBEV subtypes, causing varying clinical manifestations. Though TBEV-FE is the most virulent TBEV subtype, the degree of variation in the amino acid sequence of TBEV polyprotein is not high, leaving an issue without proper explanation. We performed phylogenic analysis on 243 TBEV strains and then took Senzhang strain as a query strain and representative strains of three major TBEV subtypes as reference strains to perform the comparative genomic analysis, including synteny analysis, SNP analysis, InDel analysis, and multiple sequence alignment of their envelope (E) proteins. The results demonstrated that insertions or deletions of large fragments occurred at the 3’ end but not at the 5’ end or in the CDS region of TBEV Senzhang strain. In addition, SNP sites are mainly located in the CDS region, with few SNP sites in the non-coding region. Our data highlighted the insertions or deletions of large fragments at the 3’ end and SNP sites in the CDS region as genomic properties of the TBEV Senzhang strain compared to representative strains with the main subtypes. These features are probably related to the virulence of the TBEV Senzhang strain and could be considered in future vaccine development and drug target screening for TBEV.
NLR inflammasomes, caspase 1 activation platforms critical for processing key pro-inflammatory cytokines, have been implicated in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As the ...direct role of the NLRP3 inflammasome remains unclear, we tested effects of persistent NLRP3 activation as a contributor to NAFLD development and, in particular, as a modulator of progression from benign hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis during diet-induced NAFLD. Gain of function tamoxifen-inducible
Nlrp3
knock-in mice allowing for in vivo temporal control of NLRP3 activation and loss of function
Nlrp3
knockout mice were placed on short-term choline-deficient amino acid-defined (CDAA) diet, to induce isolated hepatic steatosis or long-term CDAA exposure, to induce severe steatohepatitis and fibrosis, respectively. Expression of NLRP3 associated proteins was assessed in liver biopsies of a well-characterized group of patients with the full spectrum of NAFLD.
Nlrp3
−/−
mice were protected from long-term feeding CDAA-induced hepatomegaly, liver injury, and infiltration of activated macrophages. More importantly,
Nlrp3
−/−
mice showed marked protection from CDAA-induced liver fibrosis. After 4 weeks on CDAA diet, wild-type (WT) animals showed isolated hepatic steatosis while
Nlrp3
knock-in mice showed severe liver inflammation, with increased infiltration of activated macrophages and early signs of liver fibrosis. In the liver samples of patients with NAFLD, inflammasome components were significantly increased in those patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) when compared to those with non-NASH NAFLD with mRNA levels of pro-IL1 beta correlated to levels of COL1A1. Our study uncovers a crucial role for the NLRP3 inflammasome in the development of NAFLD. These findings may lead to novel therapeutic strategies aimed at halting the progression of hepatic steatosis to the more severe forms of this disease.
Key message
Mice with NLRP3 inflammasome loss of function are protected from diet-induced steatohepatitis.
NLRP3 inflammasome gain of function leads to early and severe onset of diet-induced steatohepatitis in mice.
Patients with severe NAFLD exhibit increased levels of NLRP3 inflammasome components and levels of pro-IL1β mRNA correlate with the expression of COL1A1.
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