Application of plant DNA metabarcoding of lake sediments for monitoring vegetation compositions on the Tibetan Plateau

Benefiting from the rapid development of environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies, sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) emerges as a promising tool for monitoring plant compositions in remote regions. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), renowned for its harsh environment and numerous ponds and lakes, presents a potentially demanding region for the application of sedDNA on vegetation investigations. Here, we used the g and h universal primers for the P6 loop region of the chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron to amplify plant DNA in surface sediments from 59 ponds and small lakes on the southwestern TP. The applicability and limitations of using plant DNA metabarcoding for modern vegetation monitoring and palaeo-vegetation reconstructions have been assessed by comparing sedDNA, pollen, and vegetation survey data. Our results showed that plant DNA metabarcoding recorded 186 terrestrial taxa, of which 30.1% can be identified at the species level. The plant sedDNA approach can effectively disclose the dominant plant taxa (including Asteraceae, Cyperaceae and Poaceae) and significant vegetation assemblages in the vicinity of the investigated sites. The number of taxa and taxonomic resolution of plant sedDNA exceeded that of pollen analysis (75 taxa detected, 5.3% can be identified at species level). Unlike pollen that retains a broad spectrum of regional plant signals (including Pinus and Artemisia), plant sedDNA mirrors very local plants, underscoring its utility in local vegetation monitoring and reconstructions. To conclude, plant DNA metabarcoding of (small) lake sediments warrant increased attention in the future for local vegetation monitoring and reconstructions on the TP

The jumping mechanism of flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Alticini), its application to bionics and preliminary design for a robotic jumping leg

Flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) are a hyperdiverse group of organisms with approximately 9900 species worldwide. In addition to walking as most insects do, nearly all the species of flea beetles have an ability to jump and this ability is commonly understood as one of the key adaptations responsible for its diversity. Our investigation of flea beetle jumping is based on high-speed filming, micro- CT scans and 3D reconstructions, and provides a mechanical description of the jump. We reveal that the flea beetle jumping mechanism is a catapult in nature and is enabled by a small structure in the hind femur called an ‘elastic plate’ which powers the explosive jump and protects other structures from potential injury. The explosive catapult jump of flea beetles involves a unique ‘high-efficiency mechanism’ and ‘positive feedback mechanism’. As this catapult mechanism could inspire the design of bionic jumping limbs, we provide a preliminary design for a robotic jumping leg, which could be a resource for the bionics industry

Dynamic Succession of Microbial Communities in Soybean Paste Made with Broomcorn Millet as an Additive and Its Correlation with Flavor and Nutritional Properties during the Brewing Process

To obtain a full understanding the quality and microbial characteristics of soybean paste made from a mixture of soybean and broomcorn millet flour, its physicochemical properties (amino nitrogen and nitrite), and total phenols (TP), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), free amino acids (FAAs), volatile compounds, and microbial community composition were investigated. The results showed that the amino nitrogen content increased to 0.71%, and the nitrite content decreased to within the standard range (1.37 mg/kg). The contents of TP, key FAAs and volatile compounds increased significantly during the fermentation process. The core microbial communities included Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Aspergillus, and Alternaria. The results of correlation analysis confirmed that bacteria (Bacillus, Knoellia, and Blastococcus) and fungi (Epicoccum and Saccharomyces) played a significant role in the bioactivity changes and flavor generation in soybean paste. This study will be of great significance for understanding the quality and flavor of novel soybean paste made with cereal flour as an additive

Revisiting the concentration observations and source apportionment of atmospheric ammonia

While China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan on particulate matter since 2013 has reduced sulfate significantly, aerosol ammonium nitrate remains high in East China. As the high nitrate abundances are strongly linked with ammonia, reducing ammonia emissions is becoming increasingly important to improve the air quality of China. Although satellite data provide evidence of substantial increases in atmospheric ammonia concentrations over major agricultural regions, long-term surface observation of ammonia concentrations are sparse. In addition, there is still no consensus on whether agricultural or non-agricultural emissions dominate the urban ammonia budget. Identifying the ammonia source by nitrogen isotope helps in designing a mitigation strategy for policymakers, but existing methods have not been well validated. Revisiting the concentration measurements and identifying source apportionment of atmospheric ammonia is thus an essential step towards reducing ammonia emissions

Genetic Drivers of Heterogeneity in Type 2 Diabetes Pathophysiology

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (P \u3c 5 × 10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care

Genetic drivers of heterogeneity in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease that develops through diverse pathophysiological processes1,2 and molecular mechanisms that are often specific to cell type3,4. Here, to characterize the genetic contribution to these processes across ancestry groups, we aggregate genome-wide association study data from 2,535,601 individuals (39.7% not of European ancestry), including 428,452 cases of T2D. We identify 1,289 independent association signals at genome-wide significance (P &lt; 5 × 10-8) that map to 611 loci, of which 145 loci are, to our knowledge, previously unreported. We define eight non-overlapping clusters of T2D signals that are characterized by distinct profiles of cardiometabolic trait associations. These clusters are differentially enriched for cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin, including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, endothelial cells and enteroendocrine cells. We build cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores5 in a further 279,552 individuals of diverse ancestry, including 30,288 cases of T2D, and test their association with T2D-related vascular outcomes. Cluster-specific partitioned polygenic scores are associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy across ancestry groups, highlighting the importance of obesity-related processes in the development of vascular outcomes. Our findings show the value of integrating multi-ancestry genome-wide association study data with single-cell epigenomics to disentangle the aetiological heterogeneity that drives the development and progression of T2D. This might offer a route to optimize global access to genetically informed diabetes care.</p

A green approach for the synthesis of π conjugated phosphonium salts under visible-light irradiation using air as oxidant

We have developed a strategy for synthesizing π-conjugated phosphonium salts through visible-light-induced cyclization of aryl phosphines in the presence of air and protonic acid. The mechanism study revealed that this C−H bond activation/cyclization of aryl phosphine reaction was initiated from the homolysis of P-H bond of phosphonium salts, which is induced by visible light. This reaction is transition metal free, exhibits good chemo-selectivity and has a high atomic economy

Evaluating the Effects of Renewable Energy Consumption on Carbon Emissions of China&rsquo;s Provinces: Based on Spatial Durbin Model

Renewable energy consumption is considered as the main form of energy consumption in the future. The carbon emissions produced by renewable energy can be approximately ignored, and renewable energy is essential for regional sustainable development. In this study, we used the Durbin model with panel data to explore the spatial dependence between renewable energy consumption the and carbon emissions of China&rsquo;s 30 provinces from 1997 to 2017. The results show that: (1) there is a negative spatial correlation between renewable energy consumption and carbon emissions, and &ldquo;High-Low&rdquo; areas are mainly concentrated in southern provinces in 1997&ndash;2011; (2) the center of gravity of renewable energy consumption moves southwest, which is consistent with the center of gravity of carbon emissions; (3) renewable energy consumption has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions of a local region, but the spatial spillover effect is not significant. Specifically, a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption in a region will reduce carbon emissions by 0.05%. Finally, on the basis of this study, it was proposed to give full play to the advantages of renewable energy in the western region, and further accelerate the development of the renewable energy industry

Effect of Different Polymerized Xylooligosaccharides on the Metabolic Pathway in Bifidobacterium adolescentis

Metabolic pathway analysis of Bifidobacterium adolescent (B. adolescentis) grown on either xylobiose and xylotriose (X2/X3) or xylopentaose (X5) and identifying key regulatory-related genes and metabolites from RNA-seq and UHPLC system was performed. Compared with X5, X2/X3 highly promoted the growth of B. adolescentis. Also, the transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 268 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of B. adolescentis cultured with X2/X3 and X5 were screened, including 163 upregulated and 105 downregulated genes (X2/X3 vs. X5), which mainly were ABC transporters. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR results of 16 DGEs validated the accuracy of the RNA-seq data. Meanwhile, metabolomics analysis showed that 192 differential metabolites noted on MS2 included 127 upregulated and 65 downregulated metabolites; mainly, metabolites were amino acids and organic acids. The abundance difference of specific genes and metabolites highlighted regulatory mechanisms involved in utilizing different polymerized xylooligosaccharides by B. adolescentis