Culturomics- and metagenomics-based insights into the microbial community and function of rhizosphere soils in Sinai desert farming systems.

Background: The microbiome of the Sinai Desert farming system plays an important role in the adaptive strategy of growing crops in a harsh, poly-extreme, desert environment. However, the diversity and function of microbial communities under this unfavorable moisture and nutritional conditions have not yet been investigated. Based on culturomic and metagenomic methods, we analyzed the microbial diversity and function of a total of fourteen rhizosphere soil samples (collected from twelve plants in four farms of the Sinai desert), which may provide a valuable and meaningful guidance for the design of microbial inoculants.

Fabrication of In-S-co-doped two-dimensional BiOCl coupling with surface hydroxylation toward simultaneously efficient charge separation and redox capability for photocatalytic water remediation.

Tailoring energy band structure of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl)-based photocatalysts by virtue of the metal and/or non-metal elements is one of the promising strategy to address environmental issues, especially plays a crucial role in water remediation. However, it still remains a great challenge to balance the light-harvesting and charge carriers separation. Herein, a feasible strategy was proposed for the simultaneous integration of energy-band modulation and surface hydroxylation to alleviate the as-mentioned contradiction and long-standing issues.

Marsdenia tenacissima genome reveals calcium adaptation and tenacissoside biosynthesis.

Marsdenia tenacissima is a medicinal plant widely distributed in the calcium-rich karst regions of southwest China. However, the lack of a reference genome has hampered the implementation of molecular techniques in its breeding, pharmacology and domestication. We generated the chromosome-level genome assembly in Apocynaceae using combined SMRT sequencing and Hi-C.

Further Quantifying the Niche-Neutral Continuum of Human Digestive Tract Microbiomes with Near Neutral Model and Stochasticity Analysis.

It is postulated that the human digestive tract (DT) from mouth to intestine is differentiated into diverse niches. For example, Segata et al. discovered that the microbiomes of diverse habitats along the DT could be distinguished as 4 types (niches) including (i) stool; (ii) sub-gingival plaques (SubP) and supra-gingival plaques (SupP); (iii) tongue dorsum (TD), throat (TH), palatine tonsils (PT), and saliva (Sal); and (iv) hard palate (HP) and buccal mucosa (BM), and keratinized gingiva (KG).

Novel Bisexual Flower Control Gene Regulates Sex Differentiation in Melon ( L.).

The sex-control system involves several mechanisms in melon. The present study identified a novel bisexual flower control gene from the hermaphroditic melon germplasm, different from the previously recognized one. Genetic analysis showed that a single recessive gene in the newly identified locus controlled the bisexual flower phenotype in melons.

Variation in Sediment Available-Phosphorus in Dianchi Lake and Its Impacts on Algal Growth.

Sediment phosphorus (P) is an active component of the P cycle in lakes and its availability and movement could play an important role in eutrophication. Sediments from different depths in five representative sites of Dianchi Lake China, i.e.

Coupling Cobalt Phthalocyanine Molecules on 3D Nitrogen-Doped Vertical Graphene Arrays for Highly Efficient and Robust CO Electroreduction.

Metallic phthalocyanines (MePcs) have shown their potential as catalysts for CO reduction reactions (CO RR). However, their low conductivity, easy agglomeration, and poor stability enslave the further progress of their CO RR applications. Herein, an integrated heterogeneous molecular catalyst through anchoring CoPc molecules on 3D nitrogen-doped vertical graphene arrays (NVG) on carbon cloth (CC) is reported.

An Efficient Hybrid Feature Selection Method Using the Artificial Immune Algorithm for High-Dimensional Data.

Feature selection provides the optimal subset of features for data mining models. However, current feature selection methods for high-dimensional data also require a better balance between feature subset quality and computational cost. In this paper, an efficient hybrid feature selection method (HFIA) based on artificial immune algorithm optimization is proposed to solve the feature selection problem of high-dimensional data.

Comparative physiological, transcriptomic, and WGCNA analyses reveal the key genes and regulatory pathways associated with drought tolerance in Tartary buckwheat.

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stress factors that affect plant growth and crop productivity. Tartary buckwheat is a nutritionally balanced and flavonoid-rich pseudocereal crop and also has strong adaptability to different adverse environments including drought. However, little is known about its drought tolerance mechanism.

Family-supportive supervisor behaviors and career sustainability of e-commerce female workers: A mixed-method approach.

Women play an essential role in promoting societal and economic harmony development. However, compared with their male counterparts, female employees usually have to take on more family responsibilities while they endeavor to perform well at work. It is inevitable for them to face work-family conflicts; therefore, how to make female employees' careers more sustainable is a critical concern.

Diversity-scaling analysis of human breast milk microbiomes from population perspective.

Quantitative measuring the population-level diversity-scaling of human microbiomes is different from conventional approach to traditional individual-level diversity analysis, and it is of obvious significance. For example, it is well known that individuals are of significant heterogeneity with their microbiome diversities, and the population-level analysis can effectively capture such kind of individual differences. Here we reanalyze a dozen datasets of 2,115 human breast milk microbiome (BMM) samples with diversity-area relationship (DAR) to tackle the previous questions.

Dongia deserti sp. nov., Isolated from the Gurbantunggut Desert Soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, short rod-shaped strain, designated as SYSU D60009, was isolated from a dry sandy soil sample collected from the Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, northwest China. Strain SYSU D60009 was observed to grow at 15-42 °C (optimum at 37 °C), pH 4.0-10.

De novo transcriptome assembly, gene annotation, and EST-SSR marker development of an important medicinal and edible crop, Amomum tsaoko (Zingiberaceae).

Background: Amomum tsaoko is a medicinal and food dual-use crop that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. However, the lack of transcriptomic and genomic information has limited the understanding of the genetic basis of this species. Here, we performed transcriptome sequencing of samples from different A.

Potential of citrus endophyte Bacillus subtilis L1-21 in the control of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.

Background: Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), also known as Diaphorina citri, is the natural vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), which is responsible for Huanglongbing (HLB), a devastating citrus disease. Previously, the pathogen was successfully excluded from diseased citrus plants by using the indigenous endophyte Bacillus subtilis L1-21. However, the pathogen elimination and colonization potential of B.

Sphingosinicella terrae sp. nov. Isolated from a Desert Soil and Reclassification of Sphingomonas deserti as Sphingosinicella deserti comb. nov.

A motile, rod-shaped and yellow-coloured bacterium, designated strain SYSU D60001, was isolated from a desert soil sample. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, catalase-negative and oxidase-positive. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C ω7c and/or C ω6c) and C.

The influence factors of medical disputes in Shanghai and implications - from the perspective of doctor, patient and disease.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the causes and factors behind medical disputes that occurred across eight hospitals in Shanghai over a three-year period (January 2018 to December 2020), thus providing targeted suggestions for amelioration.

Methods: Stratified sampling was employed to collect 561 cases in which medical disputes occurred at two tertiary hospitals, two secondary hospitals, and four primary hospitals in Shanghai. The causes were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the factors affecting the dispute level (i.

Power law analysis of the human milk microbiome.

The human breast milk microbiome (HMM) has far reached health implications for both mothers and infants, and understanding the structure and dynamics of milk microbial communities is therefore of critical biomedical importance. Community heterogeneity, which has certain commonalities with familiar diversity but also with certain fundamental differences, is an important aspect of community structure and dynamics. Taylor's (1961) power law (TPL) (Nature, 1961) was discovered to govern the mean-variance power function relationship of population abundances and can be used to characterize population spatial aggregation (heterogeneity) and/or temporal stability.

Niche-Neutral Continuum Seems to Explain the Global Niche Differentiation and Local Drift of the Human Digestive Tract Microbiome.

The human digestive tract (DT) is differentiated into diverse niches and harbors the greatest microbiome diversity of our bodies. Segata et al. (2012) found that the microbiome of diverse habitats along the DT may be classified as four categories or niches with different microbial compositions and metabolic potentials.

Identification and functional characterization of bactericidal permeability/increasing protein (BPI) from frog Nanorana yunnanensis (Paa yunnanensis).

Bactericidal permeability/increasing protein (BPI) and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) have been most extensively studied in mammals, but little information is available regarding BPI and LBP in Amphibia. In this study we showed that the cDNA of BPI in the frog N. yunnanensis (P.

Inspirational Leadership and Innovative Communication in Sustainable Organizations: A Mediating Role of Mutual Trust.

The possibility of accomplishing sustainable objectives is largely connected to the management and flourishing of an organizational system which keeps human capital engaged and committed. Our study investigated the association of inspirational leadership and innovative communication with employee engagement and commitment under the lens of leader member exchange theory. Specifically, we emphasized the mediating role of mutual trust in connection to social sustainability facets.

Responses of diversity and arsenic-transforming functional genes of soil microorganisms to arsenic hyperaccumulator (Pteris vittata L.)/pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) intercropping.

Intercropping of arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator (Pteris vittata L.) with crops can reduce the As concentration in soil and the resulting ecological and health risks, while maintaining certain economic benefits. However, it is still unclear how As-transforming functional bacteria and dominant bacteria in the rhizosphere of P.

The Moderating Effect of Occupational Burn-Out on the Link of Career Competencies to Career Sustainability Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most employees face increasing career-related stress, particularly those who work in multinational corporations (MNCs), because the international travel constraints prevent them from going back to their families. Hence, it is imperative to investigate the critical impact of employees' occupational burnout (OB) on career-related outcomes. In response, this research explores the moderating effect of OB on the relationships between career competencies (CCs) and career sustainability (CS).

Multicultural Neurolinguistics: A Neuroscientific Perceptive of Cross-Cultural Differences in Translation.

Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics have been seldom used in investigating the cultural component of language. In this study, we suggest a scientific methodology to study neurocognitive mechanisms induced by the interaction between multi-linguistics and cross-culture differences, especially during translation between a source language (SL) and a target language (TL). Using a contest of tonal languages (Chinese) and atonal language (English) multilingual exchange, we opine that translation theories as numerous and efficacious as they are, lack the competence to bring absolute clarity into the complex cross-cultural dimension of languages when it comes to accuracy in translation.

Understanding Cross-Cultural Differences in Conceptualizing International Trade Patterns: A Neuroeconomic Perspective.

Neuroeconomics has been seldom used in investigating the impact of culture on international trade. This research proposes a scientific approach to investigate how cross-cultural differences contribute to the conceptualization of international trade patterns globally. International business relations are directly influenced by factors such as cultural variations which distinguish one foreign market from another.