Vegetation greenness and photosynthetic phenology in response to climatic determinants

Vegetation phenology is a key indicator of vegetation-climate interactions and carbon sink changes in ecosystems. Therefore, it is very important to understand the temporal and spatial variability of vegetation phenology and the driving climatic determinants [e.g., temperature (Ts) and soil moisture (SM)]. Vegetation greenness and photosynthetic phenology were derived using the double logistic (DL) method to enhance vegetation index (EVI) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) spring and autumn phenology, respectively. The growing season length (GSL) of greenness phenology (about 100 days) derived EVI was longer than GSL of photosynthetic phenology (about 80 days) derived SIF. Although their overall spatiotemporal pattern trends were consistent, photosynthetic phenology varied 1.4 to 3.1 times more than greenness phenology over time. In addition, SIF-based photosynthetic phenology and EVI-based greenness phenology showed consistent factors of drivers but differed to some extent in spatial patterns and the most relevant preseason dates. Spring photosynthetic phenology was mainly influenced by pre-season mean cumulative Ts (about 90 days). However, greenness phenology was controlled by both pre-seasons mean cumulative Ts [(about 55 days) and mean cumulative SM (about 40 days)]. Autumn photosynthetic phenology was controlled by both periods’ mean cumulative Ts [(about 20 days) and SM (about 20 days)], but autumn greenness phenology was mainly influenced by pre-season mean cumulative Ts (85 days). The comparison analysis of SIF and EVI phenology helps to understand the difference between photosynthetic phenology and greenness phenology at a regional scale

The significance of wrist immobilization for endoscopic carpal tunnel release

BackgroundOver the years, endoscopic carpal tunnel release (ECTR) has gained significant interest as an alternative to surgery. However, no consensus has been reached on the necessity of postoperative wrist immobilization. This study aims to compare the outcomes of wrist immobilization for a period of 2 weeks to immediate wrist mobilization after ECTR.MethodsA total of 24 patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome undergoing dual-portal ECTR from May 2020 to Feb 2022 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups postoperatively. In one group, patients wore a wrist splint for 2 weeks. In another group, wrist mobilization was allowed immediately after surgery. The two-point discrimination test (2PD test); the Semmes–Weinstein monofilament test (SWM test); the occurrence of pillar pain, digital and wrist range of motion (ROM); grip and pinch strength; the visual analog score (VAS), the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) score; the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score; and complications were evaluated at 2 weeks and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after the surgery.ResultsAll 24 subjects finished this study with no dropouts. During the early follow-up, patients with wrist immobilization demonstrated lower VAS scores, lower occurrence of pillar pain, and higher grip and pinch strength compared with the immediate mobilization group. No significant difference was obtained between these two groups in terms of the 2PD test, the SWM test, digital and wrist ROM, BCTQ, and the DASH score. In total, two patients without splints reported transient scar discomfort. No one complained of neurapraxia, injury of the flexor tendon, median nerve, and major artery. At the final follow-up, no significant difference was found in any parameters between both groups. The local scar discomfort mentioned above disappeared and left no serious sequela.ConclusionWrist immobilization during the early postoperative period demonstrated significant pain alleviation along with stronger grip and pinch strength. However, wrist immobilization yielded no obvious superiority regarding clinical outcomes at the final follow-up

Complete genome sequence of biocontrol strain Bacillus velezensis YC89 and its biocontrol potential against sugarcane red rot

IntroductionSugarcane is one of the most important sugar crops worldwide, however, sugarcane production is seriously limited by sugarcane red rot, a soil-borne disease caused by Colletotrichum falcatum. Bacillus velezensis YC89 was isolated from sugarcane leaves and can significantly inhibited red rot disease caused by C. falcatum.MethodsIn this study, the genome of YC89 strain was sequenced, its genome structure and function were analyzed using various bioinformatics software, and its genome was compared with those of other homologous strains. In addition, the effectiveness of YC89 against sugarcane red rot and the evaluation of sugarcane plant growth promotion were also investigated by pot experiments.ResultsHere, we present the complete genome sequence of YC89, which consists of a 3.95 Mb circular chromosome with an average GC content of 46.62%. The phylogenetic tree indicated that YC89 is closely related to B. velezensis GS-1. Comparative genome analysis of YC89 with other published strains (B. velezensis FZB42, B. velezensis CC09, B. velezensis SQR9, B. velezensis GS-1, and B. amyloliquefaciens DSM7) revealed that the strains had a part common coding sequences (CDS) in whereas 42 coding were unique of strain YC89. Whole-genome sequencing revealed 547 carbohydrate-active enzymes and identified 12 gene clusters encoding secondary metabolites. Additionally, functional analysis of the genome revealed numerous gene/gene clusters involved in plant growth promotion, antibiotic resistance, and resistance inducer synthesis. In vitro pot tests indicated that YC89 strain controlled sugarcane red rot and promoted the growth of sugarcane plants. Additionally, it increased the activity of enzymes involved in plant defense, such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, chitinase, and β-1,3-glucanase.DiscussionThese findings will be helpful for further studies on the mechanisms of plant growth promotion and biocontrol by B. velezensis and provide an effective strategy for controlling red rot in sugarcane plants

A Statistical Model of Cleavage Fracture Toughness of Ferritic Steel DIN 22NiMoCr37 at Different Temperatures

It is a conventional practice to adopt Weibull statistics with a modulus of 4 for characterizing the statistical distribution of cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels, albeit based on a rather weak physical justification. In this study, a statistical model for cleavage fracture toughness of ferritic steels is proposed according to a new local approach model. The model suggests that there exists a unique correlation of the cumulative failure probability, fracture toughness and yield strength. This correlation is validated by the Euro fracture toughness dataset for 1CT specimens at four different temperatures, which deviates from the Weibull statistical model with a modulus of four

Climate warming-induced phenology changes dominate vegetation productivity in Northern Hemisphere ecosystems

The climate change is expected to trigger changes in vegetation phenology, temperature, and soil moisture (SM), altering the productivity of ecosystems. Despite numerous existing efforts, however, their contradicting conclusions suggest that how vegetation productivity is impacted by these factors still remains unclear in the Northern Hemisphere ecosystems (≥25°N). This study used the optimal fingerprint (OFP) method and redundancy analysis (RDA) to attribute the importance of key drivers of vegetation productivity from 2001 to 2019 based on long-term remote sensing and FLUXNET observation data. The results showed that solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), gross primary productivity (GPP), and net primary productivity (NPP) were increased in 72.01% to 88.04% of the vegetation areas. We observed that the correlation between vegetation productivity and spring phenology, autumn phenology, growing season length (GSL), SM, temperature reached 99% significance level, where early spring phenology, delayed autumn phenology, extended GSL, increased SM, and elevated temperature all enhanced ecosystem productivity, with GSL being the most important factor driving vegetation productivity. In addition, the pixel-wise attribution analysis indicated that GSL, as the dominant driver, accounted for 30.24% of the vegetation productivity, followed by temperature (23.79%), spring phenology (19.56%), autumn phenology (14.09%), and SM (12.31%), all of which were dominated by positive effects (54.19% to 73.14%). The results from this study serve as important references that benefit our understanding of driving mechanisms of temperature-phenology-SM interactions on ecosystem productivity

Fluorescent AIE dots encapsulated organically modified silica (ORMOSIL) nanoparticles for two-photon cellular imaging

2,3-Bis(4-(phenyl(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)amino)phenyl) fumaronitrile (TPE-TPA-FN or TTF), which possesses aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic, is doped in organically modified silica (ORMOSIL) nanoparticles. By increasing the weight ratio of TTF to the precursor of silica nanoparticles (the quantities of the precursors were kept the same), the fluorescence intensity of nanoparticles increased correspondingly, due to the formation of larger AIE dots in the cores of ORMOSIL nanoparticles. The fluorescent and biocompatible nanoprobes were then utilized for in vitro imaging of HeLa cells. Two-photon fluorescence microscopy clearly illustrated that the nanoparticles have the capacity of nucleus permeability, as well as cytoplasm staining towards tumor cells. Our experimental results may offer a promising method for fast and bright fluorescence imaging, as well as bio-molecule/drug delivery to cell nucleus