Studies on the treatment of anaerobically digested sludge by white-rot fungi: evaluation of the effect of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes versicolor.

Background: The composition of anaerobically digested sludge is inherently complex, enriched with structurally complex organic compounds and nitrogenous constituents, which are refractory to biodegradation. These characteristics limit the subsequent rational utilization of resources from anaerobically digested sludge. White-rot fungi (WRF) have garnered significant research interest due to their exceptional capacity to degrade complex and recalcitrant organic pollutants.

Phosphorus addition diminishes the negative effect of nitrogen addition on methane sink in subtropical forest soils.

Increased global nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs caused by human activities can significantly impact methane (CH) uptake in terrestrial ecosystems. Forest soils, as the largest CH sink among terrestrial ecosystems, play a crucial role in mitigating global warming. However, the effects of long-term N and P additions on CH sink and the associated microbial mechanisms in subtropical forest soils remain unclear.

Deciphering intricate associations between vigorous development and novel metabolic preferences of partial denitrification/anammox granular consortia within mainstream municipal wastewater.

There is limited understanding of the granular partial denitrification/anammox (PD/A) microbiota and metabolic hierarchy specific to municipal wastewater treatment, particularly concerning the multi-mechanisms of functional differentiation and granulation tendencies under high-loading shocks. Therefore, this study utilized fragmented mature biofilm as the exclusive inoculum to rapidly establish a granular PD/A system. Following long-term feeding with municipal wastewater, PD/A process reached a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 97.

The formation, maintenance, and loss of island biodiversity.

Due to the unique geographical features of large numbers, isolated by water and diverse formation histories, islands have become natural laboratories for ecological and evolutionary research. Islands have a high proportion of endemic species and disharmony in representing the species compared with that in the continent, which provides a good opportunity to explore the formation of island biodiversity. In this review, we focuse on island ecosystems and describes the progress of research in island biogeography in recent years from three aspects: formation, maintenance, and loss of island biodiversity.

Anthropogenic Drivers of Small-Island Effects in Urban Remnant Woody Plants.

The positive relationship between species richness and area is a fundamental principle in ecology. However, this pattern deviates on small islands, where species richness either changes independently of area or increases at a slower rate-a phenomenon known as the Small-Island Effect (SIE). While the SIE has been well documented in natural ecosystem, its presence in highly fragmented and disturbed urban ecosystem remains unexplored, posing challenges for urban vegetation conservation.

Biotic factors shape the structure and dynamics of denitrifying communities within cyanobacterial aggregates.

Eutrophication caused by human activities has severely impacted freshwater ecosystems, leading to harmful cyanobacterial blooms that threaten water quality and ecosystem stability. During blooms, denitrification is a key process for nitrogen removal, which can occur both in the sediment and in the waterbody mediated by cyanobacterial aggregate (CA)-associated microorganisms. In this study, the structure, dynamics and assembly mechanisms of CA-associated nirK-, nirS-, and nosZ-encoding denitrifying communities were investigated in the eutrophic Lake Taihu across the bloom season.

A green method on dipole solvent as "Activators": γ-valerolactone/HO system promoted degradation of ciprofloxacin by ferrate(Ⅵ).

This paper investigates the efficient degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in a sustainable γ-valerolactone (GVL) and water (H₂O) mixed system by controlling proton transfer and reducing the self-decay rate of Fe(VI). The kinetic model reveals that the GVL/H₂O system exhibits a rate constant of (9.7 ± 0.

Spatial variations of soil seed banks in Shanghai's urban wasteland: a gradient analysis of urbanization effects.

Urbanization greatly impacts both the diversity of soil seed banks and the spatial dynamics of species. These seed banks serve as a window into the ecological history and potential for recovery in urban wastelands, which are continually evolving due to urbanization. In this study, we selected 24 plots along urban-rural gradients in Shanghai, China.

[Carbon Emission Analysis and Carbon Reduction Strategy of Small and Medium-scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Cities and Towns].

The carbon emissions of three typical processes （AAO, MSBR, and oxidation ditch） were systematically analyzed from the perspective of the whole wastewater treatment process based on the annual data of eleven urban small and medium-scale WWTPs in the year 2022, and the effects of different influent characteristics （TP, TN, BOD, COD, influent volume, and COD/TN） on the carbon emissions were studied by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling （PLS-SEM） method. The results showed that indirect carbon emissions dominated the total carbon emissions of small and medium-scale WWTPs （69.5%）, and carbon emissions from electricity consumption were the largest source （43.

Behavioral and functional responses of different bird clades to offshore windfarms in yellow sea, China.

Offshore windfarms (OWFs) constitute a rapidly expanding source of renewable energy that inevitably affects marine biodiversity, especially those built within critical areas for biodiversity conservation. To understand the potential effect of OWFs on bird communities, we systematically tracked bird communities and their behavior within OWFs near the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea in China from 2020 to 2022 using voyage investigations. The results indicated that bird diversity was greater within OWFs than in seawaters away from the OWFs.

Extensive genome-wide phylogenetic discordance is due to incomplete lineage sorting in the rapidly radiated East Asian genus Nekemias (Vitaceae).

Background And Aims: Nekemias is a small genus of the grape family, with nine species discontinuously distributed in temperate to subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere but mostly in East Asia. Previous phylogenetic studies on Nekemias have mainly based on a few chloroplast markers, and the phylogenetic framework and systematic relationships are still highly contested.

Methods: We carried out a systematic framework reconstruction of Nekemias and intra-generic reticulate evolutionary analyses based on extensive single-copy nuclear and chloroplast genomic data obtained by the Hyb-Seq approach, combining genome skimming and target enrichment.

Synergistic effects of heterogeneous mature compost and aeration rate on humification and nitrogen fixing during kitchen waste composting.

Sludge mature compost (SMC) is notable for its high production, easy accessibility, and stable supply. This study investigated the impact of the SMC addition and different aeration rates on the humification and nitrogen fixing process during kitchen waste composting. The results demonstrated that addition of SMC prolonged the thermophilic phase, as a comparison, increased aeration shortened this phase.

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the king horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rex) provides insights into its conservation status and chromosomal evolution of Rhinolophus.

A high-quality reference genome is quite valuable in assessing the conservation status of a rare species when adequate data from other sources are unavailable. Bats comprise almost a fifth of all mammals and contribute greatly to ecosystem. However, due to the nocturnal and elusive habits, it is difficult to obtain the accurate census population size of a rare bat species and assess its conservation status.

Prioritizing landscapes for mitigating the impacts of onshore wind farms on multidimensional waterbird diversity in the Yellow Sea.

Ongoing wind energy developments play a key role in mitigating the global effects of climate change and the energy crisis; however, they have complex ecological consequences for many flying animals. The Yellow Sea coast is considered as an ecological bottleneck for migratory waterbirds along the East Asian-Australasian flyway (EAAF), and is also an important wind farm base in China. However, the effects of large-scale onshore wind farms along the EAAF on multidimensional waterbird diversity, and how to mitigate these effects, remain unclear.

MnCoO spinel activates peroxymonosulfate for highly effective bisphenol A degradation with ultralow catalyst and persulfate usage.

Persulfates-based advanced oxidation processes are highly efficient in degrading refractory organic contaminants in wastewater. However, their practical application is often limited by the extensive consumption of catalysts and oxidants. Therefore, constructing catalysts with abundant and efficient reaction interfaces is essential for improving the efficiency of persulfate activation.

Enhanced propionate degradation and CO electromethanogenesis in an up-flow dual-chamber electrocatalytic anaerobic bioreactor (UF-DC-EAB): Leveraging DIET-mediated syntrophy for microbial stability.

Anaerobic digestion faces numerous challenges, including high CO content in biogas and volatile fatty acids (such as propionate) accumulation in digestate. To address these issues, an up-flow dual-chamber electrocatalytic anaerobic bioreactor (UF-DC-EAB) was developed to enhance propionate degradation through microbial symbiosis while improving biogas quality via CO electromethanogenesis. Under the extreme conditions with propionate as the primary carbon source at 6-h HRT, the UF-DC-EAB achieved a propionate removal efficiency of 72.

Enhancing Ion Selectivity of Nanofiltration Membranes via Heterogeneous Charge Distribution.

Nanofiltration technology holds significant potential for precisely separating monovalent and multivalent ions, such as lithium (Li) and magnesium (Mg) ions, during lithium extraction from salt lakes. This study bridges a crucial gap in understanding the impact of the membrane spatial charge distribution on ion-selective separation. We developed two types of mixed-charge membranes with similar pore sizes but distinct longitudinal and horizontal distributions of oppositely charged domains.

Habitat fragmentation mediates the mechanisms underlying long-term climate-driven thermophilization in birds.

Climatic warming can shift community composition driven by the colonization-extinction dynamics of species with different thermal preferences; but simultaneously, habitat fragmentation can mediate species' responses to warming. As this potential interactive effect has proven difficult to test empirically, we collected data on birds over 10 years of climate warming in a reservoir subtropical island system that was formed 65 years ago. We investigated how the mechanisms underlying climate-driven directional change in community composition were mediated by habitat fragmentation.

 (Asteraceae), a new species from Xizang (Tibet), China.

, a new species of Asteraceae from the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region of China, is described and illustrated here. Morphologically, it is most similar to but can be distinguished by the combination of monoecious and dioecious individuals, involucral bracts arranged in 3-5 series (with outer series herbaceous and middle to inner series membranous), fimbriate apices on female florets, rough-edged lobes on male florets, and achenes lacking costae. Phylogenetic analyses further support the separation of this new species from related taxa.

In-depth exploration of microbial electrolysis cell coupled with anaerobic digestion (MEC-AD) for methanogenesis in treating protein wastewater at high organic loading rates.

High concentrations of protein wastewater often reduce treatment efficiency due to ammonia inhibition and acid accumulation caused by its low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N) after digestion, as well as its complex structure. This study investigates the performance of a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) driving a protein digestion system with gradually increasing organic loading rates (OLR) of bovine serum albumin, elucidating microbial changes and methanogenic metabolic pathways on bioelectrodes under high OLR "inhibited steady-state" (ISS) conditions. The results showed that the accumulation of ammonia nitrogen (AN) from protein hydrolysis under high OLR conditions disrupted microbial growth and caused cell death on the electrode surface, hindering the electron transfer rate.