Fungal community remediate quartz tailings soil under plant combined with urban sludge treatments

IntroductionTailings can cause extensive damage to soil structure and microbial community. Phytoremediation is an effective strategy for remedied tailings soil due to its environmentally friendly and low-cost advantage. Fungi play a crucial role in nutrient cycling, stress resistance, stabilizing soil structure, and promoting plant growth. However, the fungal community variation in phytoremediation remains largely unexplored.MethodsWe analyzed soil fungal community based on high-throughput sequencing during three plant species combined with urban sludge to remediate quartz tailings soil.ResultsThe results indicated that the fungal diversity was significantly increased with plant diversity, and the highest fungal diversity was in the three plant species combination treatments. Moreover, the fungal diversity was significantly decreased with the addition of urban sludge compared with plant treatments, while the abundance of potential beneficial fungi such as Cutaneotrichosporon, Apiotrichum, and Alternaria were increased. Notably, the fungal community composition in different plant species combination treatments were significant difference at the genus level. The addition of urban sludge increased pH, available phosphorus (AP), and available nitrogen (AN) content that were the main drivers for fungal community composition. Furthermore, the fungal networks of the plant treatments had more nodes and edges, higher connectedness, and lower modularity than plant combined with urban sludge treatments.ConclusionOur results showed that three plant species combined with urban sludge treatments improved fungal community and soil properties. Our results provide insights for quartz tailings soil remediation using plant-fungi- urban sludge

Quasi-solid-state electrolyte for rechargeable high-temperature molten salt iron-air battery

Molten salts are a unique type of electrolyte enabling high-temperature electrochemical energy storage (EES) with unmatched reversible electrode kinetics and high ion-conductivities, and hence impressive storage capacity and power capability. However, their high tendency to evaporate and flow at high temperatures challenges the design and fabrication of the respective EES devices in terms of manufacturing cost and cycling durability. On the other hand, most of these EES devices require lithium-containing molten salts as the electrolyte to enhance performances, which not only increases the cost but also demands a share of the already limited lithium resources. Here we report a novel quasi-solid-state (QSS) electrolyte, consisting of the molten eutectic mixture of Na2CO3-K2CO3 and nanoparticles of yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) in a mass ratio of 1:1. The QSS electrolyte has relatively lower volatility in comparison with the pristine molten Na2CO3-K2CO3 eutectic, and therefore significantly suppresses the evaporation of molten salts, thanks to a strong interaction at the interface between molten salt and YSZ nanoparticles at high temperatures. The QSS electrolyte was used to construct an iron-air battery that performed excellently in charge-discharge cycling with high columbic and energy efficiencies. We also propose and confirm a redox mechanism at the three-phase interlines in the negative electrode. These findings can help establish a simpler and more efficient approach to designing low-cost and high-performance molten salt metal-air batteries with high stability and safety

Viscoelastic Boundary Conditions for Multiple Excitation Sources in the Time Domain

Transmitting boundaries are important for modeling the wave propagation in the finite element analysis of dynamic foundation problems. In this study, viscoelastic boundaries for multiple seismic waves or excitations sources were derived for two-dimensional and three-dimensional conditions in the time domain, which were proved to be solid by finite element models. Then, the method for equivalent forces’ input of seismic waves was also described when the proposed artificial boundaries were applied. Comparisons between numerical calculations and analytical results validate this seismic excitation input method. The seismic response of subway station under different seismic loads input methods indicates that asymmetric input seismic loads would cause different deformations from the symmetric input seismic loads, and whether it would increase or decrease the seismic response depends on the parameters of the specific structure and surrounding soil

A Time-Scale Varying Finite Difference Method for Analyzing the Influence of Rainfall and Water Level on the Stability of a Bank Slope

A time-scale varying finite difference method (TSFDM) was proposed to analyze the influence of rainfall infiltration and water level fluctuation on the stability of a bank slope in the Yunnan Pulang tailings pond. The stability of the slope obtained by the TSFDM and the limit equilibrium method (LEM) were compared. The result indicates that the TSFDM can obtain reliable spatiotemporal variation features of geotechnical parameters of the bank slope under different conditions. The water level fluctuation has a greater impact on the stability than rainfall infiltration. In addition, the safety factor decreases as the shear strain rate increases on the weathering interface. The safety factors under all conditions are smaller than one, so corresponding measures should be taken. The research provides references for preventing disasters caused by bank slope failure

Superior mesenteric artery embolism after radiofrequency ablation in regularly anticoagulated patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: a case report

Abstract Background Superior mesenteric artery embolism (SMAE) is a rare cause of acute abdomen, and the fatality rate is extremely high if it is not diagnosed and treated in time. Due to the lack of knowledge and experience of nonspecialist physicians, it is easy to misdiagnose. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has become the first-line treatment strategy for atrial fibrillation (AF). Thromboembolic events are some of the major complications after RFA, whereas SMAE is rarely reported. Case presentation A 70 year-old woman with paroxysmal AF who regularly took anticoagulant drugs for 3 months experienced abdominal pain after RFA. At the outset, she was misdiagnosed as mechanical intestinal obstruction. When the patient presented with blood in the stool, abdominal enhancement computed tomography was conducted and showed a small bowel perforation. Immediate laparotomy was performed, and the final diagnosis was SMAE. Conclusion It is suggested that for unexplained abdominal pain after RFA of AF, the possibility of SMAE should be considered, and a targeted examination should be carried out in time to confirm the diagnosis and give appropriate treatment

Involvement of gut-brain communication in arsenite-induced neurobehavioral impairments in adult male mice

Arsenite is a well-documented neurotoxic metalloid that widely distributes in the natural environment. However, it remains largely unclear how arsenite affects neurological function. Therefore, in this study, the healthy adult male mice were exposed to 0.5 mg/L and 5 mg/L arsenite through drinking water for 30 and 90 days, respectively. Our results showed that there was no significant alteration in the intestine and brain for 30 days exposure, but exposure to arsenite for 90 days significantly induced a reduction of locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior, caused pathological damage and inflammatory responses in the brain and intestine. We also found that arsenite remarkably disrupted intestinal barrier integrity, decreased the levels of lysozyme and digestive enzymes. Intriguingly, chronic exposure to arsenite significantly changed the levels of gut-brain peptides. Taken together, this study provides meaningful insights that gut-brain communication may involve in the neurobehavioral impairments of arsenite