Plant functional diversity enhances associations of soil fungal diversity with vegetation and soil in the restoration of semiarid sandy grassland

The trait‐based approach shows that plant functional diversity strongly affects ecosystem properties. However, few empirical studies show the relationship between soil fungal diversity and plant functional diversity in natural ecosystems. We investigated soil fungal diversity along a restoration gradient of sandy grassland (mobile dune, semifixed dune, fixed dune, and grassland) in Horqin Sand Land, northern China, using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 18S rRNA and gene sequencing. We also examined associations of soil fungal diversity with plant functional diversity reflected by the dominant species' traits in community (community‐weighted mean, CWM) and the dispersion of functional trait values (FD_is). We further used the structure equation model (SEM) to evaluate how plant richness, biomass, functional diversity, and soil properties affect soil fungal diversity in sandy grassland restoration. Soil fungal richness in mobile dune and semifixed dune was markedly lower than those of fixed dune and grassland (P < 0.05). Soil fungal richness was positively associated with plant richness, biomass, CWM plant height, and soil gradient aggregated from the principal component analysis, but SEM results showed that plant richness and CWM plant height determined by soil properties were the main factors exerting direct effects. Soil gradient increased fungal richness through indirect effect on vegetation rather than direct effect. The negative indirect effect of FDis on soil fungal richness was through its effect on plant biomass. Our final SEM model based on plant functional diversity explained nearly 70% variances of soil fungal richness. Strong association of soil fungal richness with the dominant species in the community supported the mass ratio hypothesis. Our results clearly highlight the role of plant functional diversity in enhancing associations of soil fungal diversity with community structure and soil properties in sandy grassland ecosystems.     

Ancient animal migration: a case study of eyeless,dimorphic Devonian trilobites from Poland

We report evidence of one of the oldest known animal migratory episodes in the form of queues of the eyeless trilobite Trimerocephalus chopini Kin & B?a?ejowski, from the Late Devonian (Famennian) of central Poland. In addition, there is evidence for two morphs in this population, one with nine segments and the other with ten. We infer that these queues represent mass migratory chains coordinated by chemotaxis, comparable to those observed in modern crustaceans such as spiny lobsters, and further suggest that the two forms, which occur in an approximately 1:1 ratio, may be dimorphs. These ancient arthropods may have migrated periodically to shallow marine areas for mass mating and spawning. The sudden death of the trilobites in the queues may have been caused by excess carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide introduced into the bottom water by distal storm disturbance of anoxic sediments. This study demonstrates the potential for further research on the evolution and ecology of aggregative behaviour in marine arthropods.     

Problems,successes and challenges for the application of dispersion-corrected density-functional theory combined with dispersion-based implicit solvent models to large-scale hydrophobic self-assembly and polymorphism

The recent advent of dispersion-corrected density-functional theory (DFT) methods allows for quantitative modelling of molecular self-assembly processes, and we consider what is required to develop applications to the formation of large self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on hydrophobic surfaces from organic solution. Focus is on application of the D3 dispersion correction of Grimme combined with the solvent dispersion model of Floris, Tomasi and Pascual–Ahuir to simulate observed scanning-tunnelling microscopy (STM) images of various polymorphs of tetraalkylporphyrin SAMs on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surfaces. The most significant problem is identified as the need to treat SAM structures that are incommensurate with those of the substrate, providing a challenge to the use of traditional periodic-imaging boundary techniques. Using nearby commensurate lattices introduces non-systematic errors into calculated lattice constants and free energies of SAM formation that are larger than experimental uncertainties and polymorph differences. Developing non-periodic methods for polymorph interface simulation also remains a challenge. Despite these problems, existing methods can be used to interpret STM images and SAM atomic structures, distinguishing between multiple feasible polymorph types. They also provide critical insight into the factors controlling polymorphism. All this stems from a delicate balance that the intermolecular D3 and solvent Floris, Tomasi and Pascual–Ahuir corrections provide. Combined optimised treatments should yield fully quantitative approaches in the future.     

参松养心胶囊对心房颤动患者P波离散度及血清炎性因子水平的影响*

目的:探讨参松养心胶囊对心房颤动(AF)患者P波离散度(Pd)及血清炎性因子水平的影响,为临床用药提供依据。方法:将西安交通大学第一附属医院2016年3月-2018年1月收治的AF患者纳入本研究,共148例。所有患者根据不同的治疗方式分为对照组和观察组。对照组(n=74)接受常规治疗,观察组(n=74)在对照组基础上加用参松养心胶囊,两组均治疗8周。比较两组患者治疗后的临床疗效,观察并比较两组患者治疗前及治疗后的Pd、最大P波时限(Pmax)变化情况,检测两组患者治疗前及治疗后的血清炎性因子水平,记录不良反应发生情况。结果:观察组总有效率为89.19%(66/74),高于对照组的70.27%(52/74)(P0.05)。两组患者治疗后的Pmax、Pd均明显降低,且观察组患者治疗后的Pmax、Pd均明显低于对照组(P0.05)。两组患者治疗后的血清炎性因子水平均明显降低,且与对照组相比,观察组患者治疗后的血清肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、高敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、白介素-6(IL-6)水平均降低(P0.05)。两组不良反应发生情况比较无统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:参松养心胶囊治疗AF患者安全有效,能明显减轻炎性反应,改善患者心功能。     

Surviving background extinction: Inferences from historic and current dynamics in the contrasting population structures of two endemic Mexican cycads

Ecological and microevolutionary perspectives were used to investigate signs of background extinction in two endemic species. We studied relict populations of the cycad Dioon caputoi, contrasting its population structure and neighborhood size with those of Dioon planifolium as a demographically healthier reference population. Population dynamics analysis was performed on two populations of D. caputoi through Integral Projection Models and genetic neighborhoods compared between species through 172 Inter Simple Sequence Repeat loci performed in one population of each of the two study species. The D. caputoi populations mostly comprised adult plants, while D. planifolium presented mainly juvenile individuals. Dioon caputoi showed equilibrium in population growth (i.e., λ ≈ 1), with low recruitment, and its genetic neighborhood revealed highly related individuals in a unique distance class (r_ij = 0.407, 33 m). A contrasting pattern was found in D. planifolium, which showed higher relatedness in the first distance class (r_ij = 0.543, 5 m), gradually decreasing to 20 m. The discrepancies between the two species reflect different strategies of persistence. Dioon caputoi conserves a relict dynamics with signs of a multigenerational, attritional loss of reproductive fitness, while D. planifolium does not. This study furthers our understanding of the background extinction process and the information will thus contribute to the management and conservation of this endangered species.     

Effects of substrate patterning on cellular spheroid growth and dynamics measured by gradient light interference microscopy (GLIM)

The development of three‐dimensional (3D) cellular architectures during development and pathological processes involves intricate migratory patterns that are modulated by genetics and the surrounding microenvironment. The substrate composition of cell cultures has been demonstrated to influence growth, proliferation and migration in 2D. Here, we study the growth and dynamics of mouse embryonic fibroblast cultures patterned in a tissue sheet which then exhibits 3D growth. Using gradient light interference microscopy (GLIM), a label‐free quantitative phase imaging approach, we explored the influence of geometry on cell growth patterns and rotational dynamics. We apply, for the first time to our knowledge, dispersion‐relation phase spectroscopy (DPS) in polar coordinates to generate the radial and rotational cell mass‐transport. Our data show that cells cultured on engineered substrates undergo rotational transport in a radially independent manner and exhibit faster vertical growth than the control, unpatterned cells. The use of GLIM and polar DPS provides a novel quantitative approach to studying the effects of spatially patterned substrates on cell motility and growth.     

街谷绿化消减机动车排放污染物的研究方法与进展

随着街道两侧建筑群向高密度、高层化发展,传统“树越多越好”的绿化模式在应对城市街谷空气污染时是否适用受到广泛关注。明晰街谷绿化植物特征及其种植设计模式对机动车排放污染物消减的调控机理是发挥其提升街谷空气品质的重要前提。本文通过对近年国内外相关文献的梳理,比较分析了现场观测、风洞试验和数值模拟3种研究方法的适用性及局限性,详细剖析了行道树、绿篱两类绿化模式对街谷空气污染物扩散与沉降的影响机制,提出了一套面向空气质量提升的街谷绿化适应性设计工作框架。最后,分别从典型街谷绿化设计图示语言研制、街谷空气污染暴露评估技术指南编制、计算机流体力学模型中街谷绿化效应物理过程参数化方案优化等方面进行探讨,以期为后续研究提供思路和借鉴。     

Molecular epidemiology of plasmid mediated resistance to fosfomycin among bacteria isolated from different environments

In this report we present data on the dispersion of a gene responsible for the plasmid-mediated resistance to fosfomycin among bacteria isolated from four hospitals and seven geographically separated domestic sewage treatment plants. Colony hybridization experiments, using a 0.85 kbp DNA fragment which carried the fosfomycin resistance determinant, have shown that the gene was present in isolates from three hospitals and six sewage plants although with different incidence and that it is carried by species of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus and Bacillus .