Enhanced Anaerobic Biodegradation of Benzoate Under Sulfate-Reducing Conditions With Conductive Iron-Oxides in Sediment of Pearl River Estuary

Anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds under sulfate-reducing conditions is important to marine sediments. Sulfate respiration by a single bacterial strain and syntrophic metabolism by a syntrophic bacterial consortium are primary strategies for sulfate-dependent biodegradation of aromatic compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of conductive iron oxides to facilitate the degradation of aromatic compounds under sulfate-reducing conditions in marine sediments, using benzoate as a model aromatic compound. Here, in anaerobic incubations of sediments from the Pearl River Estuary, the addition of hematite or magnetite (20 mM as Fe atom) enhanced the rates of sulfate-dependent benzoate degradation by 81.8 and 91.5%, respectively, compared with control incubations without iron oxides. Further experiments demonstrated that the rate of sulfate-dependent benzoate degradation accelerated with increased magnetite concentration (5, 10, and 20 mM). The detection of acetate as an intermediate product implied syntrophic benzoate degradation pathway, which was also supported by the abundance of putative acetate- or/and H2-utilizing sulfate reducers from microbial community analysis. Microbial reduction of iron oxides under sulfate-reducing conditions only accounted for 2–11% of electrons produced by benzoate oxidation, thus the stimulatory effect of conductive iron oxides on sulfate-dependent benzoate degradation was not mainly due to an increased pool of terminal electron acceptors. The enhanced rates of syntrophic benzoate degradation by the presence of conductive iron oxides probably resulted from the establishment of a direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between syntrophic partners. In the presence of magnetite, Bacteroidetes and Desulfobulbaceae with potential function of extracellular electron transfer might be involved in syntrophic benzoate degradation. Results from this study will contribute to the development of new strategies for in situ bioremediation of anaerobic sediments contaminated with aromatic compounds, and provide a new perspective for the natural attenuation of aromatic compounds in iron-rich marine sediments

Genomic selection analysis of morphological and adaptation traits in Chinese indigenous dog breeds

The significant morphological differences and abundant germplasm resources of Chinese indigenous dog breeds can be attributed to the diverse geographical environment, including plateaus, mountains, and a long history of raising dogs. The combination of both natural and artificial selection during the past several thousand years has led to hundreds of dog breeds with distinct morphological traits and environmental adaptations. China is one of the earliest countries to domesticate dogs and there are more than 50 ancient indigenous dog breeds. In this study, the run of homozygosity (ROH) and proportion of the autosomal genome covered by ROHs (FROH) were calculated for 10 dog breeds that are the most representative Chinese indigenous dogs based on 170K SNP microarray. The results of FROH showed that the Chuandong hound dogs (HCSSC) have the highest level of inbreeding among the tested breeds. The inbreeding in HCSSC occurred more recently than the Liangshan dogs (SCLSQ) dogs because of more numbers of long ROHs in HCSSC dogs, and the former also have higher inbreeding degree. In addition, there are significant differences in the inbreeding degree among different subpopulations of the same breed, such as the Thin dogs from Shaanxi and Shandong province. To explore genome-wide selection signatures among different breeds, including coat color, ear shape, and altitude adaptability, we performed genome selection analyses of FST and cross population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH). For the coat color, the FST analysis between Xiasi dogs (XSGZ) and HCSSC dogs was performed and identified multiple genes involved in coat color, hair follicle, and bone development, including MC1R, KITLG, SOX5, RSPO2, and TBX15. For the plateau adaptability, we performed FST and XP-EHH analyses between dogs from Tibet (Tibetan Mastiffs and Nyingchi dogs) and plain regions (Guangxi Biwei dogs GXBWQ and Guandong Sharpei dogs). The results showed the EPAS1 gene in dogs from Tibet undergo strong selection. Multiple genes identified for selection signals based on different usage of dogs. Furthermore, the results of ear shape analyses showed that MSRB3 was likely to be the main gene causing the drop ear of domestic dogs. Our study provides new insights into further understanding of Chinese indigenous dogs

Spatial Heterogeneity of Public Service Facilities in the Living Circle and Its Influence on Housing Prices: A Case Study of Central Urban Dalian, China

The spatial layout of public service facilities (PSFs) markedly influences residents’ quality of life. Based on Baidu map data, spatial information on 27,552 PSFs across eight categories was collected for urban Dalian, China, and analyzed using the nearest neighbor index and nuclear density. Then, PSF accessibility across eight dimensions of residential quarters was calculated based on the cumulative opportunity method, and its impact on housing prices was analyzed. The results revealed the following: (1) The degree of spatial agglomeration for PSFs varied, with that of business facilities being higher than that of other public welfare facilities. The distribution of business facilities was characterized by a dense center and sparse periphery, whereas public welfare facilities were laid out in a relatively balanced “multi-center” distribution across the study area. (2) Significant spatial differences in the number and types of accessible resident facilities were identified. The number of accessible PSFs in the core area of central urban regions was large and the types were relatively complete, whereas the accessible PSFs in the western and northern marginal areas were limited in number, few in type, and lacking across certain categories, such as educational facilities and life services. (3) The spatial distribution of PSF accessibility was unbalanced. The accessibility of various PSFs in the Shahekou District was the highest, followed by that in the Zhongshan, Xigang, and Ganjingzi Districts. (4) The accessibility of educational, sport, and cultural facilities, and the total accessibility and greening rate of residential areas were the most significantly positively correlated with housing prices; however, the number of households in residential areas and the distances between residential areas and large shopping centers were significantly negatively correlated. Our findings will expand the research perspective of PSFs, provide a basis for meeting residents’ needs and a rational allocation of PSFs, and provide references for people’s decisions to buy houses

Forests and Forestry in Support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Bibliometric Analysis

To address the world’s ongoing environmental challenges, 193 countries have committed to 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) concerning the economy, society, and the environment. However, there are gaps in our understanding of forests and forestry support SDGs. Through a systematized review, we identified which SDGs are relevant to forests and forestry at the target level, along with their interactions (synergies or tradeoffs). In addition, a bibliometric analysis of 377 papers was conducted worldwide between 2015 and 2020, to elucidate the status and development trends of SDG research related to forests and forestry in this study. The research results show that: (1) 11 SDGs and 19 targets are related to forests and forestry, and 47 are interactions between SDG15 and other targets, including 35 synergy effects and 12 tradeoff effects. (2) The USA is the highest publication output country, while the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the highest publication output institution, and Jianguo Liu of the University of Michigan is the highest publication output author. (3) The keyword co-occurrence analysis results show that the research hotspots mainly focused on the impacts of and responses to climate change, biodiversity conservation, land resource protection and management, remote sensing, the impacts of deforestation, and the promotion of sustainable development through governance. (4) The co-citation results reveal the existence of nine research themes: human well-being, food security, land use, land productivity, land tenure, tree loss, simulation models, criteria, and resilience

Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 Promotes Obesity Resistance in Mice

Alterations in the gut microbiome have been linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes, in epidemiologic studies and studies of fecal transfer effects in germ-free mice. Here, we aimed to identify the effects of specific gut microbes on the phenotype of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). After eight weeks of HFD feeding, male C57BL/6J mice in the HFD group ranking in the upper and lower quartiles for body weight gain were considered obese prone and obese resistant, respectively. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to determine the composition of the intestinal microbiota, and fecal transplantation (FMT) was conducted to determine whether the microbiota plays a causal role in phenotypic variation. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 was more abundant in the gut microbes of mice with a lean phenotype than in those with an obese phenotype. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 was identified as the most significant biomarker for alleviating obesity by random forest analysis. In a correlation analysis of serum parameters and body weight, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 was positively associated with serum HDL-C levels and negatively associated with serum TC, TG, and LDL-C levels. To conclude, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 was identified as a novel microbiome biomarker for obesity resistance, which may serve as a basis for understanding the critical gut microbes responsible for obesity resistance. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 may serve as a target for microbiome-based diagnoses and treatments in the future

The Response of Land Surface Temperature Changes to the Vegetation Dynamics in the Yangtze River Basin

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter in the study of surface energy balance and climate change from local through to global scales. Vegetation has inevitably influenced the LST by changing the surface properties. However, the thermal environment pattern in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) still remains unclear after the implementation of large-scale ecological restoration projects. In this study, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of LST were analyzed based on the Theil–Sen estimator, Mann–Kendall trend analysis and Hurst exponent from 2003 to 2021. The relationships between vegetation and LST were further revealed by using correlation analysis and trajectory-based analysis. The results showed that the interannual LST was in a state of fluctuation and rise, and the increasing rate at night time (0.035 °C·yr−1) was faster than that at day time (0.007 °C·yr−1). An obvious cooling trend could be identified from 2007 to 2012, followed by a rapid warming. Seasonally, the warming speed was the fastest in summer and the slowest in autumn. Additionally, it was found that autumn LST had a downward trend of 0.073 °C·yr−1 after 2015. Spatially, the Yangtze River Delta, Hubei province, and central Sichuan province had a significant warming trend in all seasons, except autumn. The northern Guizhou province and Chongqing showed a remarkable cooling trend only in autumn. The Hurst exponent results indicated that the spring LST change was more consistent than the other three seasons. It was found by studying the effect of land cover types on LST changes that sparse vegetation had a more significant effect than dense vegetation. Vegetation greening contributed 0.0187 °C·yr−1 to the increase in LST in winter, which was spatially concentrated in the central region of the YRB. For the other three seasons, vegetation greening slowed the LST increase, and the degree of the effect decreased sequentially in autumn, summer, spring and winter. These results improve the understanding of past and future variations in LST and highlight the importance of vegetation for temperature change mitigation

The Response of Land Surface Temperature Changes to the Vegetation Dynamics in the Yangtze River Basin

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter in the study of surface energy balance and climate change from local through to global scales. Vegetation has inevitably influenced the LST by changing the surface properties. However, the thermal environment pattern in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) still remains unclear after the implementation of large-scale ecological restoration projects. In this study, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of LST were analyzed based on the Theil–Sen estimator, Mann–Kendall trend analysis and Hurst exponent from 2003 to 2021. The relationships between vegetation and LST were further revealed by using correlation analysis and trajectory-based analysis. The results showed that the interannual LST was in a state of fluctuation and rise, and the increasing rate at night time (0.035 °C·yr−1) was faster than that at day time (0.007 °C·yr−1). An obvious cooling trend could be identified from 2007 to 2012, followed by a rapid warming. Seasonally, the warming speed was the fastest in summer and the slowest in autumn. Additionally, it was found that autumn LST had a downward trend of 0.073 °C·yr−1 after 2015. Spatially, the Yangtze River Delta, Hubei province, and central Sichuan province had a significant warming trend in all seasons, except autumn. The northern Guizhou province and Chongqing showed a remarkable cooling trend only in autumn. The Hurst exponent results indicated that the spring LST change was more consistent than the other three seasons. It was found by studying the effect of land cover types on LST changes that sparse vegetation had a more significant effect than dense vegetation. Vegetation greening contributed 0.0187 °C·yr−1 to the increase in LST in winter, which was spatially concentrated in the central region of the YRB. For the other three seasons, vegetation greening slowed the LST increase, and the degree of the effect decreased sequentially in autumn, summer, spring and winter. These results improve the understanding of past and future variations in LST and highlight the importance of vegetation for temperature change mitigation

Multilineage Potential Research of Bovine Amniotic Fluid Mesenchymal Stem Cells

The use of amnion and amniotic fluid (AF) are abundant sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that can be harvested at low cost and do not pose ethical conflicts. In human and veterinary research, stem cells derived from these tissues are promising candidates for disease treatment, specifically for their plasticity, their reduced immunogenicity, and high anti-inflammatory potential. This work aimed to obtain and characterize bovine amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AFMSC). The bovine AF from the amniotic cavity of pregnant gilts in the early stages of gestation (3- and 4-m-old bovine embryos) was collected. AFMSCs exhibit a fibroblastic-like morphology only starting from the fourth passage, being heterogeneous during the primary culture. Immunofluorescence results showed that AFMSCs were positive for β-integrin, CD44, CD73 and CD166, but negative for CD34, CD45. Meanwhile, AFMSCs expressed ES cell markers, such as Oct4, and when appropriately induced, are capable of differentiating into ectodermal and mesodermal lineages. This study reinforces the emerging importance of these cells as ideal tools in veterinary medicine; future studies aimed at a deeper evaluation of their immunological properties will allow a better understanding of their role in cellular therapy