Femtosecond laser-induced surface nanostructures for enhanced trace metal element detection in water.

As societal concern for environmental and public health issues intensifies, precisely monitoring harmful heavy metal concentrations in aquatic systems has become a critical scientific endeavor. Although laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) allows for the simultaneous detection of multiple elements, its sensitivity for tracing metal in water remains inadequate. This work investigates the enhancement of LIBS signals for chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) detection of micro/nanostructures on aluminum surfaces, generated by femtosecond laser irradiation.

Compact wavemeter incorporating femtosecond laser-induced surface nanostructures enabled by deep learning.

Miniature spectrometers have the advantage of high portability and integration, making them quick and easy to use in various working environments. The speckle patterns produced by light scattering through a disordered medium are highly sensitive to wavelength changes and can be used to design high-precision wavemeters and spectrometers. In this study, we used a self-organized, femtosecond laser-prepared nanostructure with a characteristic size of approximately 30-50 nm on a sapphire surface as a scattering medium to effectively induce spectral dispersion.

An exotic plant successfully invaded as a passenger driven by light availability.

Invasive exotic plant species (IEPs) are widely distributed across the globe, but whether IEPs are drivers or passengers of habitat change in the invaded spaces remains unclear. Here, we carried out a vegetation and soil survey in 2018 and two independent field experiments ( removal in 2014 and 2015, and fertilization experiment since 2012) and found that the invasive annual was at a disadvantage in light competition compared with perennial native grasses, but the successful invasion of was due to the sufficient light resources provided by the reduced coverage of the native species. Conversely, nitrogen enrichment can effectively inhibit invasion by increasing the photocompetitive advantage of the native species.

A Legume Host Benefits More from Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Than a Grass Host in the Presence of a Root Hemiparasitic Plant.

In nature, most plants parasitized by root hemiparasites are also colonized by mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, highlighting the prevalence of this tripartite interaction. AM colonization is generally found to improve the growth of parasitized legumes but has little impact on grass hosts parasitized by root hemiparasites, and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we conducted a pot experiment to test the influence of AM fungus () on the growth and photosynthesis of leguminous and gramineous in the presence of a root hemiparasitic plant ().

Fast and abundant spontaneous haustorium formation in root hemiparasitic plant Maxim. (Orobanchaceae).

Haustorium formation is the characteristic feature of all parasitic plants and a vital process for successful parasitism. Previous investigations on haustorium initiation and development are constricted to induced processes by host-derived signals or synthetic analogs. Spontaneous haustorium formation in the absence of host signals, a process representing an early stage in the evolution of parasitic plants, remains largely unexplored.

N-P fertilization did not reduce AMF abundance or diversity but alter AMF composition in an alpine grassland infested by a root hemiparasitic plant.

Fertilization has been shown to have suppressive effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and root hemiparasites separately in numerous investigations, but its effects on AMF in the presence of root hemiparasites remain untested. In view of the contrasting nutritional effects of AMF and root hemiparasites on host plants, we tested the hypothesis that fertilization may not show strong suppressive effects on AMF when a plant community was infested by abundant hemiparasitic plants. Plants and soil samples were collected from experimental field plots in Bayanbulak Grassland, where N and P fertilizers had been applied for three continuous years for control against a spreading root hemiparasite, .

A neglected alliance in battles against parasitic plants: arbuscular mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbioses alleviate damage to a legume host by root hemiparasitic Pedicularis species.

Despite their ubiquitous distribution and significant ecological roles, soil microorganisms have long been neglected in investigations addressing parasitic plant-host interactions. Because nutrient deprivation is a primary cause of host damage by parasitic plants, we hypothesized that beneficial soil microorganisms conferring nutrient benefits to parasitized hosts may play important roles in alleviating damage. We conducted a pot cultivation experiment to test the inoculation effect of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus mosseae), a rhizobium (Rhizobium leguminosarum) and their interactive effects, on alleviation of damage to a legume host (Trifolium repens) by two root hemiparasitic plants with different nutrient requirements (N-demanding Pedicularis rex and P-demanding P.

N-P Fertilization Inhibits Growth of Root Hemiparasite in Natural Grassland.

Fertilization has been shown to affect interactions between root hemiparasitic plants and their host plants, alleviating damage to the hosts by parasitism. However, as a majority of studies were conducted in pot cultivation, the influence of fertilizer application on root hemiparasites and the surrounding plant community in field conditions as well as relevant mechanisms remain unclear. We manipulated soil nutrient resources in a semi-arid subalpine grassland in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China, to explore the links between fertilization and plant community composition, productivity, survival, and growth of a weedy root hemiparasite ().

Long-Distance Dispersal after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Led to the Disjunctive Distribution of Pedicularis kansuensis (Orobanchaceae) between the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Tianshan Region.

Quaternary climate fluctuations have profoundly affected the current distribution patterns and genetic structures of many plant and animal species in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and adjacent mountain ranges, e.g. Tianshan (TSR), Altay, etc.

Host shoot clipping depresses the growth of weedy hemiparasitic Pedicularis kansuensis.

Root hemiparasitic plants show optimal growth when attached to a suitable host by abstracting water and nutrients. Despite the fact that damage to host plants in the wild occurs frequently in various forms (e.g.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: potential biocontrol agents against the damaging root hemiparasite Pedicularis kansuensis?

Spatial expansion of root hemiparasitic Pedicularis kansuensis in Bayanbulak Grassland of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (China) has caused great loss of herbage yield and has threatened the local livestock industry. Current management practices using manual eradication and chemical control have been proved problematic. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been suggested to be potential biocontrol agents against a number of plant pests, but experimental evidence is lacking against weedy P.

[Influence of embryo transfer depth on in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer outcomes].

Objective: To investigate the influence of transfer distance from the fundus on clinical pregnancy rate and implantation rate in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.

Methods: A total of 98 patients (108 cycles) undergoing ultrasound-guided embryo transfer were divided into two groups according to the distance between the tip of catheter and the uterine fundus: group A: > or = 5 - < 10 mm, group B: > or = 10 - < or = 15 mm.

Results: Clinical pregnancy rate and implantation rate were significantly higher in group B compared with group A [44 % (23/52) vs 25% (14/56), 24% (28/115) vs 14% (17/121), P < 0.

[Effect of luteinized granulosa cell conditioned medium on cortical granule of mouse oocytes matured in vitro].

Objective: To study the effect of luteinized granulosa cell conditioned medium on cortical granule (CG) of the mouse oocytes matured in vitro.

Methods: Oocytes in germinal vesicle (GV) stage of Kunming mice were randomly divided into 2 groups according to different in vitro maturation (IVM) culture media. The study group medium contained 50% granulosa cell condition medium, follicle stimulating hormone 75 U/L and estrodial 1 nmol/L.

[Cryopreservation of mouse morula and blastocysts by vitrification].

Objective: To compare the survival and developmental potential of mouse morula, early blastocysts and blastocysts cryopreserved by vitrification.

Methods: One hundred and forty-two mouse morula, 135 early blastocysts and 148 blastocysts were cryopreserved by 6 mol/L ethylene glycol and 1 mol/L sucrose vitrification solutions. The survival rates and blastocysts hatching rates after thawing were observed.