Xiaoxu Jia

The Loess Plateau of China is a region with one of the most severe cases of soil erosion in the world. Since the 1950s, there has been afforestation measure to control soil erosion and improve ecosystem services on the plateau. However, the introduction of exotic tree species (e.g., R. pseudoacacia, P. tabulaeformis and C. korshinskii) and high-density planting has had a negative effect on soil moisture content (SMC) in the region. Any decrease in SMC could worsen soil water shortage in both the top and deep soil layers, further endangering the sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. This study analyzed the variations in SMC following the conversion of croplands into forests in the Loess Plateau. SMC data within the 5-m soil profile were collected at 50 sites in the plateau region via field survey, long-term in-situ observations and documented literature. The study showed that for the 50 sites, the depth-averaged SMC was much lower under forest than under cropland. Based on in-situ measurements of SMC in agricultural plots and C. korshinskii plots in 2004–2014, SMC in the 0–4 m soil profile in both plots declined significantly (p < 0.01) during the growing season. The rate of decline in SMC in various soil layers under C. korshinskii plots (−0.008 to −0.016 cm3 cm−3 yr−1) was much higher than those under agricultural plots (−0.004 to −0.005 cm3 cm−3 yr−1). This suggested that planting C. korshinskii intensified soil moisture decline in China’s Loess Plateau. In the first 20–25 yr of growth, the depth-averaged SMC gradually decreased with stand age in R. pseudoacacia plantation, but SMC somehow recovered with increasing tree age over the 25-year period. Irrespectively, artificial forests consumed more deep soil moisture than cultivated crops in the study area, inducing soil desiccation and dry soil layer formation. Thus future afforestation should consider those species that use less water and require less thinning for sustainable soil conservation without compromising future water resources demands in the Loess Plateau.

While soil erosion drives land degradation, the impact of erosion on soil microbial communities and multiple soil functions remains unclear. This hinders our ability to assess the true impact of erosion on soil ecosystem services and our ability to restore eroded environments. Here we examined the effect of erosion on microbial communities at two sites with contrasting soil texture and climates. Eroded plots had lower microbial network complexity, fewer microbial taxa, and fewer associations among microbial taxa, relative to non-eroded plots. Soil erosion also shifted microbial community composition, with decreased relative abundances of dominant phyla such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes. In contrast, erosion led to an increase in the relative abundances of some bacterial families involved in N cycling, such as Acetobacteraceae and Beijerinckiaceae. Changes in microbiota characteristics were strongly related with erosion-induced changes in soil multifunctionality. Together, these results demonstrate that soil erosion has a significant negative impact on soil microbial diversity and functionality.

Abstract Chemotherapy suffers numbers of limitations including poor drug solubility, nonspecific biodistribution, and inevitable adverse effects on normal tissues. Tumor‐targeted delivery and intratumoral stimuli‐responsive release of drugs by nanomedicines are considered to be highly promising in solving these problems. Compared with traditional chemotherapeutic drugs, high concentration of nitric oxide (NO) exhibits unique anticancer effects. The development of tumor‐targeting and intratumoral microenvironment‐responsive NO‐releasing nanomedicines is highly desired. Here a novel kind of organic–inorganic composite nanomedicine (QM‐NPQ@PDHNs) is presented by encapsulating a glutathione S ‐transferases π (GSTπ)‐responsive drug O 2 ‐(2,4‐dinitro‐5‐{[2‐(β‐ d ‐galactopyranosyl olean‐12‐en‐28‐oate‐3‐yl)‐oxy‐2‐oxoethyl] piperazine‐1‐yl} phenyl) 1‐(methylethanolamino)diazen‐1‐ium‐1,2‐dilate (NPQ) as NO donor and an aggregation‐induced‐emission (AIE) red fluorogen QM‐2 into the cores of the hybrid nanomicelles (PEGylated disulfide‐doped hybrid nanocarriers (PDHNs)) with glutathione (GSH)‐responsive shells. The QM‐NPQ@PDHN nanomedicine is able to respond to the intratumoral over‐expressed GSH and GSTπ, resulting in the responsive biodegradation of the protective organosilica shell and NPQ release, and subsequent NO release within the tumor, respectively, and thus normal organs remain unaffected. This work demonstrates a paradigm of dual intratumoral redox/enzyme‐responsive NO‐release nanomedicine for tumor‐specific and high‐efficacy cancer therapy.

Drought is the most widespread and destructive hazard in arid and semiarid regions, with behaviors that become more complicated under climate change. To provide an overall view of drought conditions across the Loess Plateau of China, two multiscalar drought indices, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), were used to identify the regional spatiotemporal characteristics of drought conditions from 1957 to 2012. Climatic data from 54 meteorological stations across the region were used to calculate the SPI and SPEI time series at 1-, 3-, 6-, 12- and 24-month time scales. Subregions with independent drought characteristics and the corresponding representative meteorological stations were identified by principal component analysis to facilitate regional drought monitoring. A temporal trend of drought severity over a 12-month time scale, as detected by the Mann–Kendall test, was mapped for the entire region. The intensity of the increasing trend of drought severity based on the SPEI was weaker than that based on the SPI. The area with a significant increasing trend of drought severity based on the SPEI was only found in the southwest of the region and was much smaller than that based on the SPI. The temporal behavior of drought frequency from January to December differed over different time scales and levels of drought severity. The regional distributions of the drought frequency were mapped for different months. Generally, the drought frequency spatially decreased from southeast to northwest and was higher in the middle of the winter, late spring and early summer. While the drought-hit area also changed with time, it was generally within the central and northwest areas of the region. Drought behaviors identified by the SPI and SPEI also changed with different time scales. Clear differences were also found among the drought characteristics identified by SPI, SPEI and the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index. The SPEI is considered as a robust index for regional drought monitoring and analysis under global climate change scenarios because of its multiscalar nature, simple form, low data requirement, and ability to identify the effects of temperature on drought conditions.

Developing a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) combining with superior mechanical strength and lithium-ion transportation properties is still a challenge. Herein, a new GPE based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) entrapped in cross-linked cellulose structure is prepared via one-step crosslinking method. The results showed that the composite gel membrane owned superior tensile strength from 33.92 MPa to 211.06 MPa and bending resistance when the content of PEG was changed from 2.5% to 20%. It exhibited considerable ionic conductivity of 3.31 × 10−3 S cm−1, together with an outstanding lithium-ion transfer number of 0.63 when the content of PEG was at 5%. The assembled Li/GPE/NCM523 batteries by this gel polymer electrolyte demonstrated initial discharge capacity of 159.3 mAh g−1 as well as the coulomb efficiency of 85.52% at 0.2C. Moreover, the as-prepared GPEs possessed good affinity with electrodes. Combing the high performance and optimized mechanical strength, we anticipate the possibility of this cost-effective and biodegradable GPE membranes applied in LIBs can be achieved.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of shallow groundwater and deep groundwater in the Guanzhong Plain region of China, as well as the related health risk to humans. In total, 130 groundwater samples were collected comprising 116 from shallow groundwater (dug wells) and 14 from deep groundwater (drilled wells). The water samples were analyzed to determine the levels of As and 12 other heavy metals (Al, Cd, Mn, Cr, V, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Pb, and Mo). The results showed that the concentrations of As and other heavy metals in the deep groundwater samples were lower than the safe limits, but the Cr concentrations in some shallow groundwater samples exceeded the safe limits. The heavy metal pollution index and heavy metal evaluation index both showed that As and other heavy metals were pollutants at low levels in all of the shallow and deep groundwater sample. Health risk assessments showed that the deep groundwater samples had no associated non-carcinogenic health risks, whereas the shallow groundwater samples had non-carcinogenic health risks due to contamination with Cr and As. Some shallow groundwater samples had associated carcinogenic health risks due to contamination with Cr and As, whereas the deep groundwater samples only had carcinogenic health risks because of contamination with Cr. These results suggest that local residents and government departments should be made aware of Cr and As pollution in shallow groundwater.

Aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) are promising candidates for next-generation energy storage due to the excellent safety, environmental friendliness, natural abundance, high theoretical specific capacity, and low redox potential of zinc (Zn) metal. However, several issues such as dendrite formation, hydrogen evolution, corrosion, and passivation of Zn metal anodes cause irreversible loss of the active materials. To solve these issues, researchers often use large amounts of excess Zn to ensure a continuous supply of active materials for Zn anodes. This leads to the ultralow utilization of Zn anodes and squanders the high energy density of AZMBs. Herein, the design strategies for AZMBs with high Zn utilization are discussed in depth, from utilizing thinner Zn foils to constructing anode-free structures with theoretical Zn utilization of 100%, which provides comprehensive guidelines for further research. Representative methods for calculating the depth of discharge of Zn anodes with different structures are first summarized. The reasonable modification strategies of Zn foil anodes, current collectors with pre-deposited Zn, and anode-free aqueous Zn metal batteries (AF-AZMBs) to improve Zn utilization are then detailed. In particular, the working mechanism of AF-AZMBs is systematically introduced. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for constructing high-utilization Zn anodes are presented.

Biodegradable matrixes obtained from natural renewable resources have received increasing attention in the field of gel polymer electrolyte for lithium ion batteries. However, the inferior mechanical property, low uptake ability for liquid electrolytes and the poor lithium ion transference are the obvious drawbacks nowadays. Here, a mechanically robust and environmentally friendly cellulose gel membrane is prepared by the facile solution casting and one-step crosslinking method. This study showed that the GPE based on this cellulose membrane with 5% crosslinker not only possessed good tensile fracture strength of 14.61 MPa, but also presented remarkable electrochemical performance, including high electrolyte uptake of 540%, high ionic conductivity of 6.34 × 10−3 S cm−1, high lithium ion transference number of 0.82 at room temperature, excellent compatibility with lithium electrode and good electrochemical stability. In addition, the assembled cell showed a discharge capacity of 145 mA h g−1 after first cycle at 0.2 C-rate and a high capacity retention of 90% after 50 cycles. We anticipate that this natural polymer membrane will be applied as a high safety, low cost and environmental friendly GPE of lithium-ion batteries.

Core Ideas The progress of research on soil drought in the Loess Plateau was reviewed. Spatiotemporal patterns of dried soil layers were scale dependent. SWCCV was recommended for optimizing water management in the critical zone of the LP. The Loess Plateau (LP) of China is a good representative area for critical zone (CZ) science studies. The LP is famous for its deep loess. In most areas, the thickness of the loess profile is deeper than 100 m, and two‐thirds of the area is arid and semiarid. With the Grain‐for‐Green project, the vegetation of the plateau has recovered gradually. However, with the increase in vegetative coverage, especially the planted vegetation, the water content of the soil profile has decreased and the soil is much drier. In this review, particular emphasis is paid to the dry conditions of deep soil, drought, regional restoration of vegetation, and effective management of soil moisture. We reviewed the progress of research on dried soil layers (DSLs) that resulted from soil drought in the past decades on the Plateau, and then we summarized the development of the concept and models of soil water carrying capacity for vegetation (SWCCV). This review is helpful for understanding the development of DSLs, optimizing soil water management through vegetation mediation, and designing a long‐term sustainable framework for water‐limited ecosystems.

Spherical LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523), cycling to voltages greater than 4.3 V, often suffers from structure instability and the resultant inferior cyclability. Here, Nd is used as dopant into NCM523 to address this long-standing issue. The mechanism of Nd substitution effect on the structural evolution of NCM523 is also investigated. In-situ X-ray diffraction reveals that volume variation of the cathode could be alleviated due to the Nd doping effect. The larger-diameter Nd3+, integrating into the crystal lattice of NCM523 as a positively charged center, is beneficial to the diffusion of Li ion, stability of crystal phase and physical structure upon cycling. In-situ Raman spectroscopic measurements verify that partial Nd substitution can lead sustainable structure evolution during the first cycle. More importantly, the stable cut-off voltage could be enhanced to as high as 4.6 V.

Layered Nd-doped LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) compounds were successfully synthesized via a coprecipitation-assisted solid-phase method in this work. The effects of Nd doping on the crystal structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties were characterized thoroughly using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, and electrochemical tests. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction data indicated that the Nd-doped samples had lower cation mixing than the raw NCM523. The SEM and EDX mapping characterization results demonstrated that Nd atoms were uniformly distributed in NCM523. At 1C and 10C, the Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)0.992Nd0.008O2 materials exhibited initial discharge capacities of 189.7 and 101.5 mAh g−1, respectively, with capacity retentions of 83.3% and 88%, respectively, compared to those of NCM523 (68.1% and 52.5%, respectively) with a cutoff voltage of 4.8 V after 100 cycles. It was found that NCM523 doped with Nd3+ ions can expand lithium ion diffusion channels in the layered structure and stabilize the structure of the material.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a natural chemical component of all soils and influences soil organic pollutant migration, nutrient cycling, and global climate change. Previous field studies have focused on a single ecosystem, such as cropland, grassland, or forestland. However, the potential effect of different land-use types on the vertical distribution of soil DOM quantity and quality remains unclear. This study investigated the vertical characteristics of DOM in 5-m soil profiles under different land-use types (cropland, grassland, and forestland) on the Loess Plateau. The data from ultraviolet-visible spectral and parallel factor analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectrophotometry were combined. These results indicated that the mean content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the 30-yr forestland (203.33 mg kg−1 soil) was the highest, and the lowest was observed in the cropland (83.70 mg kg−1 soil). Meanwhile, the mean DOC content of the forestland increased through time, particularly after 20 years. In other words, afforestation activities only significantly affected soil DOM after a long time (over 20 years). The DOC content of the cropland initially increased and then decreased with soil depth in the 1-m soil profiles, which may be related to agricultural activities. Three fluorescence components, including two humic acid-like substances (C1 and C3) and a tryptophan-like substance (C2), were identified from all samples. The humic acid-like components significantly decreased by 51% with soil depth, while the tryptophan-like component increased by 49%, particularly in the cropland. The variation in ultraviolet-visible spectral and optical indexes also indicated that soil DOM was dominated by both microbial and terrestrial sources. These findings help to understand the dynamics of DOC in deep soil profiles and the biogeochemical effects of DOM in the natural environment.

Recent drug delivery nanosystems for cancer treatment still suffer from the poor tumor accumulation and low therapeutic efficacy due to the complex in vivo biological barriers. To resolve these problems, in this work, a novel gradient redox-responsive and two-stage rocket-mimetic drug nanocarrier is designed and constructed for improved tumor accumulation and safe chemotherapy. The nanocarrier is constructed on the basis of the disulfide-doped organosilica-micellar hybrid nanoparticles and the following dual-functional modification with disulfide-bonded polyethylene glycol (PEG) and amido-bonded polyethylenimine (PEI). First, prolonged circulation duration in the bloodstream is guaranteed due to the shielding of the outer PEG chains. Once the nanocarrier accumulates at the tumoral extracellular microenvironment with low glutathione (GSH) concentrations, the first-stage redox-responsive behavior with the separation of PEG and the exposure of PEI is triggered, leading to the improved tumor accumulation and cellular internalization. Furthermore, with their endocytosis by tumor cells, a high concentration of GSH induces the second-stage redox-responsiveness with the degradation of silsesquioxane framework and the release of the encapsulated drugs. As a result, the rocket-mimetic drug carrier displays longer circulation duration in the bloodstream, higher tumor accumulation capability, and improved antitumor efficacy (which is 2.5 times higher than that with inseparable PEG). It is envisioned that the rocket-mimetic strategy can provide new solutions for improving tumor accumulation and safety of nanocarriers in further cancer chemotherapy.

The removal of antibiotics from water by S-scheme heterojunction photocatalytic materials has become a research hotspot in recent years. Herein, an S -scheme heterojunction Bi2O3/P-C3N4 composite photocatalytic material was prepared via in situ thermal polymerization and the degradation effect and internal mechanism of levofloxacin (LVFX) were explored under simulated sunlight. The results show that the Bi2O3/P-C3N4 composite photocatalytic material can remove 89.2% of the LVFX in water within 75 min under simulated sunlight, which is greatly improved compared to the original Bi2O3 and P-C3N4. The degradation effect is improved because the constructed S-scheme system helps spatially separate the electrons with higher reducing abilities generated by P-C3N4 and the holes with higher oxidizing ability generated by Bi2O3; moreover, BET specific surface area and the hydrophilicity is improved. Further through radicals capture, electron spin resonance (ESR), the density functional theory (DFT) experiments verified the mechanism of S-scheme heterojunction degradation of LVFX and revealed that holes and superoxide free radicals are the main active substances in the degradation of LVFX. Finally, liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS) was used to determine the intermediate products in the degradation path, and the LVFX degradation pathway was proposed. This study provides a new insight into the degradation of LVFX and provides support for antibiotic removal of photocatalytic materials in real water environments.

In recent years, granular temporary plugging agents (TPA) have been widely studied, especially in repeated fracturing operations, to stimulate oil and gas production in unconventional petroleum reservoirs. They can divert the hydraulic fracturing energy to form more complex fractures that make oil and gas more easily flow into production well. Pre-formed particle gels (PPGs), as deformable particles, are often used in petroleum reservoir water management operations because of their high strength, simple fabrication process, and environmental friendliness. However, their application as TPA is rarely reported. In this paper, degradable PPGs (DPPGs) were employed, and their temporary plugging performance was studied in the laboratory. Bottle tests were first conducted to investigate the swelling and degradation performance. Results show that DPPGs exhibit good swelling ability in an extended range of brine salinity (20000 to 400000 ppm), and DPPGs can be fully degraded, and the degradation time increase with temperature. According to the temporary plugging performance by core flooding experiments, the plugging strength increased with the injection pressure, dry particle size, and swelling ratio (less than 20 times). However, the addition of smaller size particles will prevent large particles from forming deformable blockage on the matrix end surface, and subsequent water flow channels will be easily created, so the plugging performance of the DPPGs will decrease. The above experimental results can provide an experimental and theoretical basis for the application of DPPGs in repeated fracturing operations in unconventional reservoirs.

Dye removal from water via photocatalytic technologies has attracted considerable attention. In this study, Z-scheme V2O5/P-g-C3N4 photocatalytic materials were prepared by heat treatment and characterized by a series of characterization methods. Under the visible light irradiation condition, the degradation performance of the prepared V2O5/P-g-C3N4 photocatalytic material for methyl orange (MO) removal was investigated. The results indicated that the V2O5/P-g-C3N4 Z-scheme heterostructure exhibited the best apparent rate of degrading MO: 14.5 and 3.7 times higher than those of V2O5 and P-C3N4 when they were separately used. The free radical capture and electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments confirmed that h+ and ∙O2- were the primary active species in the photocatalytic degradation of MO by V2O5/P-g-C3N4 Z-scheme heterogeneous photocatalytic materials. The improvement of catalytic activity was primarily attributed to the formation of a V2O5/P-g-C3N4 Z-scheme heterojunction, which effectively separated the photoexcited electron–hole pairs and improved the reaction efficiency. This study affords a simple strategy for preparing the photocatalytic material, a V2O5/P-g-C3N4 Z-scheme heterojunction, and avails a new method for the MO removal from water.

Abstract As an integral part of all‐solid‐state lithium (Li) batteries (ASSLBs), solid‐state electrolytes (SSEs) must meet requirements in high ionic conductivity, electrochemical/chemical stability toward the electrode. The ionic conductivity of the Li super ionic conductor (LISICON) is limited, and the thio‐LISICON is improved by replacing O 2− in the LISICON with S 2− . Currently, the ionic conductivity of Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS) has exceeded 10 mS cm −1 , which meets the demands of commercial ASSLBs. However, poor stability of SSEs, baneful interfacial reactions, Li dendrite growth, and other factors have impeded the development of ASSLBs. Hence, this review first traces the development progress of thio‐/LISICON and LGPS‐type SSEs, analyzes the complicated ion transport mechanism, and summarizes the effective strategies for improving ionic conductivity. Moreover, exciting methods focusing on electrode interface engineering are outlined separately. As to SSE/anode interface, poor chemical or electrochemical compatibility, poor interfacial contact, and the mechanisms of dendrite formation are discussed. For the SSE/cathode interface, poor interfacial stability and non‐intimate solid–solid contact are daunting challenges. Then, effective methods to improve interface stability and electrochemical performance of ASSLBs with LGPS‐type SSEs are introduced. Finally, combined with the present chances and challenges, the possible future developing directions of LGPS‐based ASSLBs and the perspectives are proposed.

Accurately estimating the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is a basic requirement for precision irrigation and the correct planning of regional water resources. This study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal variations in ET0 in China and to improve the accuracy of ET0 calculations on different spatiotemporal scales. Meteorological data collected at 100 stations in China during 1961 to 2019 were used to calculate ET0 with the Penman–Monteith model, and the temporal and spatial patterns in ET0-PM were analyzed with the Mann–Kendall nonparametric trend test method. Three machine learning models comprising convolutional neural network (CNN), extreme learning machine (ELM), and multiple adaptive regression splines (MARS), and seven empirical models calibrated with mind evolutionary algorithm (MEA) were compared to assess their suitability for calculating ET0 on different spatiotemporal scales in China. The results showed that the annual mean ET0-PM value (413.29–2772.35 mm) in China gradually increased from north to south and from west to east. ET0 exhibited an upward trend in the temperate continental zone (TCZ) and mountain plateau zone (MPZ) but a downward trend in the temperate monsoon zone (TMZ) and subtropical monsoon region (SMZ). By comparing the global performance indicators (GPI), the machine learning models generally performed better than the empirical models at different spatiotemporal scales. And CNN was the best model for calculating ET0 in terms of the model accuracy and stability. On the daily scale, MARS performed well in MPZ, whereas ELM performed well in TMZ and TCZ. On the monthly scale, MARS performed well in TMZ, whereas ELM performed well in SMZ and MPZ. At the annual scale, the accuracy of ELM was higher than that of MARS.

Due to the intrinsically flexible molecular skeletons and loose aggregations, organic semiconductors, like small molecular acceptors (SMAs) in organic solar cells (OSCs), greatly suffer from larger structural/packing disorders and weaker intermolecular interactions comparing to their inorganic counterparts, further leading to hindered exciton diffusion/dissociation and charge carrier migration in resulting OSCs. To overcome this challenge, complete peripheral fluorination was performed on basis of a two-dimensional (2D) conjugation extended molecular platform of CH-series SMAs, rendering an acceptor of CH8F with eight fluorine atoms surrounding the molecular backbone. Benefitting from the broad 2D backbone, more importantly, strengthened fluorine-induced secondary interactions, CH8F and its D18 blends afford much enhanced and more ordered molecular packings accompanying with enlarged dielectric constants, reduced exciton binding energies and more obvious fibrillary networks comparing to CH6F controls. Consequently, D18:CH8F-based OSCs reached an excellent efficiency of 18.80 %, much better than that of 17.91 % for CH6F-based ones. More excitingly, by employing D18-Cl that possesses a highly similar structure to D18 as a third component, the highest efficiency of 19.28 % for CH-series SMAs-based OSCs has been achieved so far. Our work demonstrates the dramatical structural multiformity of CH-series SMAs, meanwhile, their high potential for constructing record-breaking OSCs through peripheral fine-tuning.

Nonmetallic catalysts that can effectively activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) under visible light are of great interest for removing endocrine disruptors in water. In this study, a simple one-step strategy was developed to synthesize two-dimensional (2D) nitrogen-deficient graphitic carbon nitride (CNX) for visible-light activation of PMS (CNX/PMS/Vis). The CNX-3/PMS/Vis system could degrade bisphenol S (BPS) more efficiently (90.37 %, 90 min) than graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/PMS/Vis (58.36 %, 90 min). Experiments and density functional theory calculations showed that the improved catalytic performance was due to the 2D nitrogen defect structure in the modified g-C3N4. Such structure reduced the work function, inhibited the recombination of photogenerated carriers, enhanced the adsorption energy between g-C3N4 and PMS, and strengthened the synergy between photocatalysis and PMS activation. Radical quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments demonstrated that the main mechanism of BPS degradation involved free radicals and nonradicals, wherein 1O2, O2•-, and h+ were the main reactive oxygen species, and •OH and SO4•- were the secondary species. In addition, CNX-3/PMS/Vis system had strong anti-interference ability to the environmental background and a wide range of operating pH. To summarize, herein we developed a low-cost and green nonmetallic catalyst to cooperate with PMS-based advanced oxidation technology via photocatalysis, providing new ideas to remove organic pollutants in water.

Given the great potential for achieving record breaking organic solar cells (OSCs), newly explored solid additives that could optimize nanoscale morphology of active layers have rapidly gained widespread attention. Herein, a new volatile solid additive 2,5-dichlorothieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT-Cl) is delicately explored, fully satisfying the design criteria of a planar conjugated skeleton with suitable molecular size, symmetrical geometry, and proper halogenation. When applied in the state-of-the-art OSCs with diverse active layers, the quite high crystallinity of TT-Cl and strong interactions with light-harvesting components lead to optimized molecular crystalline ordering, fibrillar networks, and vertical phase distributions, thus offering a significant performance enhancement. Consequently, PM6:Y6-based binary and ternary OSCs achieved PCEs of 18.20% and 18.95%, respectively. Moreover, PM6:CH23-based binary OSCs presented an outstanding PCE of 18.72%. Our work not only provides a broad-spectrum solid additive to optimize film morphologies powerfully but also manifests great potential for achieving a record-breaking PCE of OSCs.

The natural environments in the semiarid regions of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) are fragile due to the serious soil erosion and the weak ecological services of the plants. To ascertain and then evaluate a sustainable land-use pattern in these regions, we selected six typical land-use patterns (i.e., a farmland, a natural grassland, a homogeneous shrubland (S), a mix of shrubland and cultivated grassland (S–Alf), a mix of shrubland and orchard (S–O) and a mix of shrubland and grassland (S–G)) on the plateau and then measured the soil water, related soil properties and plant root indices to a depth of 1800 cm. We also measured the aboveground net primary productivities (ANPPs). The mean soil water content (SWC) within the 0–1800 cm profile was significantly highest (15.2%) in farmland, followed by grassland (11.4%) and S–Alf (8.0%). The available water (AW), the ratio between AW and AW capacity, and the thickness of the dried soil layers also demonstrated that farmland had the best conditions of soil water, followed by grassland and shrubland. The aboveground biomasses of grassland in both non-growing (140 g m−2) and growing (370 g m−2) seasons were significantly higher than those of shrublands. The ANPPs of the grassland (2.0 g m−2 d−1) demonstrated a similar trend. The patterns of land use (including the mixtures of different plant species) greatly affected the patterns of vertical distribution and quantities of soil water within the 1800-cm profile. The data for the soil–water regime and the ANPP further indicated that grassland would be an optimal use of the land for these semiarid regions. This information should be useful to the ecological scientists and policy makers for developing strategies for the sustainable management of vegetation on the CLP and possibly other water-limited regions around the world.

Soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a crucial soil physical property that not only influences soil hydrological processes, but also the planning for vegetation recovery, irrigation practice and drainage design. However, Ks data are often lacking at large-scale soil database due to difficulties in direct measurement that is often labour intensive, time consuming and cost inefficient. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of different emerging methods [Multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN)] of Ks prediction. The pedotransfer function (PTF) is one such method that is based on selected factors closely correlated with Ks at regional scale. We collected disturbed and undisturbed soil samples in the 0–40 cm soil layer at 243 sites across the entire typical Loess Plateau of China (430,000 km2) and then measured Ks and the potentially related factors. The results showed that Ks was normally distributed with moderate a spatial variation (CV = 67%). Correlation analysis indicated that bulk density (BD), saturated soil water content (SSWC), clay content (Clay), silt content (Silt) and latitude were closely correlated (p < 0.05) with Ks. Although the accuracies of MLR and ANN were equal in terms of estimating Ks, the stability of PTF developed via ANN was not as good as that of MLR. Thus PTF developed via MLR, which included BD, Silt and Clay, was considered as the best model for estimating Ks. There is a need to closely monitor the stability and repeatability of PTF during comparison and determination of PTF.

Ginsenoside compound K (CK) is one of the effective ingredients in antitumor composition of ginsenoside. However, the poor water solubility and significant efflux have limited the widespread clinical use of CK. In this study, preparation of novel CK-loaded d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1,000 succinate/poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) mixed micelles (CK-M) is discussed to solve the above problems. Particle size, zeta potential, and morphology were characterized using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. CK-M are spherical shaped with an average particle size of 53.07±1.31 nm with high drug loading of 11.19%±0.87% and entrapment efficiency of 94.60%±1.45%. Water solubility of CK was improved to 3.78±0.09 mg/mL, which was ~107.35 times higher than free CK. A549 and PC-9 cells were used to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake. IC50 values of CK-M in A549 and PC-9 cells (24 h) were 25.43±2.18 and 18.35±1.90 μg/mL, respectively. Enhanced cellular uptake of CK-M was observed in both cells. Moreover, CK-M promoted tumor cell apoptosis, inhibited tumor cell invasion, metastasis, and efflux through regulation of Bax, Bcl-2, matrix metalloproteinase-2, Caspase-3, and P-glycoprotein. In vivo imaging indicated that CK-M has excellent tumor targeting effect within 24 h, and the relative tumor inhibition rate of CK-M was 52.04%±4.62% compared with control group (P<0.01). Thus, CK-M could be an appropriate delivery agent for enhanced solubility and antitumor effect of CK.

To investigate the spatial variability of soil particle size distribution (PSD) in the Loess Plateau (LP) region of China, 2673 disturbed soil samples were collected in the 243 soil profiles (0–500 cm) across the typical loess zone. The PSD of soil samples were determined using the laser diffraction technique and the regional spatial distribution patterns of PSD were analyzed through classical statistical and geo-statistical methods. The results showed that silt loam was the dominant soil texture (92.6%) at the 0–500 cm soil layer. Sand, silt and clay contents varied slightly with increasing soil depth, suggesting that soil texture was almost homogeneous across the soil profile. Soils were overall sandy in the north and clayey in the south, but soil texture variation uneven with increasing latitude. PSD pattern across the typical LP region depicted latitudinal zonality. Fractal analysis showed a strong relationship between fractal dimension (D) and clay content (R2 = 0.98), demonstrating that D was controlled by the clay content rather than the coarse particles at the regional scale. The limited changes of PSD in the soil profile and the moderate variation of soil texture across the LP will provide a reference to regional scale hydrological, erosion and ecological models in the Loess Plateau of China.

Neonicotinoid insecticides can selectively interact with the unique nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes in insects and are considered to be low toxic to mammals. However, there is still insufficient knowledge on human exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides, especially for children. This study aimed to investigate urinary concentrations and profiles of neonicotinoid insecticides in South China children and to analyze potential influencing factors. Six neonicotinoid insecticides, including imidacloprid (IMI), thiamethoxam (THM), acetamiprid (ACE), clothianidin (CLO), thiacloprid (THD) and dinotefuran (DIN), exhibited high detection frequencies (>90%) in urine samples collected from 305 children, suggesting broad exposure in South China children. The median concentrations were determined to be 0.13, 0.21, 0.01, 0.19, 0.002 and 1.64 μg/L, respectively. Among the target neonicotinoids, urinary concentrations of CLO and THM exhibited a significant and positive correlation between each other (p < 0.05), suggesting similar sources of these two chemicals.

Soil respiration is an important part of the global carbon (C) cycle and the largest component of C flux from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere. Global change and anthropogenic perturbations can profoundly impact soil respiration. A field experiment examined the seasonal variability of soil respiration in response to the addition of nitrogen (N), burning, clipping and their possible interactions throughout an entire growing season from April to October 2011, in semiarid grassland in northern China. Results showed that N addition and burning significantly increased mean soil respiration by 35.8% and 11.0%, respectively, and that burning and N addition synergistically enhanced soil respiration. However, the effects of N addition and burning on soil respiration were mediated by season. Clipping had no significant effect on soil respiration. Soil moisture was primarily responsible for the seasonal changes in soil respiration, whereas the positive responses of soil respiration to burning and N addition were attributable to elevated soil temperature, plant growth, root and microbial activity and respiration. In unfertilized plots, burning decreased temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil respiration by 10.0%. In plots with N addition, burning and clipping decreased Q10 by 15.4% and 11.6%, respectively. We therefore conclude that burning can, and clipping may, decrease the dependence of soil respiration on temperature. We further observed that the magnitude of positive feedback in soil respiration to temperature increase weakened in the burned plots, and that the availability of N might regulate the degree of this weakening. The different mechanisms by which N addition, burning and clipping influence soil respiration and its sensitivity to temperature identified in this study may facilitate the simulation and prediction of C cycling in semiarid grassland under future scenarios of global change.

This paper describes a low-cost, sensitive, visual and rapid immunochromatographic assay method on cotton thread for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) detection by using novel carbon nanotube/gold nanoparticles (CNT/GNPs) nanocomposite reporter probe. CEA, a lung cancer protein biomarker, was used as analyte to demonstrate the principle of the immunochromatographic assay on cotton thread biosensor. In the presence of target CEA, the decreasing aggregation amount of CNT/GNPs nanocomposite reporter probes on the test zone induced directly readout by naked eye. Meanwhile, quantitative detection could be performed conveniently with a commercial available scanner. The performance with respect to sensitivity of the method was greatly improved by 2–3 magnitudes comparing with traditional gold nanoparticles (GNPs) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reporter probe. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor was capable of detecting 2.32 ng/mL CEA (S/N ≥ 3) which is sensitive enough for clinical diagnosis. These results indicated the novel CNT/GNPs nanocomposite reporter probe based immunochromatographic assay on cotton thread is particularly suitable for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics in resource-limited regions.

In recent decades, hybrid imaging techniques that exploit the advantages of multiple imaging technologies have aroused extensive attention due to the deficiencies of single imaging modes. Along with the development of single photon emission computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (SPECT-MRI), it is currently necessary to develop a series of dual probes that can combine the outstanding sensitivity of SPECT with the high spatial resolution of MRI. Herein, the commonly used technetium-99 (99mTc) was labelled on the surface of manganese oxide-based mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MnOx-MSNs) for use in SPECT-MRI dual-modal imaging. The radiolabelling yield was as high as 99.1 ± 0.6%, and the r1 value of the nanoprobes was able to reach 6.60 mM−1 s−1 due to the pH-responsive properties of the MnOx-MSNs. The high-performance SPECT-MRI dual-modal imaging was confirmed in vivo in tumour-bearing mice, which could also provide semi-quantitative information for tumour detection. Importantly, these nanoprobes can deliver anti-cancer drugs in cancer therapy due to their unique mesoporous structures. Thus, nanotheranostics combining dual-modal imaging with anti-cancer therapeutic properties were achieved.

The Loess Plateau region of China is under increasing water shortage due to declining soil water content after reforestation. Thus, assessing the changes in soils properties in reforested lands is critical for sustainable restoration of vegetation. We conducted a continuous rainfall manipulation experiment from June 2015 to November 2016 using mature black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) on southern Loess Plateau of China. The soil hydrological properties, aggregate distribution and aggregate organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (N) concentrations were measured. Two years of drought stress caused a significant decline in saturated hydraulic conductivity and total porosity, but an increase bulk density in the 0–10 cm soil layer. The short drought stress significantly decreased soil aggregate stability due to a decline in macro-aggregate mass. Drought stress significantly decreased total soil OC concentration and macro- and micro-OC or N concentrations, but had no significant effect on total N concentration after two years of drought. Furthermore, the influence of short drought on soil hydrological properties, aggregate distribution and aggregate OC and total N concentrations was mainly evident at the depth of 10 cm. Our results indicated that short drought has the potential to damage soil properties. The results of this study could provide more insight into the sustainability of afforestation in semi-humid areas of China's Loess Plateau.

Core Ideas K s and eight associated factors were decomposed into different scales using NA‐MEMD. Small‐scale variations of K s were dominated by soil properties, especially bulk density. Large‐scale K s variations were mainly controlled by topographic and climatic factors. Summing up MLR estimates of K s scale components surpassed MLR estimation of K s before NA‐MEMD. Saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K s ) usually varies at multiple scales in space, as affected by different soil and environmental processes operating at diverse scales. Identifying spatial process relationships can be challenging due to overlapping of underlying processes at different scales. The objective of this study was to evaluate noise‐assisted multivariate empirical mode decomposition (NA‐MEMD) for characterizing K s variability and depicting its scale‐dependent relationships with different soil properties and environmental factors. At an interval of 10 km along an 860‐km south‐north transect across the Loess Plateau of China, K s , bulk density, soil organic carbon content, sand and clay contents at three depths of 0 to 10, 10 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm were investigated as well as four environmental factors of elevation, slope gradient, annual precipitation and temperature. Decomposed into different intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and residues by NA‐MEMD, K s at all depths were found to vary at the smallest scale of 29 km mainly, corresponding to IMF1s, which manifested 33.0 to 48.1% of the total K s variance. The small‐scale variations of K s reflected not only in IMF1s but also in IMF2s and IMF3s were dominated by soil properties especially bulk density, and the large‐scale variations corresponding to IMF4s and IMF5s were controlled by environmental factors in general. For each depth, K s at the scale of investigation was estimated by adding all the IMFs and residue derived from the factor components at equivalent scales using multiple linear regression (MLR). Such K s estimations after NA‐MEMD evidently outperformed the MLR before NA‐MEMD by explaining additional 9.4 to 18.7% of the total K s variance, but underperformed the artificial neural network and state‐space approach also implemented on undecomposed spatial series of K s and its underlying factors. NA‐MEMD serves as a useful tool for K s characterization and its incorporation with nonlinear functions or spatial interactions with impact factors is suggested for the estimation of K s and other soil processes.

Agricultural land-use change is a global issue with significant implications for global warming and ecosystem functionality. Uncertainty regarding carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration and their dynamics after land-use change hampers an accurate understanding of the C and N cycles. To address the influence of converting agricultural land to forest on organic carbon (OC) and N sequestration and their coupling relationships, we collected topsoil (0−10 cm depth) and subsurface soil (10−20 cm depth) in afforested woodlands 10, 20, and 35 yrs after the establishment of Robinia pseudoacacia in abandoned farmlands on the Loess Plateau, China. We analyzed the concentrations and stocks of OC and N in bulk soils and water-stable aggregates. We found that afforestation of farmland resulted in a relative increase of 30 % in the proportion of macroaggregates (8 – 0.25 mm) but a relative decrease of 45 % and 30 % in the proportions of microaggregates (0.25 - 0.053 mm) and silt + clay (< 0.053 mm), respectively. The respective OC and N stocks increased by 87 % and 74 % in bulk soils and by 278 % and 159 % in macroaggregates after 35 yrs of afforestation. Macroaggregates accounted for 69 % and 68 % of the OC and N stocks, respectively, in bulk soils at the 0−20 cm depth. However, the OC and N stocks in microaggregates and silt + clay were only slightly affected. These results indicated that the conversion of agricultural land to forest could sequester OC and N in both bulk soils and aggregates, mainly macroaggregates. In addition, the dynamics of OC and N were significantly correlated, implying synchronous OC and N sequestration in soils after converting agricultural land to forest.

Soil quality indexes (SQIs) are important for evaluating grassland ecosystems. The objective of this study was to assess different land-use soil quality using total data set, minimum data set (MDS), and revised minimum data set (RMDS) indicator selection methods and linear and non-linear scoring methods. Four land-use, which were including grazing grassland (GG), fencing grassland (FG), contour trench grassland (CG) and fish-scale pits grassland (FPG) in a typical steppe of loess hilly area in Ningxia, were taken as the research object. Eighteen indicators (soil bulk density; GMD: geometric mean diameter; MWD: mean weight diameter; FWC: field water-storage capacity; capillary porosity; total porosity; soil organic carbon; TN: total nitrogen; total phosphorus; AK: available potassium; available nitrogen; microbial biomass carbon; microbial biomass nitrogen; SA: sucrase activity; protease activity; CA: catalase activity; PPA: phosphatase activity; and urease activity) of soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the 0–40 cm soil layer under different land use types were measured. Principal component analysis was used to select the MDS and RMDS. The results showed that three (SA, MWD, and PPA) and six (FWC, GMD, TN, AK, SA, and CA) soil indicators were included in the MDS and RMDS, respectively. The agreement values of SQIs for the linear scoring method were higher than those of the non-linear scoring method. The linear scoring-revised minimum data set was regarded as the most appropriate method to calculate the SQI because of its highest F and CV (Coefficient of Variation) values and correlation coefficient. The ranking of the SQI values of the four land use types was FG > GG > CG > FPG. The results showed that FG is the most beneficial measure for the restoration of degraded grassland, which has important guiding significance for the ecological construction of degraded grassland in the study area.

Deposition of anthropogenic aerosols may contribute significantly to dissolved Fe in the open ocean, affecting marine primary production and biogeochemical cycles; however, fractional solubility of Fe is not well understood for anthropogenic aerosols. This work investigated mass fractions, solubility, speciation and isotopic compositions of Fe in coal and municipal waste fly ash. Compared to desert dust (3.1 ± 1.1%), the average mass fraction of Fe was higher in coal fly ash (6.2 ± 2.7%) and lower in municipal waste fly ash (2.6 ± 0.4%), and the average Fe/Al ratios were rather similar for the three types of particles. Municipal waste fly ash showed highest Fe solubility (1.98 ± 0.43%) in acetate buffer (pH: 4.3), followed by desert dust (0.43 ± 0.30%) and coal fly ash (0.24 ± 0.28%), suggesting that not all the anthropogenic aerosols showed higher Fe solubility than desert dust. For the samples examined in our work, amorphous Fe appeared to be an important controlling factor for Fe solubility, which was not correlated with particle size or BET surface area. Compared to desert dust (-0.05‰ to 0.21‰), coal and municipal waste fly ash showed similar or even higher δ56Fe values for total Fe (range: 0.05‰ to 0.75‰), implying that the presence of coal or municipal waste fly ash may not be able to explain significantly smaller δ56Fe values reported for total Fe in ambient aerosols affected by anthropogenic sources.

Mineral dust is an important type of ice nucleating particles in the troposphere; however, the effects of heterogeneous reactions on ice nucleation (IN) activities of mineral dust remain to be elucidated. A droplet-freezing apparatus (Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry Ice Nucleation Apparatus, GIGINA) was developed in this work to measure IN activities of atmospheric particles in the immersion freezing mode, and its performance was validated by a series of experimental characterizations. This apparatus was then employed to measure IN activities of feldspar and Arizona Test Dust (ATD) particles before and after heterogeneous reaction with NO2 (10±0.5 ppmv) at 40% relative humidity. The surface coverage of nitrate, θ(NO3-), increased to 3.1±0.2 for feldspar after reaction with NO2 for 6 hr, and meanwhile the active site density per unit surface area (ns) at -20°C was reduced from 92±5 to <1.0 cm-2 by about two orders of magnitude; however, no changes in nitrate content or IN activities were observed for further increase in reaction time (up to 24 hr). Both nitrate content and IN activities changed continuously with reaction time (up to 24 hr) for ATD particles; after reaction with NO2 for 24 hr, θ(NO3-) increased to 1.4±0.1 and ns at -20°C was reduced from 20±4 to 9.7±1.9 cm-2 by a factor of ∼2. Our work suggests that heterogeneous reaction with NO2, an abundant reactive nitrogen species in the troposphere, may significantly reduce IN activities of mineral dust in the immersion freezing mode.

An ultrasensitive differential-phase SPR biosensor has been successfully established, capable of direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

In this study, a natural cotton thread immunoassay device combined with gold nanorod (GNR) reporter probe is developed for the rapid, sensitive and quantitative electrochemical determination of human ferritin, a lung cancer related biomarker. Human ferritin as an analyte and a pair of monoclonal antibodies are used to demonstrate the proof-of-concept on the cotton thread immunoassay device. An enhancement of the sensitivity is achieved by using gold nanorod as an electroactive report probe compared with a traditional gold nanoparticle (GNP) report probe. The device was capable of measuring 1.58 ng/mL ferritin in 30 min by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) testing, which meet the requirement for clinical diagnosis.

Tree mortality due to warming and drought is a critical aspect of forest ecosystem in responding to climate change. Spatial patterns of tree mortality induced by drought and its influencing factors, however, have yet to be documented at the global scale. We collected observations from 248 sites globally where trees have died due to drought and then assessed the effects of climatic and forest factors on the rate of tree mortality. The global mean annual mortality rate was 5.5%. The rate of tree mortality was significantly and negatively correlated with mean annual precipitation (P < 0.01). Tree mortality was lowest in tropical rainforests with mean annual precipitation >2000 mm and was severe in regions with mean annual precipitation <1000 mm. Mortality rates varied amongst species. The global annual rate of mortality was much higher for gymnosperms (7.1%) than angiosperms (4.8%) but did not differ significantly between evergreen (6.2%) and deciduous (6.1%) species. Stand age and wood density affected the mortality rate. Saplings (4.6%) had a higher mortality rate than mature trees (3.2%), and mortality rates significantly decreased with increasing wood density for all species (P < 0.01). We therefore concluded that the tree mortality around the globe varied with climatic and forest factors. The differences between tree species, wood density, stand density, and stand age should be considered when evaluating tree mortality at a large spatial scale during future climatic extremes.

Abstract. Water adsorption and hygroscopicity are among the most important physicochemical properties of aerosol particles, largely determining their impacts on atmospheric chemistry, radiative forcing, and climate. Measurements of water adsorption and hygroscopicity of nonspherical particles under subsaturated conditions are nontrivial because many widely used techniques require the assumption of particle sphericity. In this work we describe a method to directly quantify water adsorption and mass hygroscopic growth of atmospheric particles for temperature in the range of 5–30 °C, using a commercial vapor sorption analyzer. A detailed description of instrumental configuration and experimental procedures, including relative humidity (RH) calibration, is provided first. It is then demonstrated that for (NH4)2SO4 and NaCl, deliquescence relative humidities and mass hygroscopic growth factors measured using this method show good agreements with experimental and/or theoretical data from literature. To illustrate its ability to measure water uptake by particles with low hygroscopicity, we used this instrument to investigate water adsorption by CaSO4 ⋅ 2H2O as a function of RH at 25 °C. The mass hygroscopic growth factor of CaSO4 ⋅ 2H2O at 95 % RH, relative to that under dry conditions (RH &lt; 1 %), was determined to be (0.450±0.004) % (1σ). In addition, it is shown that this instrument can reliably measure a relative mass change of 0.025 %. Overall, we have demonstrated that this commercial instrument provides a simple, sensitive, and robust method to investigate water adsorption and hygroscopicity of atmospheric particles.

Soil hydraulic properties (SHP) such as the soil water retention curve and soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of the deep profile in the Earth's critical zone (CZ) are important factors for investigating the water cycle process in the CZ. However, details are lacking about the SHP for the deep profile as well as their relationships with other soil properties. In the present study, SHP were obtained for a 100-m profile by soil core drilling, where the objectives were to understand the spatial distributions of SHP and to quantify the relationships between SHP and soil properties based on state-space model analysis and linear regression analysis. The results showed that SHP were not significantly related to the silt content and there was no cross-correlation between SHP and the soil organic carbon content. The soil physical properties (bulk density, sand content, and clay content) could account for most of the total variation in SHP. Compared with linear regression analysis, state-space modeling described the spatial relationship between SHP and soil physical properties much better. This study provides information about the SHP in deep profiles, thereby provide important parameters for investigating the water cycling process in the CZ and for developing pedotransfer functions.

Soil-water storage in a deep soil layer (SWSD), defined as the layer where soil water is not sensitive to daily evapotranspiration and regular rainfall events, functions as a soil reservoir in China's Loess Plateau (LP). We investigated spatial variations and factors that influence the SWSD in the 100-500 cm layers across the entire plateau. SWSD generally decreased from southeast to northwest following precipitation gradient, with a mean value of 587 mm. The spatial variation in the SWSD in grassland was the highest, followed by protection forests, production forests and cropland. Variation in the >550 mm rainfall zone was much lower than that in the <550 mm zone. The significant influencing variables explained 22.3-65.2% of the spatial variation in SWSD. The joint effect of local and climatic variables accounted for most of the explained spatial variation of SWSD for each vegetation type and the <450 mm rainfall zone. Spatial variation of SWSD, however, was dominantly controlled by the local variables in the 450-550 and the >550 mm rainfall zones. Therefore, regional models of SWSD for a specific vegetation need to incorporate climatic, soil and topographic variables, while for a rainfall zone, land use should not be ignored.

A pillar[5]arene-based nonionic polyrotaxane (PR) with star-poly(ε-caprolactone) ( S-PCL) as the axle, pillar[5]arene (DEP5) as the wheel and adamantane as the end-capped group is designed and synthesized. The resulting PR is subsequently assembled with β-cyclodextrin end-capped pH-stimulated poly(acrylic acid) (CD-PAA) via a host-guest interaction to form the supramolecular pseudoblock polymer PR-PAA. This supramolecular pseudoblock polymer could self-assemble in aqueous solution to produce PR-PAA-based supramolecular vesicular nanoparticles (PR-SVNPs), which present significantly enhanced drug loading capacity (DLC, 45.6%) of DOX, much higher than those of superamphiphiles (PCL-PAA, 17.1%). Such a high DLC of PR-SVNPs can be most probably attributed to the greatly decreased crystallinity of PCL in PR. Moreover, the loaded drugs could be selectively released in an acidic microenvironment-responsive manner. Compared to free DOX, the DOX-loaded PR-SVNPs (DOX@PR-SVNPs) shows much enhanced cellular uptake and cytotoxicity against the SMMC-7721. More importantly, thanks to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, DOX@PR-SVNPs exhibits appealing features such as extremely low toxicity, highly efficient intratumoral accumulation and substantial antitumor efficacy in vivo.

Layered LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (LNCM) cathode material is synthesized via an assisted molten salt method with different amounts of Li2CO3 in this work. Rietveld refinements of X-ray diffraction reveal that the samples treated using excess lithium have better crystalline structures with lower cation mixing than pristine LNCM. With variations in Li/transition metal (TM) molar ratio, the morphology changes from aggregations consisting of primary particles (with a size around 500 nm) to dispersed micron particles (with a size around 2 μm) as characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results. The sample with a Li/TM ratio of 2.1 has excellent cycling capability at 1 C in the voltage range of 2.8–4.4 V, and has a 97.5% capacity retention with an initial capacity of 143.8 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. The rate capability is also enhanced, exhibiting 89.5% of the first discharge capacity at 5 C after 200 cycles. The Li diffusion coefficients are collected using the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and increase with an increase in the lithium content. In-situ X-ray diffraction confirms that molten salt leads to less change in the crystal structural volume, thus providing sustainable evolution of structure against repeated cycling.

As drug-delivery carriers for cancer chemotherapy, gatekeeper-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been widely studied due to their high drug-loading capability, controlled drug release property and good biocompatibility. However, the currently reported gatekeeper-capped MSNs suffer from complex synthetic procedures, potential toxicity of gatekeepers, unsatisfactory control on drug stimuli-release, etc. In this work, we develop a simple but efficient approach to fabricate PEGylated organosilica-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (POMSNs) by employing a disulfide-doped organosilica coating as the gatekeeper formed by the hydrolysis and condensation of a silane coupling agent 3-(mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) to block the mesopores of MSNs. Owing to the glutathione (GSH)-responsive biodegradation behavior of the disulfide-doped organosilica gatekeeper, the DOX-loaded POMSNs exhibit only 20% cell viability towards SMMC-7721 tumor cells, and almost no toxicity towards L-02 cells at a DOX concentration of 50 μg mL-1 was measured, demonstrating their selective cytotoxicity in vitro. More importantly, it is demonstrated that the DOX-loaded POMSNs exhibit a tumor inhibition rate of 71.3% and negligible systematic toxicity. Consequently, the resultant POMSNs show great potential as drug nanocarriers for redox-responsive drug release and passive-targeting tumor chemotherapy.

A GSH-responsive Fe₃O₄/DOX co-loaded PEGylated organosilica-based biodegradable nanosystem was developed for magnetically targeted magnetic resonance imaging and tumor chemotherapy.

Layered LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 oxide (NCM811) has attracted wide attention as a candidate for the high-energy cathode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). It is necessary to amend both the insufficient cycling life caused by microstructural degradation and the poor rate capability due to the restricted kinetics, especially at high voltage. Here we design and synthesize a special NCM811 (R-NCM), containing primary particles arranged radially from the surface to the interior, to address these issues. Compared with the structure of primary particles randomly distributed in conventional NCM811 (C-NCM), this special microstructure in R-NCM shows more reversible cell volume variation, providing more open paths for Li+ transfer, and, more importantly, it significantly alleviates the mechanical stress induced by volume variation inside the particle when cycled to high voltage. Consequently, R-NCM delivers high reversible capacity (221.5 mAh g–1 at a current rate of 0.2 C) and increased rate capability (143 mAh g–1 at a current rate of 10 C) under a cutoff voltage of 4.6 V. Moreover, the long-term cycling stability in R-NCM at 4.6 V is remarkably increased due to the special microstructure. This morphological design provides a method for preparing advanced cathode materials for practical applications.

The immune status of the tumor microenvironment is a key indicator determining the antitumor effect of immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses directly target tumor cells or indirectly modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) especially when properly armed. It was previously demonstrated that conditionally replicating adenovirus serotype 5 (CRAd5) encoding tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) had outstanding antitumor effects in different human cancer cells xenograft models; however, its antitumor immune mechanism has not been evaluated in immunocompetent preclinical mouse models. We first explored the antitumor activity of CRAd5-TRAIL in several murine tumor models and found that the expression of TRAIL induced increases or activation in tumor-infiltrating T cells. To further improve the antitumor effects, mouse CD40 ligand (mCD40L) as an immune activator expressed by recombinant Ad5 vector was firstly used in combination with CRAd5-TRAIL for tumor immunotherapy. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that mCD40L effectively activated dendritic cells (DCs), B cells, and tumor-infiltrating T cells, and also promoted tumor cell apoptosis by increasing the expression of TRAIL receptors, thereby significantly enhancing the antitumor activity of oncolytic adenoviruses in CT26 and B16 tumor-bearing models. Although affected by the restriction of oncolytic adenovirus replication in mouse cells, the combination treatment failed to completely eliminate tumor cells, our research still provided a promising strategy for oncolytic adenovirus-mediated solid tumor immunotherapy.

Abstract Check dams are typical deposition sites that trap and store eroded sediments from uplands and are widely constructed on China's Loess Plateau (LP) as an effective soil and water conservation practice. Compared with slope land (SL), check‐dam land (DL) may store more water resources and play an important role in food production and water regulation in watersheds. However, little is known about the water distribution characteristics and driving factors of DL. In this study, we investigated seven DLs in different regions of the LP and four SLs under different land uses using the non‐invasive electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique and established a nonlinear model correlating electrical resistivity ( ρ ) and soil water content ( θ v ). The results showed that θ v can be successfully estimated by ρ using the power function model according to the coefficient of determination ( R 2 = 0.77) and root‐mean‐square error (RMSE = 0.035 cm 3 /cm 3 ), indicating that ERT is applicable for estimating water resources in the loessal region. Generally, the distribution of DL water resources can be divided into three types: (i) unsaturated throughout the entire profile, (ii) unsaturated in the top but saturated in the lower profile and (iii) approximately saturated throughout the profile with minimal spatial variation. The different water distribution characteristics among the DLs may be related to the soil texture, land use type and drainage facility. The total mean water storage in the 0–4 m profile of DL for different land‐use types was 1.5–2.0 times higher than that of SL. Therefore, DL water stores should not be ignored when assessing hydrological cycles and the water budget in a watershed in the LP. Future research should be implemented to understand the hydrological processes and ecological effects of both DL and SL to optimize water management strategies with sustainable ecosystem functions in the loessal region.

Traditional graphite anode material typically shows a low theoretical capacity and easy lithium decomposition. Molybdenum disulfide is one of the promising anode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries, which possess low cost, unique two-dimensional layered structure, and high theoretical capacity. However, the low reversible capacity and the cycling-capacity retention rate induced by its poor conductivity and volume expansion during cycling blocks further application. In this paper, a collaborative control strategy of monodisperse MoS2/graphite composites was utilized and studied in detail. MoS2/graphite nanocomposites with different ratios (MoS2:graphite = 20%:80%, 40%:60%, 60%:40%, and 80%:20%) were prepared by mechanical ball-milling and low-temperature annealing. The graphite sheets were uniformly dispersed between the MoS2 sheets by the ball-milling process, which effectively reduced the agglomeration of MoS2 and simultaneously improved the electrical conductivity of the composite. It was found that the capacity of MoS2/graphite composites kept increasing along with the increasing percentage of MoS2 and possessed the highest initial discharge capacity (832.70 mAh/g) when MoS2:graphite = 80%:20%. This facile strategy is easy to implement, is low-cost, and is cosmically produced, which is suitable for the development and manufacture of advance lithium-ion batteries.

Two exotic 6-cantilever small molecular platforms, characteristic of quite different molecular configurations of propeller and quasi-plane, are established by extremely two-dimensional conjugated extension. When applied in small molecular acceptors, the only two cases of CH25 and CH26 that could contain six terminals and such broad conjugated backbones have been afforded thus far, rendering featured absorptions, small reorganization and exciton binding energies. Moreover, their distinctive but completely different molecular geometries result in sharply contrasting nanoscale film morphologies. Finally, CH26 contributes to the best device efficiency of 15.41 % among acceptors with six terminals, demonstrating two pioneered yet highly promising 6-cantilever molecular innovation platforms.

Core Ideas Precipitation–throughfall exclusion and the removal of understory had no influence on total SOC. Throughfall exclusion and removal of the understory significantly affected soil aggregate stability. Throughfall exclusion and lack of understory also affected aggregate‐associated organic C pools. Restoration of understory vegetation had some potential to increase total SOC sequestration. Artificial afforestation is a common strategy for ecological recovery on the Loess Plateau, China, which causes the development of understory vegetation and drought stress. However, the influence of the understory vegetation and drought conditions on soil aggregate stability and aggregate‐associated soil organic carbon (SOC) are still not well understood. We evaluated the impacts of understory development and drought stress on soil aggregate stability and associated SOC during 2015 and 2016 in an artificial afforestation area in Shaanxi Province, China. The study had four treatments: control (CK), precipitation and throughfall excluded + understory present (TE), precipitation and throughfall allowed + understory removed (NU), and precipitation and throughfall excluded + understory removed (TE‐NU). Soil moisture was significantly reduced by the exclusion of precipitation and throughfall. Aboveground biomass in the CK was significantly higher than that of TE. Precipitation–throughfall exclusion and the removal of understory vegetation significantly decreased soil aggregate stability and aggregate‐associated organic C pools, while they had no influence on the total SOC pools. This indicated that soil aggregate stability and aggregate‐associated organic C may be more sensitive to changes in the external environment. These suggest that understory vegetation restoration had some potential to increase total SOC sequestration in the artificial afforestation on the Loess Plateau of China.

Soil-dwelling insects create continuous biopores when making their nests. Such burrowing activities alter soil structure and increase water infiltration. As fresh soil is brought onto the surface, sediments become available for erosion. Limited attention has been given to the ecological function of mole crickets on the Loess Plateau. In this study, the nest characteristics of adult and immature mole crickets (Gryllotalpa unispina) and their effects on soil hydrologic processes were investigated. Thin slurry of orthodontic plaster was used to fill the subterranean nests in the field to generate 3D renderings of the nest architecture. Dyeing and rainfall simulation experiments were conducted in a nest scale to quantify the effects of mole cricket burrows on the runoff and water infiltration on the slopes. G. unispina burrows consisted of horizontal and vertical parts. The mean diameter and depth of the vertical burrows created by adult mole crickets were 1.51 and 46.3 cm, which were significantly (P < 0.05) greater than those of immature ones (0.96 and 30.0 cm). Adult G. unispina exerted a more distinct effect on soil hydrologic processes than their immature counterparts. The horizontal burrows intercepted rainfall and promoted runoff reduction and infiltration, particularly in crusted soil. The mean amount of runoff in the crusted soil with adult nests (549.3 g) was significantly (P < 0.01) lower than that with no-nest (1039.6 g). Preferential flow in the nests resulted in high water content in the deep soil. In the semi-arid area, moderately improving the density of hypogeal animals and their nests might benefit to the soil moisture. However, the risk of soil erosion cannot be neglected.

A novel cotton thread immunochromatographic assay device was successfully developed based on gold nanoparticles decorated carbon nanotube nanocomposite probe (CNT/GNPs). Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), a protein biomarker related to lung cancer, was used as an analyte to demonstrate the principle of immunochromatograpgic assay on cotton thread biosensor. Results indicated that CNT/GNPs exhibited good stability and superior sensitivity comparing with individual carbon nanotubes as reporter probe. Under optimal conditions, the biosensor was capable of measuring 3.03 ng/mL SCCA which is 10 and 5000 folds more sensitive than previous reported CNT based lateral flow assay. The combination of CNT/GNPs nanocomposite probe with cotton thread based biosensor provide an alternative path for clinical diagnosis of other protein or nucleic acid biomarkers.

A paddy soil chronosequence consisting of five profiles derived from calcareous marine sediments with cultivation history from 0 to 1000 years was studied to understand the underlying mechanisms and processes controlling the millennial scale Fe evolution. We evaluated the chronosequencial changes in depth distribution of Fe oxide contents and Fe isotopic compositions. Results showed that paddy soil evolution under the influence of periodic flooding and groundwater fluctuation resulted with time in variations of soil moisture regime and redox condition that control Fe mobilization, translocation and redistribution, leading to enhanced profile differentiation of Fe oxides and measurable Fe isotope fractionation. Total Fe and oxide bound Fe as well as their differentiation between surface and subsurface horizons increased as paddy soils age, leading to the formation of diagnostic horizons and features characterizing Fe distribution and redistribution. Selective extractions showed that the weakly-bound, oxide-bound and silicate bound Fe corresponded to 1–16%, 8–46%, and 52–91% of the total Fe, respectively, and these proportions varied with both time and depth due to the redox-related Fe transformation and translocation. δ56Fe values in the studied paddy soil chronosequence ranged from − 0.01‰ to 0.18‰ and exhibited a strong negative correlation with the logarithm of total Fe concentrations, suggesting mass-dependent Fe isotope fractionation occurred as a result of the preferential removal of lighter Fe isotopes during long-term paddy soil evolution under the predominant reducing conditions. However, the Fe isotopic ratio of a specific paddy soil horizon was a result of a complex interaction of different processes, which were summarized and interpreted in our proposed conceptual model. Comparison of Fe isotopic compositions in the worldwide soils demonstrated that Fe isotopes can evidence Fe transfer and pinpoint the factors and processes that control Fe mobilization and redistribution particularly in soils with changing moisture regimes and redox conditions. Our findings provide new insights into the behavior and geochemical cycle of Fe at the Earth's surface strongly affected by human activities and contributes to an improved understanding of how anthropedogenesis affects Fe evolution in the Earth's Critical Zone.

The effects of five different microalgae-fungi on nutrient removal and CO2 removal were investigated under three different CO2 contents (35%, 45% and 55%). The results showed that the highest nutrient and CO2 removal efficiency were found at 55% CO2 by cocultivation of different microalgae and fungi. The effect of different initial CO2 concentration on the removal of CO2 from microalgae was significant, and the order of CO2 removal efficiency was 55% (v/v) >45% (v/v) >35% (v/v). The best nutrient removal and biogas purification could be achieved by co-cultivation of C. vulgaris and G. lucidum with 55% initial CO2 content. The maximum mean COD, TN, TP and CO2 removal efficiency can reach 68.29%, 61.75%, 64.21% and 64.68%, respectively under this condition. All highest COD, TN, TP and CO2 removal efficiency were more than 85%. The analysis of energy consumption economic efficiency revealed that this strategy resulted in the highest economic efficiency. The results of this work can promote simultaneously biological purification of wastewater and biogas using microalgal-fungal symbiosis.

Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) combining with physical and chemical properties play important roles in terrestrial C and nutrient cycling; however, how C and N in deep soils respond to land-use change is less understood, hindering the precise evaluation of soil C dynamics and budgets. Here, we present results regarding soil C, N and related soil properties at 0–500 cm depth as affected by afforestation at two sites (Fufeng and Yongshou) with contrasting soil inorganic C (SIC) levels in China's Loess Plateau. The concentrations of SIC ranged from 12.94 to 20.17 g kg−1 in Fufeng and from 0.18 to 0.36 g kg−1 in Yongshou. The objectives of this study were to examine how soil C and N in deep soils are altered following afforestation and how these effects vary with soil depth and site. We found that the establishment of woodland on cropland increased soil porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity but decreased the bulk density in the topsoils (0–20 cm). The conversion of cropland to woodland resulted in an increase of soil electric conductivity in the topsoils and a decrease in the deep soils in Fufeng but had an opposite influence with soil depth in Yongshou. This land-use change increased organic C and total N concentrations along the 0–500 cm soils at both sites but had divergent effects on the concentrations of SIC and soil total C (STC) between the two sites. Overall, the concentrations of SIC and STC increased in Yongshou but decreased in Fufeng after woodland establishment. The results from this study indicated the determination of the initial SIC concentration on the response of C to afforestation in semiarid soils, and such determination should be considered in biogeochemical models.

Knowledge of regional characteristics and variability in available soil water is important for water resource management and vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions. However, few studies have evaluated the available water-holding capacity (AWHC) and plant-available water storage (PAWS) for plant growth or determined the saturation of available soil water (SASW) in deep profiles (>2 m). This study investigated characteristics of AWHC and PAWS to a depth of 5 m along a revegetation and precipitation gradient on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The results showed that AWHC5 m exhibited a decreasing trend along the transect, with a mean value of 762.9 mm. PAWS5 m first decreased, then increased following changes in vegetation types with a mean value of 257.3 mm. The PAWS5 m significantly differed under different soil layers and showed high variation (coefficient of variation = 88.0%) in its profile. AWHC5 m was significantly correlated with all environmental factors except slope aspect and slope gradient. A comparative analysis showed that PAWS5 m had a small portion of AWHC5 m, both of which varied among different vegetation species. Variations in PAWS5 m and AWHC5 m were higher in the 450–550 mm precipitation zone and silt loam soil. Planted forests with deep root systems introduced in the 450–550 mm precipitation zone had lower SASW5 m values than the areas with shallow root vegetation. A complete understanding of the spatial variations of PAWS, AWHC, and SASW along the revegetation and precipitation gradient will be helpful in assessing regional water resources and optimizing vegetation species on the CLP and possibly in other water-limited regions around the world.

Compared to conventional polycrystallines, single crystal layered cathode materials exhibit the excellent structural and thermal stability, storage and lifetime at high voltage and elevated temperature. However, these single crystal materials are less reported, especially for Ni ≥ 0.92 in nickel-rich cathode materials. In this paper, single crystal LiNi0.92Co0.06Mn0.01Al0.01O2 (NCMA) cathode materials are researched. The experiment demonstrates that co-doping fluxing agents in B-NCMA (NCMA with 1000ppm W and 1000 ppm Mo) sample facilitate to generate uniform and small crystal size, which delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 221.4 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C. Moreover, the superior capacity retention of 94.9% after 100th cycle at 45 °C is obtained. Furthermore, DSC analysis of cycled B-NCMA material displays high thermal release temperature and low gas emission, revealing decent thermal stability. XRD, dQ·dV−1 and EIS results suggest that co-doping fluxing agents beneficial to form less cationic mixing, more stable phase structure and less internal resistance, respectively, which are associated with excellent rate capacity, cycling and thermal stability of single crystal NCMA. In our opinion, this study will stimulate that more fluxing agents are found and applied on single crystal nickel-rich cathode materials, which will have a bright future in the high-energy lithium ion battery fields.

Aerosol phosphorus (P) and trace metals derived from natural processes and anthropogenic emissions have considerable impacts on ocean ecosystems, human health, and atmospheric processes. However, the abundance and fractional solubility of P and trace metals in combustion ash and desert dust, which are two of the largest emission sources of aerosols, are still not well understood. In this study, the abundance and fractional solubility of P and trace metals in seven coal fly ash samples, two municipal waste fly ash samples, and three desert dust samples were experimentally examined. It was found that the abundance of aluminum (Al) in combustion ash was comparable or even higher than that in desert dust, and, therefore, care should be taken when using Al as a tracer of desert dust. The abundance and fractional solubility of P were higher in combustion ash, with a soluble P content ~4-6 times higher than that of the desert dust, indicating that combustion ash could be an important source of bioavailable P in the atmosphere. Except for Mn, the abundance and fractional solubility of other heavy metals were higher in the combustion ash compared to the desert dust, indicating the potential importance of combustion ash in ocean ecosystems, human health, and atmospheric processes. In contrast, both the abundance and solubility of Mn were highest in the desert dust, indicating a potentially important source of soluble Mn in the atmosphere. The fractional solubilities of P and trace metals are significantly affected by acidity and ions in the extraction solutions, and it is suggested that a buffer solution can better represent the acidity of the aqueous system in the true atmospheric environment. The results of this study improve our understanding of the sources of bioavailable and reactive P and trace metals in ambient aerosols.

Recently, cathode materials based on LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 are being widely investigated for application in lithium ion batteries (LIB). However, the cycle performance of this material needs to be enhanced. The surface coating modification is a feasible option to further improve the electrochemical properties of the material. In this paper, a simple sol-gel method was used to prepare a LiMnPO4 (LMP) coating with a thickness of about 25 nm on the surface of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (denoted as NCM523-LMP). As a cathode material for lithium ion batteries, NCM523 coated with 3 wt% LMP showed good cycle performance as well as improved thermal stability. The coated sample exhibited improved cycle stability (200 cycles, 136.8 mAh g−1) and high temperature cycle performance (55 °C, 200 cycles, and 125.2 mAh g−1). This significant enhancement can be attributed to the strengthening of surface structure and effective isolation from harmful side reactions between the material and electrolyte. The LMP coating modified NCM523 shows potential as a high-performance cathode material for LIB.

Atmospheric processing may significantly increase solubility of iron in mineral dust, but the effects of heterogeneous reactions on iron solubility have been poorly understood. In this work, we investigated heterogeneous reaction of NO2 (15 ± 1 and 2.5 ± 0.1 ppmv, equal to ∼3.7 × 1014 and ∼6.2 × 1013 molecule cm−3) with hematite, magnetite and goethite at different relative humidities (RH, 0–90%), and changes in particulate nitrate and soluble iron due to heterogeneous reaction with NO2 were quantified as a function of time (up to 24 h). After reaction with 2.5 ± 0.1 ppmv NO2 for 24 h (or less time), hematite and magnetite were fully saturated, while goethite was only partly deactivated. Nitrate yield was largest for goethite, and the mass ratio of formed nitrate to unreacted mineral only reached ∼1% or less after 24 h reaction. All the three minerals showed low reactivities towards NO2, and the average reactive uptake coefficients of NO2 in the first 3 h were found to be < 5 × 10−8. In addition, the increase in iron solubility was found to be small and in some cases even insignificant for the three minerals after heterogeneous reaction with NO2 for 24 h. Overall, the impacts of heterogeneous reaction of NO2 with hematite, magnetite and goethite on nitrate aerosol formation and iron solubility could be very limited.

Quantifying the soil pore structure is critical for understanding plant growth and water/solute movements in the soil. However, most previous studies quantified the soil pore structure in a shallow layer by using low resolution medical computed tomography (CT), whereas few have quantified the soil pore structure in deep soil layers with high resolution CT. In this study, we quantified the soil pore structure of wind-deposited loess under different vegetation types (wheat, weeds, apple orchard, and Robinia pseudoacacia) at depths from 0 to 4.5 m by industrial CT. The results showed that the soil pore number and porosity tended to decreased with depth, but there were no significance differences below 2 m among all vegetation types. For different depths and vegetation types, the number of pores measuring 0–100 μm was highest, followed by those measuring. 100–500 μm, and lowest for those measuring > 1000 μm. The contribution of pores measuring 100–500 μm to the total pore volume was highest. The variations in the connectivity and surface area density were also focused mainly within the depth down to 2 m, and the variations were minor below 2 m. There were no significant differences in the bulk density and soil pore characteristics under different vegetation types, except for weeds. The results obtained in this study provide insights into the interactions between vegetation and soil water, as well as the hydrological processes for the wind-deposited loess.

The practical applications of lithium-sulfur batteries are still a great challenge due to the polysulfide shuttle and capacity decay. Herein, we report a NiO-carbon nanotube/sulfur (NiO-CNT/S) composite by hydrothermal and thermal treatments. This hybrid combines the high conductivity of CNTs and double adsorption of CNTs and NiO (physical and chemical adsorption) to improve the electrochemical performance for the sulfur electrodes. Compared with CNT/S and NiO/S, the developed NiO-CNT/S composites present a preferable initial reversible discharge capacity (1072 mA h g-1) and is maintained at 609 mA h g-1 after 160 cycles at 0.1C.

Understanding the variations and controls of soil organic carbon (SOC) at different spatial scales can help in selecting edaphic and environmental covariates that enables us to model SOC more accurately. The present study investigated the distribution characteristics and controls of SOC content at various spatial scales, including a deep soil core (204.5 m) taken from land surface down to bedrock (plot scale), two toposequences with different slope aspects (slope scale), and eighty-six soil profiles along a north-south transect under different land uses (regional scale) in China's Loess Plateau. The results showed that SOC content at different spatial scales decreased exponentially with increasing soil depth, but the rate of reduction differed at various spatial scales and in soil layers at different depths. For the deep soil core, the SOC content and the average rate of reduction with depth in the 0–15.5 m soil layer were significantly higher than the corresponding values of the 15.5–34.5 m and 34.5–204.5 m soil layers ( p < 0.05). For the toposequences with varying slope aspects, SOC content in the 0–50 cm soil layer declined rapidly with increasing depth; while SOC content in the 50–200 cm soil layer showed relatively no change. There was no significant difference of average SOC content at depths of 0–200 cm for forestland and grassland considering slope aspects that differed or were the same ( p > 0.05) due to the similar climatic conditions. However, SOC content within 0–500 cm soil profile under different land uses along the north-south transect exhibited a significant difference ( p < 0.05), following the order of farmland (4.94 ± 1.23 g kg −1 ) > forestland (3.01 ± 1.45 g kg −1 ) > grassland (2.03 ± 0.68 g kg −1 ); moreover, the mean SOC content of the 0–500 cm soil profile generally decreased from south to north following the decreasing rainfall and temperature gradient. The average rates of reduction of SOC content in the 0–50 cm soil layer under different land uses (0.0807–0.1756 g kg −1 cm −1 ) were higher than the values of the 50–200 cm (0.0021–0.0154 g kg −1 cm −1 ) and 200–500 cm soil layers (0.0001–0.0017 g kg −1 cm − ). The SOC content at the plot scale at different depths positively correlated with total nitrogen content. The SOC content at the slope scale was mainly affected by soil water content and saturated hydraulic conductivity, while that at the regional scale was impacted by climate, topography and soil water/clay content. Pedotransfer functions were applied to adequately simulate and predict SOC content at different spatial scales in the studied area, which could provide a foundation to build SOC prediction models and extrapolate the various spatial scales to other loess regions worldwide. Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering the scale effects for efficiently predicting the spatial patterns of SOC and can help in devising better policy to protect or enhance existing SOC stocks. • SOC decreased with depth at varying rates considering the spatial scale or soil layer. • Pedotransfer functions can adequately predict SOC at different spatial scales. • Total nitrogen content affected SOC variation at the plot scale. • Soil water content and hydraulic conductivity control SOC variation at the slope scale. • SOC change at the regional scale was driven by climate, topography and soil property.

• Long-term afforestation increased soil OC accumulation but reduced CO 2 emissions. • Coarse and fine fractions contributed most of OC content and C m , respectively. • OC dynamics in farmland were more sensitive to temperature change than in forests. • The stability of OC in aggregates increased as aggregates size decreased. The conversion of land use from agricultural land to forests is considered an effective measure of mitigating atmospheric CO 2 , but the impacts of long-term afforestation on soil organic carbon mineralization (C m ) and its temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) remain uncertain. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of different afforestation ages on OC contents and C m and Q 10 in bulk soils and aggregates. Soils were collected from 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depths in afforested woodlands after 10, 20, 30 and 40 yrs of establishment of Robinia pseudoacacia on abandoned farmlands on the Loess Plateau, China. C m and Q 10 were measured in an 83-day incubation experiment at 25 °C and 15 °C. The results showed that long-term afforestation accelerated soil OC accumulation but decreased its C m and Q 10 in bulk soils and aggregates, and the effects were greater at the 0–10 cm soil depth. Macroaggregates contributed most of the OC content (62%), but microaggregates and silt + clay contributed most of the OC mineralized (40% and 36%) in the bulk soils. The increased OC content and decreased C m in aggregates suggested an increase in the sequestration of OC in fine soil particles. The temperature sensitivity of OC mineralization increased with increasing particle size, with a higher Q 10 value for macroaggregates (1.81 ± 0.44) than for microaggregates (1.42 ± 0.35) and silt + clay (1.31 ± 0.14). Our results indicated that long-term afforestation would be conducive to the accumulation of OC and would decrease the release of CO 2 from soils under future climate warming scenarios. The findings highlighted the OC dynamics in abandoned farmland were more sensitive to the temperature changes than those in forests, and the stability of OC in aggregates increased as the aggregate size decreased. This study contributed to bridging current knowledge gapes about the process underlying the observed OC budget and its response to warming scenarios in rehabilitated ecosystems.

Soil hydraulic parameters (SHPs) represent a crucial input for modelling of water flow, biogeochemical processes, and plant growth. This modelling depends on an accurate description of the water balance in a critical soil zone. To this end, pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are required to translate basic soil data into SHPs as it is challenging to measure them. This challenge is peculiarly acute for deep soil layers in thick loess deposits, such as in the China's Loess Plateau Region (CLPR). In this study, we analysed which factors are strongly correlated with SHPs, and developed PTFs for the SHPs. To this end, undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were collected up to 8 m depth at seven sampling sites in the CLPR to measure the soil water retention curve, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), and associated soil and environmental factors. Furthermore, soil core samples in the 5 m soil profile were collected at 243 sites, and the corresponding environmental factors were calculated to estimate the spatial distribution of SHPs across the CLPR using the established PTFs. Redundancy analysis of the collected data in the 0–8-m soil profile revealed that soil texture, soil depth, mean annual precipitation, slope gradient, slope aspect, and elevation were strongly correlated with SHPs. The most correlated variables were used to develop PTFs for SHPs by using stepwise multiple linear regression. The accuracy of the established regional PTFs was significantly higher compared to state-of-the-art in this domain. The spatial distribution of SHPs in the CLPR study area exhibited significant spatial clustering. Generally, SHPs transitioned from the southeast to the northwest, with significant differences between the south and north. Our results provide empirical basis for further quantification of the response of soil hydrological processes to vegetation restoration and land-use change not only in the CLPR, but also in other similar regions.

The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is prone to adverse effects from drought, especially the widespread creation of a dried soil layer (DSL), a problem intensified by revegetation under the Grain for Green Program. Using 13-year soil moisture (SM) data, we compared soil water consumption by planted shrubs (Korshinsk peashrub, KOP), planted grass (purple alfalfa, ALF), and natural grass (NAG) from 2004 to 2016 in the CLP. To assess the soil water recovery processes, long-term (30 years) SM dynamics were simulated using the simultaneous heat and water (SHAW) model based on field data and local meteorological data under two scenarios (A: converting KOP to NAG and B: converting ALF to NAG). The results showed that the decline rates of SM in 1–4 m profiles for NAG (24.0–29.8%) were much lower than those for KOP (47.6–51.4%) and ALF (48.8–50.2%) during the 13-year growth period. Modelling SM dynamics at depths of 1–4 m for 30 years showed that SM gradually increased and that the DSL prevalence could be reduced under scenarios A and B. The complete elimination of DSL requires at least 6 years at 1–4 m under scenario A, 13 years at 2–4 m, and 22 years at 1–2 m under scenario B. Soil water restored to local stable soil water levels requires approximately 19, 13, and 15 years in the 1–2 m, 2–3 m, and 3–4 m profiles, respectively, under scenario A. Soil water recovery will take approximately 28 years in the 2–3 m profile and 27 years in the 3–4 m profile under scenario B. Our results enhance the understanding of the soil water depletion and recovery processes under different vegetation types and can could be used to provide scientific guidance for sustainable ecological restoration in the CLP.

Water is a critical resource for sustainable development and stable food production in agroecosystems. China is one of the countries with intensified agricultural activities and extreme water shortages. Climate change is likely to contribute to an increased scarcity of agricultural water resources, which may threaten China’s food security. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of long-term agricultural soil water variation and its controlling factors at a regional scale is urgently needed. Based on in-situ relative soil moisture (RSM, the ratio of soil water content to field capacity, %) data collected from 238 agricultural stations in China, variations in RSM between 1992 and 2012 and the driving factors were investigated within different climate zones. Overall, the national mean RSM showed a decreasing trend, indicating mild or moderate levels of drought during the study period. The rates and ratios of RSM reduction varied with the soil depth and climate zone. Among the four climate zones, the reduction in RSM was faster and higher in the plateau mountain and temperate continental climate zones; however, there was no significant trend in the temperate humid and subtropical humid climate zones. Both climate and agricultural management activities have made significant contributions to RSM in China’s agroecosystems. In this study, RSM in 58.2% of the selected stations was driven by the combined effects of climate and management activities. For different climate zones, the RSM in the plateau mountain and temperate continental climate zones was mainly controlled by temperature and precipitation, respectively. In the temperate humid climate zone, climate change was the dominant factor controlling RSM. In the subtropical humid climate zone, grain output had a negative effect on the RSM. Our findings provide a theoretical reference for each region to facilitate agricultural water evaluation and agricultural policymaking, and enhance field management for the sustainable use of agricultural water resources.

Knowledge about the effects of vegetation types on soil properties and on water dynamics in the soil profile is critical for revegetation strategies in water-scarce regions, especially the choice of vegetation type and human management measures. We focused on the analysis of the effects of vegetation type on soil hydrological properties and soil moisture variation in the 0–400 cm soil layer based on a long-term (2004―2016) experimental data in the northern Loess Plateau region, China. Soil bulk density (BD), saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks), field capacity (FC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 2016, as well as the volumetric soil moisture content during 2004–2016, were measured in four vegetation types, i.e., shrubland (korshinsk peashrub), artificial grassland (alfalfa), fallow land and cropland (millet or potato). Compared with cropland, revegetation with peashrub and alfalfa significantly decreased BD and increased Ks, FC, and SOC in the 0–40 cm soil layer, and fallow land significantly increased FC and SOC in the 0–10 cm soil layer. Soil water storage (SWS) significantly declined in shrubland and grassland in the 40–400 cm soil layer, causing severe soil drought in the deep soil layers. The study suggested that converting cropland to grassland (alfalfa) and shrubland (peashrub) improved soil-hydrological properties, but worsened water conditions in the deep soil profile. However, natural restoration did not intensify deep-soil drying. The results imply that natural restoration could be better than revegetation with peashrub and alfalfa in terms of good soil hydrological processes in the semi-arid Loess Plateau region.

Dry soil layer (DSL) development as a result of imbalance in water input and output is a widespread pedo-hydrological phenomenon in arid/semi-arid regions such as the China's Loess Plateau (CLP). To build sufficient data for large-scale DSL estimation, soil water data for the 0–5 m soil profile were collected for the period 2013–2016 along an 860-km long transect on CLP and analyzed for pedo-transfer functions (PTFs). The objective was to determine the effects of environmental factors on DSL variation and to develop an effective PTF for the estimation of DSLs on CLP. Three DSL evaluation indices were calculated — DSL thickness (DSL-T), DSL formation depth (DSL-F) and DSL mean soil desiccation index (DSL-SDI). The results showed that DSLs were mainly distributed in the northcentral part of the transect, with a mean thickness of 2.77 m. We compared the performances of PTFs developed by different approaches — multiple regression (MR), artificial neural network (ANN) and the indirect and direct methods. It showed that the ANN approach effectively predicted DSL formation and indices. The indirect method improved simulation accuracy of DSL indices. The combination of the ANN approach and the indirect method gave the best estimation accuracy for DSL indices. The application of the PTFs not only reduced labor and time needed for field survey of DSL, but also improved DSL research on CLP and beyond. The indirect method based on soil moisture and/or hydrological models was promising for the estimation of DSL indices.

Abstract Heterogeneous reaction of NO 2 with CaCO 3 , an abundant and reactive component in mineral dust aerosol, was investigated in this work at different relative humidifies (RH, up to 80%), using a fixed‐bed reactor. Ion chromatograph and a vapor sorption analyzer were employed to measure changes in particulate nitrate and water with reaction time (up to 24 h). When NO 2 concentration was ∼10 ppmv (∼2.5 × 10 14 molecule cm −3 ), CaCO 3 showed very low reactivity toward NO 2 at &lt;1% RH, and γ (NO 2 ) was estimated to be &lt;2 × 10 −8 ; consequently, no significant change in hygroscopicity of CaCO 3 particles was observed after reaction with NO 2 for 24 h at &lt;1% RH, as the amount of nitrate formed was very limited. Heterogeneous reactivity was significantly enhanced at elevated RH (20%–80%), and during the reaction CaCO 3 was covered with a deliquesced layer resulting from water uptake by formed nitrate; in addition, the average γ (NO 2 ) was determined to be (1.21 ± 0.45) × 10 −7 , independent of RH (20%–80%) and reaction time (3–24 h). After reaction with 10 ppmv NO 2 for 24 h at elevated RH (20%–80%), the mass of particulate water associated with reacted CaCO 3 at 90% RH was equal to ∼45% of the mass of unreacted CaCO 3 , suggesting that heterogeneous reaction of CaCO 3 with NO 2 at 20%–80% RH could substantially increase its hygroscopicity. Overall, our laboratory study suggested that heterogeneous reaction with NO 2 may significantly impact composition and hygroscopicity of CaCO 3 particles.

The traditional interlayer of PbO2 electrode possessed many problems, such as short service lifetime and limited specific surface area. Herein, a novel and efficient Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co electrode was conctructed employing cyclic voltammetry to introduce a Co-doped polyaniline interlayer and anodic electrodeposition to synthetize a β-PbO2-Co active layer. Compared with pristine PbO2 electrode, Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co exhibited more compact crystalline shape and higher active sites amounts. Pratically, the electrochemical degradation of 5 mg L-1 cephalexin in real secondary effluents was effectively achieved by the novel anode with 87.42% cephalexin removal and 71.8% COD mineralization after 120 min of 15 mA cm-2 electrolysis. The hydroxyl radical production and electrochemical stability were increased by 3.16 and 3.27 times respectively. The cephalexin degradation pathway was investigated by combining a density functional theory-based theoretical approach and LC-QTrap-MS/MS. The most likely cleavage point of the β-lactam ring was the O=C-N bond, whose attack would produce small molecular compounds containing the thiazole and 4, 6-thiazine rings. Further oxidation produced inorganic ions; quantitative investigations indicated the amino groups to undergo decomposition to form aqueous NH4+, which was further oxidized to NO3-. The accumulation of NO3- and SO42-, combined with a decrease in toxicity toward Escherichia coli, demonstrated the efficient mineralization of cephalexin on the Ti/polyaniline-Co/PbO2-Co electrode.

For LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ materials, poor cycling stability is commonly observed under high-voltage operation (&gt;4.3 V), particularly when accompanied by high-rate operation.

Soil moisture is a key element of the hydrological cycle, and it significantly impacts the surface water and energy fluxes. However, a knowledge gap exists on the spatial variability of root-zone soil moisture at the regional scale in arid and hyperarid regions. Thus, soil moisture measurements at 142 sites were taken in Xinjiang (northwest China), and the relationships between soil moisture and 19 environmental factors were analyzed. The results showed that both absolute gravitational soil water content (SWC) and relative extractable water (REW) increased with increasing soil depth in the 0–100 cm soil profile. It generally decreased in the order of cropland &gt; forestland &gt; grassland &gt; shrubland &gt; bare land. Semivariograms suggested that SWC had moderate spatial dependence over a large range of 473–558 km, and REW was more randomly distributed at the regional scale in Xinjiang. Redundancy analysis suggested that environmental factors could explain 47.5%–50.9% of the variability of soil moisture, which was more strongly driven by land surface factors (p &lt; 0.01) than by climatic factors (p &gt; 0.05). Soil properties and other local variables explained, respectively, 40.7% and 32.3% of the variability of soil moisture in the 0–100 cm soil profile. Soil properties independently accounted for 12.8% and 28.1% of the variability in soil moisture in the 0–50 and 50–100 cm soil layers, respectively. Soil texture, field capacity, wilting point, organic carbon, bulk density, land use, and normalized difference vegetation index were the dominant factors influencing soil moisture variations.

Soil CO2 efflux (SCE) is an important component of ecosystem CO2 exchange and is largely temperature and moisture dependent, providing feedback between C cycling and the climate system. We used a precipitation manipulation experiment to examine the effects of precipitation treatment on SCE and its dependences on soil temperature and moisture in a semiarid grassland. Precipitation manipulation included ambient precipitation, decreased precipitation (− 43%), or increased precipitation (+ 17%). The SCE was measured from July 2013 to December 2014, and CO2 emission during the experimental period was assessed. The response curves of SCE to soil temperature and moisture were analyzed to determine whether the dependence of SCE on soil temperature or moisture varied with precipitation manipulation. The SCE significantly varied seasonally but was not affected by precipitation treatments regardless of season. Increasing precipitation resulted in an upward shift of SCE–temperature response curves and rightward shift of SCE–moisture response curves, while decreasing precipitation resulted in opposite shifts of such response curves. These shifts in the SCE response curves suggested that increasing precipitation strengthened the dependence of SCE on temperature or moisture, and decreasing precipitation weakened such dependences. Such shifts affected the predictions in soil CO2 emissions for different precipitation treatments. When considering such shifts, decreasing or increasing precipitation resulted in 43 or 75% less change, respectively, in CO2 emission compared with changes in emissions predicted without considering such shifts. Furthermore, the effects of shifts in SCE response curves on CO2 emission prediction were greater during the growing than the non-growing season.

It is critical to design efficiently stable photocatalysts for removing organic waste from water. Herein, a sequence of Ag2O/Phosphors-doped g-C3N4 (AgO/PCN) composites with p-n heterojunctions were successfully prepared via facile chemical deposition for photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G) and Levofloxacin (LVFX). The resultant composites with an optimal AgO/PCN ratio of 2:1 could degrade approximately 99 % of Rh 6G and 83 % of LVFX in 50 and 120 min, respectively, under visible light irradiation, which is obviously more than pure Ag2O and Phosphors-doped g-C3N4. The increased performance of photocatalysis could be because of the broadened light absorption range originated from Ag0 surface plasmon resonance effect (SPR) and the accelerated separation efficiency of electron-hole pair via p-n junction. Radical trapping and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance experiments confirmed that O2− and h+ were the chief active species, and OH was the minor active species for Rh 6G degradation process. Therefore, a plausible mechanism theorized on the basis that the synergistic effect of surface plasmon resonance and p-n heterojunction for increased photocatalytic activity is proposed. This work advances a novel idea for establishing highly efficient catalysts via synergizing surface plasmon resonance and p-n heterojunction, paving the way for efficient photocatalytic removal of organic pollutants in water.

Abstract Cosmic‐ray neutron sensing (CRNS) is a promising method for the continuous monitoring of soil water content ( θ v ) at the hectometre scale. However, few studies have validated its applicability within the complex terrains of various ecosystems in semiarid loess regions. In this study, CRNS‐based θ v was measured on China's Loess Plateau under two managed ecosystems ( Caragana korshinskii K. shrubland [KOS] and Medicago sativa L. grassland [SAG]). The accuracy of CRNS measurement was assessed with the traditional oven‐drying method, while its sensitivity to θ v variation during the study period was compared with typical point‐scale monitoring sensors (EC‐5, Decagon Devices, Inc.). CRNS was found to be strongly correlated with the oven‐drying based θ v under both ecosystems, with coefficients of determination ( R 2 ) of 0.99 and 0.93, and root mean square errors of 0.006 and 0.007 cm 3 /cm 3 , for KOS and SAG, respectively. The mean monitoring radius of the CRNS was approximately 204 and 231 m for KOS and SAG, with a mean measurement depth of approximately 39 and 45 cm, respectively. Moreover, the θ v determined by the CRNS and EC‐5 sensors exhibited similar trends during the observation period, excluding that for April. However, the CRNS ‐ based θ v had a higher spatial representation for both managed ecosystems compared with that for EC‐5. No significant difference was detected in the response range of θ v to precipitation between the CRNS and EC‐5 sensors at a depth of 0–10 cm, whereas the response time of CRNS for KOS was much shorter than that of EC‐5 sensors ( p &lt; 0.01). Overall, the CRNS measured hectometre‐scale θ v had acceptable accuracy and sensitively traced the precipitation response under different ecosystems with high θ v heterogeneity in the semiarid loess regions. Highlights CRNS accurately estimates hectometre‐scale θ v in ecosystems with complex terrains. The CRNS monitoring radius is ~218 m with ~42 cm measurement depth in the loess region. The θ v in the managed shrubland is higher than that of the managed grassland. CRNS has a higher sensitivity in response to precipitation than EC‐5 sensors.

The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a huge disaster to human society. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which led to COVID-19, has resulted in a large number of deaths. Even though the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the most efficient method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the disadvantages (such as long detection time, professional operators, expensive instruments, and laboratory equipment) limit its application. In this review, the different kinds of nano-biosensors based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), field-effect transistor (FET), fluorescence methods, and electrochemical methods are summarized, starting with a concise description of their sensing mechanism. The different bioprobes (such as ACE2, S protein-antibody, IgG antibody, IgM antibody, and SARS-CoV-2 DNA probes) with different bio-principles are introduced. The key structural components of the biosensors are briefly introduced to give readers an understanding of the principles behind the testing methods. In particular, SARS-CoV-2-related RNA mutation detection and its challenges are also briefly described. We hope that this review will encourage readers with different research backgrounds to design SARS-CoV-2 nano-biosensors with high selectivity and sensitivity.

In addition to specifically inducing tumor cell apoptosis, recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has also been reported to influence the cancer immune microenvironment; however, its underlying effects and mechanisms remain unclear. Investigating the immunomodulatory effects and mechanisms of recombinant TRAIL in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may provide an important perspective and facilitate the exploration of novel TRAIL strategies for tumor therapy.Immunocompetent mice with different tumors were treated with three doses of recombinant TRAIL, and then the tumors were collected for immunological detection and mechanistic investigation. Methodological approaches include flow cytometry analysis and single-cell sequencing.In an immunocompetent mouse model, recombinant soluble mouse TRAIL (smTRAIL) had dose-related immunomodulatory effects. The optimal dose of smTRAIL (2 mg/kg) activated innate immune cells and CD8+ T cells, whereas higher doses of smTRAIL (8 mg/kg) promoted the formation of a tumor-promoting immune microenvironment to counteract the apoptotic effects on tumor cells. The higher doses of smTRAIL treatment promoted M2-like macrophage recruitment and polarization and increased the production of protumor inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-10, which deepened the suppression of natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment. By constructing an HU-HSC-NPG.GM3 humanized immune system mouse model, we further verified the immunomodulatory effects induced by recombinant soluble human TRAIL (shTRAIL) and found that combinational administration of shTRAIL and trabectedin, a macrophage-targeting drug, could remodel the tumor immune microenvironment, further enhance antitumor immunity, and strikingly improve antitumor effects.Our results highlight the immunomodulatory role of recombinant TRAIL and suggest promising therapeutic strategies for clinical application.

The exotic vegetation used in dryland vegetation restoration projects is characterized by its fast-growing and deep-rooted system, which enables it to expedite the restoration of ecosystem functions and enhance biodiversity. However, the interspecific relationship between exotic and native vegetation and soil water uptake in these restored ecosystems remains unclear, limiting our ability to evaluate the succession process and sustainability of restored ecosystems. In this study, stable isotope techniques and a proportional similarity index were used to investigate soil water use strategies and interspecific relationships between exotic and native vegetation. The results showed significant differences between the soil water use strategies of both exotic and native vegetation between seasons and species, where the proportions of deep soil water (30-100 cm) used by exotic shrubs (Caragana korshinskii) and exotic grass (Medicago sativa) were significantly higher than those used by the co-occurring native grass (Stipa bungeana) (p < 0.05). As soil water storage declined, exotic vegetation increased its utilization of deep soil water, whereas native grasses relied more on surface water (0-10 cm). This suggests that deep-rooted exotic vegetation has greater adaptability and access to water resources than shallow-rooted native vegetation. However, a prolonged decline in soil water storage led to increased competition for surface soil water (0-30 cm) between the exotic and native vegetation. This may increase the risk of degradation of exotic vegetation, particularly in situations with lower soil water content in the deep layers. Overall, this study highlights the variation in water-use strategies and interspecies relationships between exotic and native vegetation and their implications for ecosystem succession, which provides valuable insights for developing future vegetation restoration strategies and managing restored ecosystems.

An oncolytic virus is a promising strategy for glioblastoma (GBM) therapy. However, there are still some challenges such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and preexisting immunity for targeted treatment of GBM with an oncolytic virus. In this study, two kinds of cell membrane-coated oncolytic adenoviruses (NCM-Ad and GCM-Ad) were prepared using neural stem cells (NSCs) and GBM cells as sources of membranes, respectively, and were shown to improve the targeted infectivity on GBM cells and avoid the immune clearance of preexisting neutralizing antibodies in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, NCM-Ad showed a strong ability to cross the BBB and target tumor cells in vivo. To improve the cytotoxicity to GBM, a capsid dual-modified oncolytic adenovirus (A4/k37) was also encapsulated, and NCM-A4/k37 showed outstanding tumor targeting and inhibition capacity in an orthotopic xenograft tumor model of GBM upon intravenous administration. This study provides a promising oncolytic virus-based targeted therapeutic strategy for glioma.

The activation of peroxydisulfate (PDS) by g-C3N4-based catalysts has captured considerable interest; however, the oxidation prowess falls short of expectations, and the inherent processes remain enigmatic. Herein, a novel CC engineered g-C3N4 (CCN) was successfully developed via a one-step thermal polymerization method for the activation of PDS. Our findings revealed that the CCN/PDS system selectively degraded various organic contaminants, operated effectively across a wide pH range (3−9), and maintained high performance in the presence of common water impurities. Experiments and theoretical calculations indicated that the electron transfer process (ETP) was the primary mechanism for phenol degradation. The introduction of CC led to charge redistribution and improved conductivity in g-C3N4. This enhancement strengthened PDS adsorption at electron-deficient carbon sites and bolstered electron transfer between PDS and organic contaminants. Moreover, a nonradical pathway predicated on ETP emerged when phenol, PDS, and CCN were present, propelled by differences in molecular orbital energies. This study not only deepens our understanding of PDS activation through the ETP but also introduces a novel strategy for the removal of organic contaminants from water.

Balancing the rigid backbones and flexible side chains of light-harvesting materials is crucially important to reach optimized intermolecular packing, micromorphology, and thus photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, based on a distinctive CH-series acceptor platform with 2D conjugation extended backbones, a series of nonfullerene acceptors (CH-6F-Cn) are synthesized by delicately tuning the lengths of flexible side chains from n-octyl to n-amyl. A systemic investigation has revealed that the variation of the side chain's length can not only modulate intermolecular packing modes and crystallinity but also dramatically improve the micromorphology of the active layer and eventual photovoltaic parameters of OSCs. Consequently, the highest PCE of 18.73% can be achieved by OSCs employing D18:PM6:CH-6F-C8 as light-harvesting materials.

The eustachian tube (ET) is one of the most complex organs in the human body, and its dysfunction may lead to a variety of diseases. In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have opted to conduct ET-related studies using large experimental animals such as miniature pigs or sheep, yielding promising results. Typically, conventional endoscopic procedures are performed through the nasal approach for large experimental animals. However, due to the elongated and narrow nasal cavity in these animals, transnasal surgeries are challenging. To address this issue, we explored an ET surgery approach via the soft palate. The animal was placed in a supine position. After endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia, a mouth opener was used to fully expose the upper palate. Local infiltration with diluted adrenal fluid was performed for anesthesia of the area. A sickle knife was then used to make a longitudinal soft palate incision at the junction of the soft and hard palates. After hemostasis, an endoscope was inserted into the nasopharynx cavity, allowing the visualization of the pharyngeal opening of the ET on the posterior lateral wall of the nasal cavity. Subsequently, a specialized pusher was used to insert a balloon into ET. The balloon was inflated, maintained at 10 bar for 2 min, and then removed. The incision in the soft palate was then sutured to ensure proper alignment. The soft palate healed well after the operation. This surgical approach is suitable for ET-related procedures in large experimental animals (e.g., miniature pigs, sheep, and dogs). The surgical procedure is simple, with a short surgical time, and wound healing is rapid. Under endoscopy, the pharyngeal opening of the ET is visible, and it is thus a good choice for procedures such as balloon dilation of the ET.

Gold-based silica nanocomposites with hierarchically porous structure, as well as excellent photothermal effect, have shown great potentials in biomedical applications.

Dynamic changes in Fe oxides and magnetic properties during natural pedogenesis are well documented, but variations and controls of Fe and magnetism changes during anthropedogenesis of paddy soils strongly affected by human activities remain poorly understood. We investigated temporal changes in different Fe pools and magnetic parameters in soil profiles from two contrasting paddy soil chronosequences developed on calcareous marine sediment and acid Quaternary red clay in Southern China to understand the directions, phases and rates of Fe and magnetism evolution in Anthrosols. Results showed that paddy soil evolution under the influence of artificial submergence and drainage caused changes in soil moisture regimes and redox conditions with both time and depth that controlled Fe transport and redistribution, leading to increasing profile differentiation of Fe oxides, rapid decrease of magnetic parameters, and formation of diagnostic horizons and features, irrespective of the different parent materials. However, the initial parent material characteristics (pH, Fe content and composition, weathering degree and landscape positions) exerted a strong influence on the rates and trajectories of Fe oxides evolution as well as the phases and rates of magnetism changes. This influence diminished with time as prolonged rice cultivation drove paddy soil evolving to common pedogenic features.

Core Ideas Computed tomography (CT)‐measured properties were in the order: soil under Q. liaotungensis &gt; P. tabuliformis &gt; C. korshinskii &gt; M. sativa. The parameters measured by CT could help estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K sat ) in the Loess Plateau. Macropore quantity has a higher R 2 for predicting K sat than the morphology of macropores. The recovery of natural vegetation significantly improves soil macroporosity through root decay and biological activity. Macropores are preferential pathways for the movement of water to deep soil. However, the quantification of soil macropore structure and its relationship with soil hydraulic conductivity ( K sat ) are not well understood. We characterized the macropores under different vegetation types to evaluate the effects of macropores on K sat . Undisturbed soil cores were collected from four treatments: areas dominated by Quercus liaotungensis Koidz.(QLI), Pinus tabuliformis Carrière (PTA), Caragana korshinskii Kom. (CKO), and Medicago sativa L.(MSA). A medical computed tomography (CT) scanner was used to acquire images with a voxel size of 0.977 by 0.977 by 1.000 mm for depths of 0 to 360 mm. We used ImageJ software to quantify the macropore properties. Soil structure and K sat improved with the succession of vegetation. The mean macropore volume fraction across the soil cores for the QLI, PTA, CKO, and MSA treatments were 6.6, 3.5, 1.3, and 0.6% within a 4900‐mm 2 area, respectively. Macropore quantity (volume fraction and number) had a higher R 2 for predicting K sat than macropore morphology (branch density, connectivity density, and junction density). Moreover, the grayscale values were negatively correlated with K sat and accounted for 78.8% of the variation in K sat . Grayscale values, volume fraction, and the number of macropores were the best combination of CT‐measured parameters for predicting K sat , accounting for 81.9% of the variation in K sat . The CT‐measured parameters could be used to estimate K sat in the upper root zone in the Loess Plateau.

Supramolecular amphiphilic vesicles are promising carriers in tumor therapy due to their excellent loading capabilities for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargos, especially for biomacromolecules such as proteins, enzymes and plasmids. However, the poor circulating stability and unsatisfied therapeutic efficiency greatly limit their in vivo applications. To address these issues, herein, we design and develop a new kind of GSH/pH dual-responsive supramolecular hybrid vesicles (SHVs) to encapsulate and deliver simultaneously biomacromolecule glucose oxidase (GOD) and chemotherapeutic drug docetaxel (DTX) for synergistic enzymatic/chemo-tumor therapy. The SHVs are constructed by the self-assembly of β-CD-poly(ε-caprolactone), ferrocene-poly (acrylic acid) and pillar [5] arenes via the terminal β-CD/Fc host-guest interaction, followed by cross-linking with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and poly (ethylene glycol) modification. As a vehicle for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargos, the resulting GOD/DTX co-loaded SHVs exhibit excellent synergistic enzymatic/chemo-tumor therapeutic ability with a combination index (CI = 0.285) of GOD and DTX in cellular level and high tumor inhibitory rate of 95.3% in vivo. Consequently, the resulting hybrid vesicles can be used as efficient and safe carriers for biomacromolecules in further cancer therapy.

Abstract. Nitryl chloride (ClNO2), an important precursor of Cl atoms, significantly affects atmospheric oxidation capacity and O3 formation. However, sources of ClNO2 in inland China have not been fully elucidated. In this work, laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate heterogeneous reactions of N2O5 with eight saline mineral dust samples collected from different regions in China, and substantial formation of ClNO2 was observed in these reactions. ClNO2 yields, φ(ClNO2), showed large variations (ranging from &lt;0.05 to ∼0.77) for different saline mineral dust samples, depending on mass fractions of particulate chloride. In addition, φ(ClNO2) could increase, decrease or show insignificant change for different saline mineral dust samples when relative humidity (RH) increased from 18 % to 75 %. We further found that current parameterizations significantly overestimated φ(ClNO2) for heterogeneous uptake of N2O5 onto saline mineral dust. In addition, assuming a uniform φ(ClNO2) value of 0.10 for N2O5 uptake onto mineral dust, we used a 3-D chemical transport model to assess the impact of this reaction on tropospheric ClNO2 in China and found that weekly mean nighttime maximum ClNO2 mixing ratios could have been increased by up to 85 pptv during a severe dust event in May 2017. Overall, our work showed that heterogeneous reaction of N2O5 with saline mineral dust could be an important source of tropospheric ClNO2 in inland China.