Higher Flower Hydraulic Safety, Drought Tolerance and Structural Resource Allocation Provide Drought Adaptation to Low Mean Annual Precipitation in Caragana Species.

Determining the differences in flower hydraulic traits and structural resource allocation among closely related species adapted to low mean annual precipitation (MAP) can provide insight into plant adaptation to arid environments. Here, we measured the maximum flower hydraulic conductance (K), water potential at induction 50% loss of K (P), flower pressure-volume parameters, dry mass of individual flowers and structural components (vexillum, wings, keels, stamens and sepals) of six Caragana species growing in regions ranging from 110 to 1400 mm MAP. Compared with species from high-MAP environments, those from low-MAP environments presented lower K, more negative P, osmotic potential at full turgor (π) and turgor loss points (π), and a greater bulk modulus of elasticity (ε).

Amphiphilic Bowl-Shaped Janus Particles Prepared via Thiol-Ene Click Reaction for Effective Oil-Water Separation.

Janus particles for oil-water separation have attracted widespread attention in recent years. Herein, we prepared a bowl-shaped Janus particle that could rapidly separate oil and water through a thiol-ene click reaction and selective etching. Firstly, snowman-like composite microspheres based on silica and mercaptopropyl polysilsesquioxane (SiO@MPSQ) were prepared by a hydrolytic condensation reaction and phase separation, and the effects of the rotational speed and molar ratios on their microscopic morphologies were investigated.

[Fractal dimension characteristics of soil particle size distribution under different vegetation patches in desert steppe and its relationship with soil nutrients].

Soil samples from four vegetation mini-patches (Artemisia scoparia, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Sophora alopecuroides, Astragalus melilotoides) in a desert steppe in central Ningxia were collected. Soil physico-chemical properties including soil particle-size distribution, organic matter, pH, EC, total N, total K, total P of three depths were measured. The fractal dimension of particle size distribution characteristics of soils derived from four different vegetation mini-patches and their correlations with soil physico-chemical properties were examined.