Root decomposition of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia halodendron</Emphasis> and its effect on soil nitrogen and soil organic carbon in the Horqin Sandy Land,northeastern China

Root decomposition is a critical feedback from the plant to the soil, especially in sandy land where strong winds remove aboveground litter. As a pioneer shrub in semi-mobile dunes of the Horqin sandy land, Artemisia halodendron has multiple effects on nutrient capture and the microenvironment. However, its root decomposition has not been studied in terms of its influence on soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N). In this study, we buried fine (≤2 mm) and coarse roots in litterbags at a depth of 15 cm below semi-mobile dunes. We measured the masses remaining and the C and N contents at intervals during 434 days of decomposition. The soils below the litterbags were then divided into layers and sampled to measure the SOC and N contents. After rapid initial decomposition, both coarse and fine roots decomposed slowly. After 53 days, 36.2 % of coarse roots and 39.8 % of fine roots had decomposed. In contrast, only 18.4 % of coarse roots and 30.5 % of fine roots decomposed in the following 381 days. Fine roots decomposed significantly faster, and their decomposition rate after the initial rapid decay was strongly related to climate (R ² = 0.716, P < 0.05). Root decomposition increased SOC and N contents below the litterbags, with larger effects for fine roots. The SOC content was more variable between soil layers than the N content. Thus, decomposition of A. halodendron roots cannot be ignored when studying SOC and N feedbacks from plants to the soil, particularly for fine roots.     

管网雨水补给河道用水的人工湿地水质净化流程研究

中国北方部分地区水资源短缺,河道干涸,但夏季雨水资源潜力丰富。虽径流受到一定污染,但较于生活污水和工业废水,其污染程度更低,成分更简单。雨水通过低运行成本的人工湿地净化系统,可以实现较好的净化效果,满足河道景观需求和生态补水。城市管网雨水承载能力过重的城市边缘区,建设更新过程中进行雨污分流制度,更适于采用人工水质净化的方式将城市雨水管网中的雨水进行就近消纳,减轻城市雨水管网压力,并利用表面负荷率（ALR）来确定并校核人工湿地面积。在综合现在人工水质净化主流程预处理单元、人工湿地单元和消毒存储单元3个环节的基础上,以低运营成本、低管理成本、最优净水量为指向,引入物联网技术智能管控系统,行程具有能控制各级出水水质监测、多级管控、净水生态功能与游览景观功能相结合等多重优点的人工水质净化全流程,达到符合河道水质标准的净化效果。该流程为缓解北方城镇河道缺水现状、解决城市雨洪问题提供新思路。     

Regulation of mitochondrial NAD pool via NAD+ transporter 2 is essential for matrix NADH homeostasis and ROS production in Arabidopsis

Reactive oxygen species(ROS) play a crucial role in numerous biological processes in plants, including development, responses to environmental stimuli, and programmed cell death(PCD). Deficiency in MOSAIC DEATH 1(MOD1), a plastid-localized enoyl-ACP reductase essential for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, leads to the increased malate export from chloroplasts to mitochondria, and the subsequent accumulation of mitochondria-generated ROS and PCD. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a mod1 suppressor, som592. SOM592 encodes mitochondrion-localized NAD~+ transporter 2(NDT2). We show that the mitochondrial NAD pool is elevated in the mod1 mutant. The som592 mutation fully suppressed mitochondrial NADH hyper-accumulation, ROS production, and PCD in the mod1 mutant, indicating a causal relationship between mitochondrial NAD accumulation and ROS/PCD phenotypes. We also show that in wild-type plants, the mitochondrial NAD+uptake is involved in the regulation of ROS production in response to continuous photoperiod. Elevation of the alternative respiration pathway can suppress ROS accumulation and PCD in mod1, but leads to growth restriction. These findings uncover a regulatory mechanism for mitochondrial ROS production via NADH homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana that is likely important for growth regulation in response to altered photoperiod.     

A Desolvated Solid–Solid Interface for a High‐Capacitance Electric Double Layer

Understanding the electric double layer is essential for achieving efficient electrochemical energy storage technologies. A conventional solid–liquid electrode interface suffers from serious self‐discharge and a narrow voltage window, which makes the development of a solid–solid interface imperative. However, an in‐depth understanding of the electric double layer with a solid–solid interface is lacking. Here, a solid–solid interfacial electric double layer is proposed with excellent electrochemical performance. The solid layer is constructed by the electrochemical decomposition of lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate, which provides a desolvated environment for the establishment of a electric double layer. This makes a stronger interaction between the electrode surface and the ions. Based on this unique property, it is found that the solid–solid interfacial electric double layer has an increased capacitance, which suggests a way to develop high‐energy electrochemical capacitors.     

Multi‐spectroscopic and molecular dynamics simulations investigation of the binding mechanism of polybrominated diphenyl ethers to hen egg white lysozyme

Three PBDEs (BDE25, BDE47, and BDE154) were selected to investigate the interactions between PBDEs and hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) by molecular modeling, fluorescence spectroscopy, and FT‐IR spectra. The docking results showed that hydrogen bonds were formed between BDE25 and residue TRP63 and between BDE47 and TRP63 with bond lengths of 2.178 Å and 2.146 Å, respectively. The molecular dynamics simulations indicated that van der Waals forces played a predominant role in the binding of three PBDEs to HEWL. The observed fluorescence quenching can be attributed to the formation of complexes between HEWL and PBDEs, and the quenching mechanism is a static quenching. According to Förster's non‐radiative energy transfer theory, the binding distances r were < 7 nm, indicating a high probability of energy transfer from HEWL to the three PBDEs. The synchronous fluorescence showed that the emission maximum wavelength of tryptophan (TRP) residues emerged a red‐shift. FT‐IR spectra indicated that BDE25, BDE47 and BDE154 induced the α‐helix percentage of HEWL decreased from 32.70% ± 1.64% to 28.27% ± 1.41%, 27.50% ± 1.38% and 29.78% ± 1.49%, respectively, whereas the percentage of random coil increased from 26.67% ± 1.33% to 27.60% ± 1.38%, 29.18% ± 1.46% and 30.59% ± 1.53%, respectively.     

Rats Generate Vibrissal Sensory Evidence until Boundary Crossing Triggers a Decision

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