Mechanisms of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Improving Motor Dysfunction After Stroke.

Patients with stroke would have persistent functional deficits despite undergoing physiotherapy and rehabilitation training. Recently, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), a newly emerging neuroregulatory technique, has been shown to improve motor dysfunction after stroke. Evidence from clinical and preclinical studies has proven the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of invasive and noninvasive VNS.

Shrub encroachment leads to accumulation of C, N, and P in grassland soils and alters C:N:P stoichiometry: A meta-analysis.

Soil stoichiometry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are indicators for nutrient balance. Shrub encroachment into grasslands could change nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry in soils, but the general patterns remain unclear. With a meta-analysis of a global dataset covering 344 observations from 68 studies, we examined the responses of grassland soil C:N:P stoichiometry to shrub encroachment under various environmental conditions.

Highly Dispersed Metal Carbide on ZIF-Derived Pyridinic-N-Doped Carbon for CO Enrichment and Selective Hydrogenation.

Catalytic conversion of CO into chemicals is a critical issue for energy and environmental research. Among such reactions, converting CO into CO has been regarded as a significant foundation to generate a liquid fuels and chemicals on a large scale. In this work, zeolitic imidazolate framework-derived N-doped carbon-supported metal carbide catalysts (M/ZIF-8-C; M=Ni, Fe, Co and Cu) with highly dispersed metal carbide were prepared for selective CO hydrogenation.

Nitrogen and carbon source-sink relationships in trees at the Himalayan treelines compared with lower elevations.

No single hypothesis or theory has been widely accepted for explaining the functional mechanism of global alpine/arctic treeline formation. The present study tested whether the alpine treeline is determined by (1) the needle nitrogen content associated with photosynthesis (carbon gain); (2) a sufficient source-sink ratio of carbon; or (3) a sufficient C-N ratio. Nitrogen does not limit the growth and development of trees studied at the Himalayan treelines.

[Altitudinal changes in leaf mass per unit area and tissue non-structural carbohydrates content of Abies fabri on Gongga Mountain of southwest China].

Taking the northeast slope of Moxi vally and southwest slope of Kangding vally in Gongga Mountain of Southwest China as sampling sites, this paper investigated the leaf mass per unit area (LMA) and tissue non-structural carbohydrates content (NSC) of Abies fabri distributed at the positions from lower elevations to alpine treeline during the periods of dormancy and vigorous growth. The results indicated that A. fabri had higher LMA and NSC in warm-moist Moxi valley than in hot-dry Kangding valley.

Large clones on cliff faces: expanding by rhizomes through crevices.

Background And Aims: Large clones of rhizomatous plants are found in many habitats, but little is known about whether such clones also occur on cliff faces where environmental conditions are extremely harsh and heterogeneous.

Methods: Using molecular (intersimple sequence repeat, ISSR) markers, the genotypic composition of a cliff-face population of Oxyria sinensis in Sichuan, China, was investigated.

Key Results: The 98 O.