Invasion Alters Soil Nitrogen Dynamics and Competition.

Invasive plants often alter biological soil conditions to increase their own competitiveness. Through indoor simulated nitrogen deposition culture experiments, we investigated the differences in growth indicators and nutrient content levels between the invasive plant Cav. and the native symbiotic plant (L.

Axo-axonic synaptic input drives homeostatic plasticity by tuning the axon initial segment structurally and functionally.

Homeostatic plasticity maintains the stability of functional brain networks. The axon initial segment (AIS), where action potentials start, undergoes dynamic adjustment to exert powerful control over neuronal firing properties in response to network activity changes. However, it is poorly understood whether this plasticity involves direct synaptic input to the AIS.

Nitrogen-cycling microbial communities respond differently to nitrogen addition under two contrasting grassland soil types.

Introduction: The impact of nitrogen (N) deposition on the soil N-transforming process in grasslands necessitates further investigation into how N input influences the structural composition and diversity of soil N-cycling microbial communities across different grassland types.

Methods: In this study, we selected two types of grassland soils in northwest Liaoning, temperate steppe and warm-temperate shrub, and conducted short-term N addition experiments using organic N, ammonium N, and nitrate N as sources with three concentration gradients to simulate N deposition. Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology was employed to sequence genes associated with N-cycling microbes including N-fixing, ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying bacteria, and ammonia-oxidizing archaea.

Axo-axonic synaptic input drives homeostatic plasticity by tuning the axon initial segment structurally and functionally.

Unlabelled: The stability of functional brain network is maintained by homeostatic plasticity, which restores equilibrium following perturbation. As the initiation site of action potentials, the axon initial segment (AIS) of glutamatergic projection neurons (PyNs) undergoes dynamic adjustment that exerts powerful control over neuronal firing properties in response to changes in network states. Although AIS plasticity has been reported to be coupled with the changes of network activity, it is poorly understood whether it involves direct synaptic input to the AIS.

Invasion by changes the soil microbial community structure in a sandy grassland ecosystem.

Continuous nitrogen deposition increases the nitrogen content of terrestrial ecosystems and alters the soil nitrogen cycling process. Invasive plants have strong environmental adaptability, which can not only affect the composition and diversity of soil microbial community but also significantly affect the transformation process of soil nitrogen, leading to successful invasion. Currently, research on invasive plant soil ecosystems mainly focused on changes in soil nutrients and soil microorganisms.

Different responses of soil fungal and bacterial communities to nitrogen addition in a forest grassland ecotone.

Introduction: Continuous nitrogen deposition increases the nitrogen content of terrestrial ecosystem and affects the geochemical cycle of soil nitrogen. Forest-grassland ecotone is the interface area of forest and grassland and is sensitive to global climate change. However, the structure composition and diversity of soil microbial communities and their relationship with soil environmental factors at increasing nitrogen deposition have not been sufficiently studied in forest-grassland ecotone.

Changes in grassland soil types lead to different characteristics of bacterial and fungal communities in Northwest Liaoning, China.

Introduction: Soil microbial communities are critical in regulating grassland biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functions, but the mechanisms of how environmental factors affect changes in the structural composition and diversity of soil microbial communities in different grassland soil types is not fully understood in northwest Liaoning, China.

Methods: We investigated the characteristics and drivers of bacterial and fungal communities in 4 grassland soil types with 11 sites across this region using high-throughput Illumina sequencing.

Results And Discussion: Actinobacteria and Ascomycota were the dominant phyla of bacterial and fungal communities, respectively, but their relative abundances were not significantly different among different grassland soil types.

Projection-Specific Heterogeneity of the Axon Initial Segment of Pyramidal Neurons in the Prelimbic Cortex.

The axon initial segment (AIS) is a highly specialized axonal compartment where the action potential is initiated. The heterogeneity of AISs has been suggested to occur between interneurons and pyramidal neurons (PyNs), which likely contributes to their unique spiking properties. However, whether the various characteristics of AISs can be linked to specific PyN subtypes remains unknown.

Fungus XTY1 and heterotrophic nitrifying bacterium GS2 cannot efficiently transform organic nitrogen hydroxylamine and nitrite.

Heterotrophic nitrification is a process of organic nitrogen degradation completed by the participation of heterotrophic nitrifying microorganisms, which can accelerate the nitrogen transformation process. However, the current research mainly focuses on heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria and their ammonium degradation capacities. And there is little accumulation of research on fungi, the main force of heterotrophic nitrification, and their capacities to transform organic nitrogen.

Distinct recruitment dynamics of chandelier cells and basket cells by thalamocortical inputs.

Diverse types of GABAergic interneurons tend to specialize in their inhibitory control of various aspects of cortical circuit operations. Among the most distinctive interneuron types, chandelier cells (i.e.

Isomerization Dynamics in the Symmetric and Asymmetric Fragmentation of Ethane Dications.

Hydrogen- or proton-migration-induced isomerization has recently been of concern for its critical role in the dissociation of organic molecules of astrophysical or biological relevance. Herein we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the two-body C-C bond breakdown dissociation of ethane dication. For the asymmetric fragmentation channel CH + CH, the kinetic energy release measurements and quantum chemical calculations demonstrate that the reaction pathway involving hydrogen-migration-induced isomerization of [CH-CH] to [CH-CH] can be accessed the lowest triplet state rather than the ground singlet state of ethane dication.

Formation of H from ethane dication induced by electron impact.

Hydrogen migration plays an important role in the chemistry of hydrocarbons which considerably influences their chemical functions. The migration of one or more hydrogen atoms occurring in hydrocarbon cations has an opportunity to produce the simplest polyatomic molecule, i.e.

Spatiotemporal Pattern of Fine Particulate Matter and Impact of Urban Socioeconomic Factors in China.

Frequent hazy weather has been one of the most obvious air problems accompanying China's rapid urbanization. As one of the main components of haze pollution, fine particulate matter (PM), which severely affects environmental quality and people's health, has attracted wide attention. This study investigated the PM distribution, changing trends and impact of urban factors based on remote-sensing PM concentration data from 2000 to 2015, combining land-use data and socioeconomic data, and using the least-squares method and structural equation model (SEM).

Curcumin-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Enhanced Anticancer Efficiency in Breast Cancer.

Curcumin (Cur) has been widely used in medicine, due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor effects. However, its clinic application is limited by its instability and poor solubility. In the present wok, curcumin was loaded into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), in order to improve the therapeutic efficacy for breast cancer.

Rhizophagus irregularis influences As and P uptake by alfafa and the neighboring non-host pepperweed growing in an As-contaminated soil.

It was documented that arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) play an important role in protecting host plants against arsenic (As) contamination. However, most terrestrial ecosystems contain a considerable number of nonmycorrhizal plants. So far little information is available for the interaction of such non-host plants with AMF under As contaminations.

Soil pH and plant diversity shape soil bacterial community structure in the active layer across the latitudinal gradients in continuous permafrost region of Northeastern China.

In the permafrost region of northeastern China, vegetation and soil environment have showed response to permafrost degradation triggered by global warming, but the corresponding variation of the soil microbial communities remains poorly investigated. Here, a field investigation in the continuous permafrost region was conducted to collect 63 soil samples from 21 sites along a latitudinal gradient to assess the distribution pattern of microbial communities and their correlation with environmental factors. High-throughput Illumina sequencing revealed that bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria.

Anticancer Effects of Resveratrol-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles on Human Breast Cancer Cells.

In this study, resveratrol-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (Res-SLNs) were successfully designed to treat MDA-MB-231 cells. The Res-SLNs were prepared using emulsification and low-temperature solidification method. The Res-SLNs were spherical, with small size, negative charge, and narrow size distribution.

Water management, rice varieties and mycorrhizal inoculation influence arsenic concentration and speciation in rice grains.

A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of water management and mycorrhizal inoculation on arsenic (As) uptake by two rice varieties, the As-resistant BRRI dhan 47 (B47) and As-sensitive BRRI dhan 29 (B29). Grain As concentration of B47 plants was significantly lower than that of B29, and grain As concentration of B47 was higher under flooding conditions than that under aerobic conditions. In general, mycorrhizal inoculation (Rhizophagus irregularis) had no significant effect on grain As concentrations, but decreased the proportion of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in grains of B47.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis influences arsenic accumulation and speciation in Medicago truncatula L. in arsenic-contaminated soil.

In two pot experiments, wild type and a non-mycorrhizal mutant (TR25:3-1) of Medicago truncatula were grown in arsenic (As)-contaminated soil to investigate the influences of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on As accumulation and speciation in host plants. The results indicated that the plant biomass of M. truncatula was dramatically increased by AM symbiosis.

Chromium resistance of dandelion (Taraxacum platypecidum Diels.) and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [Linn.] Pers.) is enhanced by arbuscular mycorrhiza in Cr(VI)-contaminated soils.

In a greenhouse pot experiment, dandelion (Taraxacum platypecidum Diels.) and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon[Linn.] Pers.