Influence of Floral Strip Width on Spider and Carabid Beetle Communities in Maize Fields.

The study explored the impact of floral strip width on the spider and carabid beetle communities in maize fields over two years. Three widths of floral strips (2 m, 4 m, and 6 m) were compared with maize-only control strips to evaluate species diversity and distribution. The results showed significant differences in both spider and carabid populations between floral and control strips, with 4 m and 6 m widths consistently harboring higher biodiversity.

, a new species of Brassicaceae in China.

, a new species from Hunan Province, China, is described and illustrated. is similar to . From the latter, is readily distinguished by the terminal leaflet of the cauline leaf 4.

Planting halophytes increases the rhizosphere ecosystem multifunctionality via reducing soil salinity.

Soil salinization poses a significant global challenge, exerting adverse effects on both agriculture and ecosystems. Planting halophytes has the potential ability to improve saline-alkali land and enhance ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). However, it remains unclear which halophytes are effective in improving saline-alkali land and what impact they have on the rhizosphere microbial communities and EMF.

A nano-radian precision absolute local slope measurement method for X-ray reflectors.

Ultra-precise reflectors in the advanced light source facilities urgently call for local slope error measurements with nano-radian precision. However, the existing methods currently utilized in the long trace profiler systems struggle to meet the requirements. In this paper, we present a weak-value amplification enhanced absolute local slope measurement scheme, in which the surface height difference between two adjacent points can be measured directly with precision on the pico-meter level.

miR-208a in Cardiac Hypertrophy and Remodeling.

Various stresses, including pressure overload and myocardial stretch, can trigger cardiac remodeling and result in heart diseases. The disorders are associated with high risk of morbidity and mortality and are among the major health problems in the world. MicroRNAs, a class of ~22nt-long small non-coding RNAs, have been found to participate in regulating heart development and function.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae may serve as a probiotic in colorectal cancer by promoting cancer cell apoptosis.

Objectives: Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of human fecal samples has shown that Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) is significantly suppressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) and probably plays an important role in CRC progression. However, these results need to be validated.

High-performance mid-infrared photodetection based on BiSe maze and free-standing nanoplates.

The pursuit of optoelectronic devices operating in mid-infrared regime is driven by both fundamental interests and commercial applications. The narrow bandgap (0.3 eV) of layered BiSe makes it a promising material for mid-infrared photodetection.

Exosomes serve as nanoparticles to suppress tumor growth and angiogenesis in gastric cancer by delivering hepatocyte growth factor siRNA.

Exosomes derived from cells have been found to mediate signal transduction between cells and to act as efficient carriers to deliver drugs and small RNA. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is known to promote the growth of both cancer cells and vascular cells, and the HGF-cMET pathway is a potential clinical target. Here, we characterized the inhibitory effect of HGF siRNA on tumor growth and angiogenesis in gastric cancer.

[Determination of Background Value and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediments of the Danjiangkou Reservoir].

The aim of this study was to explore the pollution level and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in sediments of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, and the study obtained the background value of heavy metals of the surface sediments using reference element and statistical methods. The results indicated that the background values of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg and Pb were 41.18, 34, 32.

[Expression of miR-126/miR-126* in hepatocelluar carcinoma and its correlation with clinical outcomes].

Objective: To investigate the expression of miR-126/miR-126* in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and its clinical significance.

Methods: The expressions of miR-126/miR-126* in the tumor tissues and non-cancer tissues from 74 HCC cases were detected using real-time quantitative PCR. The correlation between miR-126/miR-126* expression and the clinicopathological features of the patients was analyzed.

Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor.

The 2002-3 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was one of the most significant public health events in recent history. An ongoing outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus suggests that this group of viruses remains a key threat and that their distribution is wider than previously recognized. Although bats have been suggested to be the natural reservoirs of both viruses, attempts to isolate the progenitor virus of SARS-CoV from bats have been unsuccessful.