Optimizing nitrogen and phosphorus application to improve soil organic carbon and alfalfa hay yield in alfalfa fields

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the principal factor contributing to enhanced soil fertility and also functions as the major carbon sink within terrestrial ecosystems. Applying fertilizer is a crucial agricultural practice that enhances SOC and promotes crop yields. Nevertheless, the response of SOC, active organic carbon fraction and hay yield to nitrogen and phosphorus application is still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of nitrogen-phosphorus interactions on SOC, active organic carbon fractions and hay yield in alfalfa fields. A two-factor randomized group design was employed in this study, with two nitrogen levels of 0 kg·ha-1 (N0) and 120 kg·ha-1 (N1) and four phosphorus levels of 0 kg·ha-1 (P0), 50 kg·ha-1 (P1), 100 kg·ha-1 (P2) and 150 kg·ha-1 (P3). The results showed that the nitrogen and phosphorus treatments increased SOC, easily oxidized organic carbon (EOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and hay yield in alfalfa fields, and increased with the duration of fertilizer application, reaching a maximum under N1P2 or N1P3 treatments. The increases in SOC, EOC, DOC, POC, MBC content and hay yield in the 0–60 cm soil layer of the alfalfa field were 9.11%-21.85%, 1.07%-25.01%, 6.94%-22.03%, 10.36%-44.15%, 26.46%-62.61% and 5.51%-23.25% for the nitrogen and phosphorus treatments, respectively. The vertical distribution of SOC, EOC, DOC and POC contents under all nitrogen and phosphorus treatments was highest in the 0–20 cm soil layer and tended to decrease with increasing depth of the soil layer. The MBC content was highest in the 10–30 cm soil layer. DOC/SOC, MBC/SOC (excluding N0P1 treatment) and POC/SOC were all higher in the 0–40 cm soil layer of the alfalfa field compared to the N0P0 treatment, indicating that the nitrogen and phosphorus treatments effectively improved soil fertility, while EOC/SOC and DOC/SOC were both lower in the 40–60 cm soil layer than in the N0P0 treatment, indicating that the nitrogen and phosphorus treatments improved soil carbon sequestration potential. The soil layer between 0-30 cm exhibited the highest sensitivity index for MBC, whereas the soil layer between 30-60 cm had the highest sensitivity index for POC. This suggests that the indication for changes in SOC due to nitrogen and phosphorus treatment shifted from MBC to POC as the soil depth increased. Meanwhile, except the 20–30 cm layer of soil in the N0P1 treatment and the 20–50 cm layer in the N1P0 treatment, all fertilizers enhanced the soil Carbon management index (CMI) to varying degrees. Structural equation modeling shows that nitrogen and phosphorus indirectly affect SOC content by changing the content of the active organic carbon fraction, and that SOC is primarily impacted by POC and MBC. The comprehensive assessment indicated that the N1P2 treatment was the optimal fertilizer application pattern. In summary, the nitrogen and phosphorus treatments improved soil fertility in the 0–40 cm soil layer and soil carbon sequestration potential in the 40–60 cm soil layer of alfalfa fields. In agroecosystems, a recommended application rate of 120 kg·ha-1 for nitrogen and 100 kg·ha-1 for phosphorus is the most effective in increasing SOC content, soil carbon pool potential and alfalfa hay yield

Comments on Cyber Copyright Disputes in the People\u27s Republic of China: Maintaining the Status Quo While Expanding the Doctrine of Profit-Making Purposes

This Article addresses the status of cyber copyright disputes in the People\u27s Republic of China with an inside view of the government\u27s influence and control over copyrighted works. Examining cyber copyright case law, the authors seek to answer the question of whether China\u27s 2001 Copyright Law will lead to an increase in royalty payments under a fair distribution system. The need for equitable, consistent enforcement is pressing, as the proliferation of copyrighted material through mobile phone and Internet use is rapidly increasing. In China, all current-affairs news first flows through state-run news organizations. Thus, in order to post the news, commercial websites must contract with the state-run organizations over reprinting fees. The reprinting fees lead to the need for constant monitoring of other websites and to frequent copyright disputes over misappropriated articles. The top two commercial websites in China, sina.com and sohu.com, have sued each other for illegally reprinting copyrighted material. The outcomes of these suits will have far-reaching effects on the Internet user\u27s ability to obtain and distribute online news and other copyrighted content. Since 2001, China\u27s copyright laws have thinly protected databases as compilations. Commercial website owners prefer to protect the contents of their web pages as databases without claiming protection for pages as a whole. The websites adapt the news articles and claim copyrights through derivative works. However, the authors argue that the article in sina.com v. sohu.com should be considered news on current affairs and thus exempt from copyright protection. The authors acknowledge that commercial websites would welcome further copyright legislation on news content, but they do not believe such legislation would be beneficial because it would merely strengthen state-owned enterprises\u27 economic power and social influence. State-owned organizations and legal entities control most TV stations, all foreign news, and up to 60% of the stock in China\u27s publicly owned companies. Peer-to-peer networks allowing MP3 file sharing websites have boomed in China. However, recent legislation has limited free exploitation by requiring prior permission and fee payments to owners of digital works. Unauthorized users commit infringement when they share copyrightable MP3 files. Thus, the proliferation of free music through personal websites is rapidly decreasing, while prices for authorized online music have skyrocketed. The majority of China\u27s copyright infringers on the Internet are students. The authors believe that the sweeping copyright legislation aimed at students will further stifle the students\u27 freedom to learn about foreign cultures. The authors also assert that China should tolerate the free development of personal websites and instead expand the profit-making doctrine to prevent copyright infringement. Hastily introducing foreign copyright schemes into the socialistic Chinese economy may lead to cultural tragedy and to further interference with the thoughts and feelings of Chinese individuals

A discussion of prospecting direction for the Chelugoubei Gold Deposit in Gansu Province: The enlightening from contrast analysis of the geological conditions of "Golden Triangle" gold deposits in eastern segment of Altyn fault shearing zones

Chelugoubei Gold Deposit in Yumen City, Gansu Province is located at the intersection of the western North Qilian Orogenic Belts and eastern Altyn Tagh Sinistral strike-slip fault shearing zones, which is a famous "golden triangle" in Northwest China. The formation of the deposit is closely related to the left-side Altyn fault shearing zone and the output is controlled by the secondary branch fault zone. The Paleozoic stratum is the main source layer of the mine, which is generally high in gold content in the region. The regional magmatic activity is strong and closely associated with the gold (mineralization) body. The Chelugou granodiorite complex provides heat source and part mine source for the deposit. Combined with the regional metallogenic background and using the method of comprehensive analogy of regional deposits, the authors compared the ore-controlling factors, such as strata structure magmatic rock physicochemical remote anomaly characteristics, as well as ore bodies, ores surrounding rock alteration and other geological characteristics of the deposits in detail, including Chelugoubei Gold Deposit, Hanshan Deposit, Yingzuishan Deposit, Dishuishan Deposit and other "gold triangle" deposits. It can be concluded that the Chellugoubei Gold Deposit has similar ore-controlling factors and very similar geological characteristics with the above-mentioned gold deposits. As an extension of the "Golden Triangle" gold belt in the Northeast China, it has the potential of concealed large-scale deep deposit. On this basis, the prospecting model of "Golden Triangle" gold deposits is further systematically summarized, and the prospecting criteria and prospecting direction have been discussed. The research result can provide some enlightenment for the further exploration of tectonic altered rock type gold deposit in this area and the North Qilian area

Nonlinear adaptive sliding mode control for a rotary inverted pendulum

Due to the nature of Proportional-Integrative-Derivative (PID) controller, the inverted pendulum will seldom be in the steady state in a noisy uncertainty environment, which degrades the usefulness of PID controller in a system that requires high precision. Lyapunov-based sliding mode and adaptive controllers are proposed for a rotary inverted pendulum in this research. They are applied to stabilize the pendulum around the balancing state in the Lyapunov sense. Both the simulation and the experimental results show that not only can strong robustness with respect to system uncertainties and nonlinearities be obtained but also the pendulum position can dynamically converge to the desired balancing state by using nonlinear Lyapunov-based controllers

Non-linear sliding mode control for a rotary inverted pendulum

Due to the nature of PID controller, the inverted pendulum will seldom be in the steady state in a noisy uncertainty environment, which degrades the usefulness of PID controller in high-precision requirement system. A new robust non-linear Lyapunov based sliding mode controller is proposed for a Rotary Inverted Pendulum System in this paper. It is applied to swing up the pendulum and to stabilize it around the balancing state in the Lyapunov sense. Both the simulation and experiment show that, not only strong robustness with respect to system uncertainties and nonlinearities can be obtained, but also the pendulum position can dynamically converge to the desired balancing state by using the non-linear sliding mode control. Our approach extends the current PID controller design to linear sliding mode design and finally to nonlinear sliding mode design

Crosstalk of cuproptosis-related subtypes, establishment of a prognostic signature, and immune infiltration characteristics in gastric cancer

Background: Cuproptosis is a novel form of cellular demise that occurs through a unique pathway involving lipoylated proteins in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and is closely linked to mitochondrial metabolism. Nevertheless, the comprehensive elucidation of the impact of carcinogenesis-associated genes (CRGs) on prognosis, tumor microenvironment (TME), and therapeutic response in patients with gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Methods: In total, 1374 GC samples were gathered from three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The samples were then stratified into different subtypes through unsupervised clustering of the 13 CRG profiles. The CRG_score was developed to quantify CRG patterns of individual tumors. Subsequently, we investigated the associations among the various groups and clinicopathological features, immune infiltration features, TME mutation status, and response to immunotherapy. Results: The GC samples were divided into two clusters based on their distinct clinicopathological features, prognosis, and immune characteristics. Using LASSO and Cox regression analyses, 9 genes were identified for constructing a prognostic signature related to cuproptosis. The novel signature displayed outstanding durability and prognostic capability for the overall lifespan of individuals. Additionally, the expression levels of signature genes in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were tested by qRT-PCR. Moreover, we developed a remarkably dependable nomogram to enhance the practicality of the CRG_score in clinical settings. High tumor mutation burden, increased microsatellite instability-high, immune activation, along with good survival probability and increased immunoreactivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors, were distinguishing features of low CRG_scores. Conclusions: The findings of this study revealed the possible impacts of CRGs on the TME, clinical and pathological characteristics, and outlook of patients with GC. This signature was strongly linked to the immune response against GC and has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for predicting patient prognosis

Effect of Mo Element on the Mechanical Properties and Tribological Responses of CoCrFeNiMox High-Entropy Alloys

Certain amounts of precipitate in CoCrFeNiMox (simplified as Mox) is beneficial to the wear resistance; however, the optimal chemical content of Mo and the anti-wear mechanism behind it remains unclear. The Mox (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 1.5 in molar ratio) high entropy alloys (HEAs) were manufactured, the evolution of their microstructure, mechanical, friction, and wear properties with Mo content was studied. The results displayed that the mechanical properties of the FCC solid solution were enhanced from Mo0 to Mo0.3, then kept unchanged till x = 1.5. The volume fraction of the precipitates increased with Mo content. The Mo1 presents the lower average friction coefficient and wear rate, attributed to the desired types, amount, size, distribution of the hard σ and μ phases in the ductile FCC solid solution. The detailed mechanism behind their tribological behaviors were discussed in the manuscript

Assessing the groundwater deficit for agriculture requirements under precipitation change while achieving food and water security in the North China Plain

Groundwater resources are closely related to climate change. Evaluating the groundwater deficit and its variation characteristics under climate change is necessary to understand the risk associated with enhanced groundwater recovery solutions and to provide supporting information for choosing the best technology and risk-reducing measures to implement. In this study, by using the CROPWAT model and copula theory, (1) we developed a groundwater deficit index (Gsci) for agricultural requirements that assesses the risk to groundwater resources imposed by precipitation changes on the North China Plain (NCP), and the four grades of Gsci were high deficit, moderate deficit, low deficit, and no deficit. (2) We estimated Gsci on the NCP for the period 1971–2020 by applying the climatic, soil, crop phenological, and hydrogeology data to the developed index. (3) The occurrence probability of each Gsci grade was evaluated. In the years with abundant precipitation, the occurrence probabilities of no-deficit events were 1, 0, 0, 0, 0.36, 0.56, and 0 on the Yanshan Plain, Taihang-Hebei Plain, Taihang-Henan Plain, Central-Hebei Plain, Central-Shandong Plain, Central-Henan Plain, and Coastal Plain, respectively. (4) The effective precipitation threshold for the occurrence of each Gsci grade was calculated, and the effective precipitation thresholds for the occurrence of no-deficit events were 495 mm, 595 mm, 525 mm, 400 mm, 455 mm, and 555 mm on the Taihang-Hebei Plain, Taihang-Henan Plain, Central-Hebei Plain, Central-Henan Plain, Central-Shandong Plain, and Coastal Plain, respectively. Our findings are useful for assessing the impacts of precipitation changes on groundwater resources and provide a further basis for the design of groundwater resource management strategies with respect to climate change, especially in water‐limited arid agricultural regions

Transcriptome analysis reveals the potential biological function of FSCN1 in HeLa cervical cancer cells

Fascin actin-bundling protein 1 (FSCN1), an actin-bundling protein associated with cell migration and invasion, is highly expressed in various tumor tissues. FSCN1 has also been reported to be a marker of increased invasive potential in cervical cancers. However, the functions of FSCN1 are still not fully understood in cervical cancers. Here, the gene expression profile of HeLa cells transfected with FSCN1 shRNA (shFSCN1) was compared with that of cells transfected with empty vector (shCtrl). The results showed that shFSCN1 extensively affected the transcription level of 5,043 genes in HeLa cells. In particular, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that a large number of upregulated genes were annotated with terms including transcription regulation and DNA binding. The downregulated genes were enriched in some cancer pathways, including angiogenesis and cell adhesion. qPCR validation confirmed that FSCN1 knockdown significantly affected the expression of selected genes in HeLa cells either negatively or positively. Expression analysis in TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) revealed that FSCN1 had negative correlations with several transcription factors and a positive correlation with an angiogenic factor (angiopoietin like 4, ANGPTL4) in cervical tumor tissue. In particular, validation by Western blotting showed that FSCN1 knockdown decreased the protein level of ANGPTL4. Our results demonstrated that FSCN1 is not only an actin-binding protein but also a transcriptional regulator and an angiogenic factor in cervical cancer. Thus, our study provides important insights for further study on the regulatory mechanism of FSCN1 in cervical cancer