Co-composting of tail vegetable with flue-cured tobacco leaves: analysis of nitrogen transformation and estimation as a seed germination agent for halophyte.

Resource utilization of tail vegetables has raised increasing concerns in the modern agriculture. However, the effect and related mechanisms of flue-cured tobacco leaves on the product quality, phytotoxicity and bacterially-mediated nitrogen (N) transformation process of tail vegetable composting were poorly understood. Amendments of high-dosed (5% and 10% w/w) tobacco leaves into the compost accelerated the heating process, prolonged the time of thermophilic stage, increased the peak temperature, thereby improving maturity and shortening composting duration.

Modified biochar affects CO and NO emissions from coastal saline soil by altering soil pH and elemental stoichiometry.

The application of biochar in degraded farmland improves soil productivity while achieving the recycling of agricultural waste. The collapse of the physical structure of coastal saline soils will greatly reduce the carbon sequestration potential of biochar. Phosphorus- and magnesium-modified biochar greatly improve the stability of biochar, which endows them with the potential to greatly improve the organic carbon pool of coastal saline soil.

Two-Dimensional-Like Phonons in Three-Dimensional-Structured Rhombohedral GeSe-Based Compounds with Excellent Thermoelectric Performance.

The coupling of charge and phonon transport in solids is a long-standing issue for thermoelectric performance enhancement. Herein, two new narrow-gap semiconductors with the same chemical formula of GeSeTe (GST) are rationally designed and synthesized: one with a layered hexagonal structure (H-GST) and the other with a non-layered rhombohedral structure (R-GST). Thanks to the three-dimensional (3D) network structure, R-GST possesses a significantly larger weighted mobility than H-GST.

Electrically Triggered Domain Wall Movement in CuSe Semiconductor.

The ion-conductive α-CuSe is found to possess antipolar dipoles, and the movement of the domain boundary under the applied voltage causes change of resistance, showing promising application in memristors. However, due to the complex ordering of Cu ions in the α-CuSe, there are multiple types of domain wall structure. Here, we show that two typical domain walls in α-CuSe can be formed, by controlling the voltage during phase transition from high-temperature cubic β-CuSe to α-CuSe.

Cattle manure hydrochar posed a higher efficiency in elevating tomato productivity and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions than plant straw hydrochar in a coastal soil.

Rehabilitation of degraded soil health using high-performance and sustainable measures are urgently required for restoring soil primary productivity and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of coastal ecosystems. However, the effect of livestock manure derived hydrochar on GHG emission and plant productivity in the coastal salt-affected soils, one of blue carbon (C) ecosystems, was poorly understood. Therefore, a cattle manure hydrochar (CHC) produced at 220 °C was prepared to explore its effects and mechanisms on CH and NO emissions and tomato growth and fruit quality in a coastal soil in comparison with corresponding hydrochars derived from plant straws, i.

Hydrochar more effectively mitigated nitrous oxide emissions than pyrochar from a coastal soil of the Yellow River Delta, China.

Application of char amendments (e.g., pyrochar or biochar, hydrochar) in degraded soils is proposed as a promising solution for mitigating climate change via carbon sequestration and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission reduction.

Radioprotective Effect of Flavonoids on Ionizing Radiation-Induced Brain Damage.

Patients receiving brain radiotherapy may suffer acute or chronic side effects. Ionizing radiation induces the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the central nervous system, leading to brain damage. Complementary Chinese herbal medicine therapy may reduce radiotherapy-induced side effects.