Search Results (11,889)

Background: Functional diversity of aquatic macrophytes can provide mechanistic insight into community assembly beyond taxonomic diversity metrics. Aims: We tested whether functional diversity indices can help infer the dominant processes shaping macrophyte communities along hydromorphological and physicochemical gradients, and whether these signals remain interpretable after accounting for species richness. Methods: We surveyed aquatic macrophytes in the Dnipro–Orilsky Nature Reserve (Ukraine) during four field campaigns in 2024 (453 sampling sites), measured key environmental characteristics, and calculated functional diversity indices from plant trait data. Results: The indices showed distinct responses consistent with environmental filtering, dispersal limitation related to reduced hydrological connectivity, and biotic interactions. Anthropogenic degradation was associated with functional simplification and shifts toward opportunistic trait syndromes. Conclusions: A complementary set of functional diversity indices can distinguish major community assembly mechanisms in macrophyte assemblages and supports more robust assessment of ecosystem condition under combined natural and anthropogenic pressures. Full article

Ants act as keystone species in terrestrial ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services. The large-scale production and application of GO constitute a predominant contributor to its inevitable environmental dispersion. Most GO toxicity studies have focused on plants, animals, and microorganisms, with limited research on ground-dwelling ants. In the study, we used Camponotus japonicus as a model to investigate the toxic effects of GO on ants by integrating physiological characteristics, gut microbiota and transcriptome profiling. Results showed that GO exposure induced mitochondrial dysfunction, as evidenced by mitochondrial ROS accumulation and elevated mitochondrial membrane permeability. Physiological assessments revealed that GO exposure induced oxidative stress. Specifically, GO treatment significantly suppressed superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, while enhancing peroxidase (POD) and carboxylesterase (CarE) activities and increasing the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and trehalose. Gut microbiota analyses showed that GO remarkably reduced the relative abundance of beneficial bacterial symbionts (e.g., Candidatus Blochmannia) and destabilized the whole community structure. Furthermore, transcriptome profiling revealed 680 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the ants after GO exposure, most of which were significantly enriched in pathways associated with oxidative phosphorylation. This study suggests that GO may compromise ant-mediated ecosystem function and provides a reference for understanding the environmental risks of GO. Our findings also offer new insights for protecting the ecosystem services of ants. Full article

Gentiana species are widely used in traditional and modern medicine, and Gentiana siphonantha is an important medicinal representative. To evaluate the quality characteristics of cultivated G. siphonantha roots, the accumulation patterns of iridoid glycosides and antioxidant activities across different cultivation ages and harvest months were investigated. Five major iridoid glycosides were quantified, and antioxidant capacity was assessed through DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. Quality was subsequently multidimensionally evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares–discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), membership function analysis, and entropy weight–TOPSIS analysis, and the relationship between iridoid glycoside content and antioxidant activity was analyzed. Results showed that 3-year-old cultivated roots had the highest total iridoid glycoside content (134.60 mg·g⁻¹ DW), indicating the optimal cultivation age. Peak glycoside accumulation occurred in 4-year-old plants harvested in June–July, identifying this period as the optimal harvest time, as supported by multivariate statistical and comprehensive evaluation. Antioxidant activity increased with cultivation age, with samples collected in June or August showing higher capacities, and it was positively correlated with total iridoid glycoside content, particularly with FRAP (p < 0.05). In conclusion, cultivated G. siphonantha exhibits stable quality and favorable antioxidant activity, providing a basis for standardized cultivation, quality evaluation, and rational utilization. Full article

The high salt content in saline–alkali soil has a significant impact on plant nutrient absorption and water transport, severely inhibiting crop growth. Through esterification reactions, silicic acid is grafted onto humic acid to form an organic silicon fertilizer (OSiF). The unique Si-O-C bond in the material endows this new type of organic silicon-based fertilizer with the ability to effectively alleviate the harm of high-salt soil to plants. In this study, a soil column experiment was designed to systematically evaluate and compare the effects of organic silicon fertilizers with different organic silicon contents (0%, 5%, and 10%) and traditional compound fertilizers on soil water characteristics, salt ion concentration, pH value, and electrical conductivity. The results showed that the addition of an appropriate amount of organic silicon fertilizer could significantly reduce the activity of salt ions in the soil solution. Experimental data indicated that the 5% and 10% organic silicon fertilizers had the most significant effect on the consumption of major salt ions such as sodium and chloride ions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the reaction of Si-O-C bonds in the soil with Lewis bases led to a shift in the valence state of the 1S electrons of silicon atoms, providing a theoretical basis for the mechanism by which silicon fertilizers alleviate high-salt stress. Full article

Background/Objectives: Essential oils (EOs) from plants of the genus Cinnamomum have been widely used based on their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, their elevated volatility and limited aqueous solubility restrict their use in pharmaceutical and food formulations. Cyclodextrins (CDs) have emerged as a promising strategy to overcome these limitations through the formation of inclusion complexes. Methods: In this study, inclusion complexes of essential oil from C. camphora L. (EOCNM) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were developed using physical mixing (PM), ultrasonic treatment (US), and freeze-drying (FD). The inclusion complexes were physicochemically characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate their physicochemical interactions and complexation efficiency. Results: Our results demonstrated successful complex formation, with the FD and US methods showing greater amorphization and stronger inclusion characteristics compared to the PM method. Thermal analysis confirmed improved physicochemical stability of the essential oil when complexed with β-CD. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity assay of the complexes was assessed using the MTT assay and J774 macrophage cells. The complexes exhibited low cytotoxicity, indicating their potential biocompatibility for biomedical and food applications. Conclusions: Overall, β-CD encapsulation effectively enhanced the physicochemical stability and safety profile of C. camphora essential oil, providing a promising strategy for its controlled delivery and protection against degradation. Full article

Accurate day-ahead photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting is essential for secure operation and scheduling in power systems with high PV penetration, yet its performance is often constrained by the coarse spatial resolution of operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) products at the plant scale. To address this issue, this paper proposes an attention-enhanced CNN–LSTM forecasting framework integrated with a spatial downscaling strategy. First, seasonal and diurnal characteristics of PV generation are analyzed based on theoretical irradiance and historical power measurements. A CNN–LSTM network with a channel-wise attention mechanism is then employed to capture temporal dependencies, while a composite loss function is adopted to improve robustness. We fuse multi-source meteorological variables from NWP outputs with an attention-based module. We also introduce a multi-site XGBoost downscaling model. This model refines plant-level meteorological inputs. We evaluate the framework on multi-site PV data from representative seasons. The results show lower RMSE and higher correlation than the benchmark models. The gains are larger in medium power ranges. These findings suggest that spatially refined NWP inputs improve day-ahead PV forecasting. They also show that attention-enhanced deep learning makes the forecasts more reliable. Quantitatively, the downscaled meteorological variables consistently achieve lower normalized MAE and normalized RMSE than the raw NWP fields, with irradiance-related errors reduced by about 40% to 55%. For day-ahead PV forecasting, using downscaled NWP inputs reduces RMSE from 0.0328 to 0.0184 and MAE from 0.0194 to 0.0112, while increasing the Pearson correlation to 0.995 and the CR to 98.1%. Full article

To investigate the effects of different Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. varieties on leaf nutrients, soil nutrients, and microbial community composition, this study selected Yuelou No. 3 and Huiji No. 2, two major cultivars from the primary production area of Shishou City. The two varieties were cultivated at different locations under standardized agronomic management practices, and a systematic comparative analysis was carried out over a 10-month sampling period from March to December 2024. The analysis encompassed their leaf nutrients (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and relative chlorophyll content), soil nutrients (organic matter, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium), and microbial community characteristics. The results revealed significant varietal differences in leaf nutrient content: the average total phosphorus content of Yuelou No. 3 (0.44%) was higher than that of Huiji No. 2 (0.39%), while Huiji No. 2 exhibited higher total nitrogen (3.73%), total potassium (3.86%), and SPAD (44.72). Leaf nutrient content in both varieties followed a pattern of nitrogen > potassium > phosphorus, with peak phosphorus and potassium demand occurring earlier in Yuelou No. 3. Additionally, Yuelou No. 3 contained higher organic matter (12.73 g/kg) and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (103.02 mg/kg), while Huiji No. 2 showed enhanced soil pH (7.02), available phosphorus (6.96 mg/kg), and available potassium (180.00 mg/kg). Soil available nutrient dynamics displayed a pattern of slow change during the early stage, a rapid increase during the middle stage, and stabilization in the later stage. Microbial analysis revealed no significant differences in alpha diversity between the two varieties, although Yuelou No. 3 showed marginally higher diversity indices during early to mid-growth stages. In contrast, beta diversity showed significant separation in PCoA space. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Ascomycota were the dominant microbial phyla. Dominant genera included Kaistobacter, Mortierella, and Neocosmospora, among others, with variety-specific relative abundances. Redundancy analysis further supported the variety-specific influence of soil physicochemical properties on microbial community structure, with available phosphorus, available potassium, and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen identified as key factors shaping community composition. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding the impact of different Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. varieties on soil–plant–microbe interactions and suggests potential directions for future research on fertilization and management strategies tailored to varietal differences. Full article

Seed endophytic microbiota are crucial for plant early development and stress resistance. Pinus massoniana is a key ecological and economic tree species in China, yet it is severely threatened by pine wilt disease (PWD). However, the community composition of P. massoniana seed endophytic microbiota and the persistent symbiosis formed via vertical transmission in seeds remain unclear. We analyzed the endophytic bacterial and fungal microbiota of P. massoniana seeds from four geographic regions using high-throughput 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing to characterize community structure, diversity, and functional potential, providing a basis for endophytic microbiota-based strategies to enhance resistance to PWD. Results showed that both alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated that seed endophytic microbial communities of P. massoniana differed among regions. Bacterial communities were dominated by Pseudomonadota (phylum), Gammaproteobacteria (class), and the genera Klebsiella, norank_f_Pectobacteriaceae, and Lactobacillus. Fungal communities were primarily composed of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota (phylum), Sordariomycetes (class), and the genera Rosellinia, Aspergillus, and Coniophora. Correlation network analysis revealed that fungal networks were characterized by a higher proportion of positive correlations, whereas bacterial networks were more complex. Notably, several genera detected in seeds, including Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Trichoderma, have also been reported in mature P. massoniana tissues, indicating a potential for putative vertical transmission from mother plants. Functional prediction further suggested that these taxa were enriched in pathways related to terpenoid and polyketide metabolism and saprotrophic functions, which have been implicated in PWD resistance and have been previously reported to exert nematode-suppressive or plant growth-promoting effects. Overall, this study elucidates the community structure and ecological characteristics of seed endophytic microbiota in P. massoniana and identifies potentially beneficial microbial taxa, providing potential support for the future utilization of P. massoniana endophytic microbiota in PWD research. Full article

Understanding how plant community characteristics and soil properties vary along altitudinal gradients is essential for ecosystem conservation, restoration, and for predicting ecosystem responses to global environmental change. This study investigated altitudinal patterns and their potential drivers in mountain meadow communities on the southern slope of Wutai Mountain, Northern China. Community characteristics and soil physicochemical properties were measured along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 1800 to 3000 m a.s.l. Most community characteristics exhibited clear altitudinal trends. Species richness, Shannon–Wiener index, Simpson index, aboveground biomass and average plant height all declined significantly with increasing altitude. In contrast, vegetation cover showed a unimodal pattern, initially decreasing and then increasing at higher elevations. Soil physicochemical properties also varied significantly along the altitudinal gradient and were closely associated with changes in community characteristics. Variation partitioning analysis revealed that environmental factors, including altitude and soil properties, explained 71.9% of the total variation in mountain meadow communities. Altitude alone contributed more to community variation than soil factors, indicating its dominant role in shaping community structure. Nevertheless, specific soil properties, particularly soil depth, soil bulk density and soil pH, also exerted significant influences on community characteristics. Overall, our results demonstrate that altitude is a key driver of both vegetation and soil variation in mountain meadows on the southern slope of Wutai Mountain. In addition to altitudinal effects, soil physicochemical properties should be considered when developing conservation and management strategies for mountain meadow ecosystems. Full article

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a central cause of chemotherapy failure and tumor recurrence and metastasis, and its mechanism involves enhanced drug efflux, target mutation, upregulation of DNA repair and remodeling of the tumor microenvironment. ABC transporter protein (P-gp, MRP, and BCRP)-mediated efflux of drugs is the most intensively researched aspect of the study, but the first three generations of small-molecule reversal agents were stopped in the clinic because of toxicity or pharmacokinetic defects. Natural products are considered as the fourth generation of MDR reversal agents due to their structural diversity, multi-targeting and low toxicity. In this paper, we systematically summarize the inhibitory activities of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and triterpenes against ABC transporter proteins in in vitro and in vivo models and focus on the new mechanism of reversing drug resistance by blocking efflux pumps, modulating signaling pathways such as PI3K-AKT, Nrf2, NF-κB and remodeling the tumor microenvironment. For example, Terpenoids possess irreplaceable core advantages over traditional multidrug resistance (MDR) reversers: Compared with the first three generations of synthetic reversers, natural/semisynthetic terpenoids integrate low toxicity (mostly derived from edible medicinal plants, half-maximal inhibitory concentration IC₅₀ > 50 μM), high target specificity (e.g., oleanolic acid specifically inhibits the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter subtype ABCC1 without cross-reactivity with ABCB1), and multi-mechanistic synergistic effects (e.g., β-caryophyllene simultaneously mediates the dual effects of “ABCB1 efflux inhibition + apoptotic pathway activation”). These unique characteristics enable terpenoids to effectively circumvent key limitations of traditional synthetic reversers, such as high toxicity and severe drug–drug interactions. Among them, lupane-type derivative BBA and euphane-type sooneuphanone D (triterpenoids), as well as dihydro-β-agarofuran-type compounds and sesquiterpene lactone Conferone (sesquiterpenoids), have emerged as the core lead compounds with the greatest translational potential in current MDR reverser research, attributed to their potent in vitro and in vivo MDR reversal activity, low toxicity, and excellent druggable modifiability. At the same time, we point out bottlenecks, such as low bioavailability, insufficient in vivo evidence, and unclear structure–activity relationship and put forward a proposal to address these bottlenecks. At the same time, the bottlenecks of low bioavailability, insufficient vivo evidence and unclear structure–activity relationship have been pointed out, and future research directions such as nano-delivery, structural optimization and combination strategies have been proposed to provide theoretical foundations and potential practical pathways for the clinical translation research of terpenoid compounds, whose clinical application still requires further in vivo validation and translational research support. Full article

Currently, the increased incidence of invasive fungal infections globally is posing a significant challenge to public health. Due to drug resistance issues, the clinical efficacy of existing antifungal drugs is seriously insufficient, while new drug development progresses slowly. Consequently, there is an urgent need to discover and develop novel antifungal therapeutics. Natural products have the characteristics of wide sources and few adverse reactions and are one of the sources for developing antifungal drugs. Numerous studies have shown that many compounds isolated from plants and traditional Chinese medicine have antifungal activity and diverse antifungal mechanisms. Thymol, a monoterpene phenol compound from thyme (Lamiaceae), has multiple biological functions such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. Recent research has found that thymol has strong antifungal activity, and its molecular mechanisms involve cell membrane rupture, interference with cell wall synthesis, disruption of mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, inhibition of biofilm, inhibition of virulence factor expression, inhibition of key enzymes, and induction of cell apoptosis. This review aimed to summarize the antifungal activity of thymol and the underlying molecular mechanisms, safety, and potential clinical applications. Emerging technologies in thymol delivery systems and future research directions are also discussed. The comprehensive analysis aims to provide a detailed understanding of fungal infections and the role of thymol in antifungal treatment, offering insights for further research and clinical practice. Full article

In the context of climate change, alterations to the physico-chemical properties of soils, particularly in Mediterranean regions, are a growing source of preoccupation. This study analyzes the ecological plasticity and biochemical adaptability of Thymus saturejoides to changes in soil physico-chemical properties in four contrasting environments in Morocco’s western High Atlas (TM: Tidili msfioua, SF: Sti fadma, TA: Taouss, TN: Tisi ntast). It highlights the influence of edaphic characteristics on the physiology and metabolic composition of the species, revealing marked soil heterogeneity between sites. The results for the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil revealed marked heterogeneity between sites. Tisi ntast and Taouss soils had the highest values in terms of electrical conductivity (TN: 0.25 dS/m, TA: 0.18 dS/m), available phosphorus (TN: 18.58 ppm and TA: 26.06 ppm) and total nitrogen (TN: 0.27% and TA: 0.14%), associated with a silty texture, suggesting higher fertility. Conversely, the soil at the TM site was characterized by low total nitrogen content (0.09%), a high C/N ratio (24.4) and a sandy-silty texture, indicating more constraining conditions for plant growth. From a physiological standpoint, plants from the TA site had the lowest chlorophyll levels (17.10 mg g⁻¹FW), while those from the TN site showed the highest levels (31.08 mg g⁻¹FW), accompanied by increased protein content and reduced polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase. In contrast, TM plants showed significant accumulation of total soluble sugars (30 mg g⁻¹FW), proline (22.53 µmol g⁻¹FW), hydrogen peroxide (1.33 nmol g⁻¹FW) and malondialdehyde (62.97 nmol g⁻¹FW), reflecting strong activation of oxidative stress responses. On the other hand, plants from the TA site displayed significantly lower levels of these stress markers compared to other sites, suggesting greater physiological resilience. These results highlight the pivotal role of interactions between edaphic and environmental conditions in modulating plant physiological and biochemical responses, shedding light on the ecological adaptation mechanisms of plant species to the contrasting ecosystems of the Western High Atlas. Full article

Improving the thermal utilisation of organic production waste to generate energy is integral to solving one of the most pressing issues of our time: transitioning away from fossil fuels. In this context, the thermal utilisation of organic waste, particularly sewage sludge (SS) and lignin-containing by-products from the biochemical industry, is of considerable scientific and practical interest. This study provides a thorough analysis of the co-combustion processes involving SS, lignin-based pellets and briquettes, and their mixtures with various component ratios. The aim of the work is to evaluate the fuel properties, thermokinetic characteristics, and potential for synergistic interactions during joint fuel combustion, considering the mechanical impact on lignin during granulation. The aim is to optimise conditions for the thermal utilisation of industrial waste. The study employed standard analytical methods: the thermophysical properties of the fuels were determined; morphological analysis of the particle surface was conducted using scanning electron microscopy; and X-ray fluorescence analysis was performed to identify the inorganic oxide phase. It has been established that lignin briquettes have the highest lower heating value, exceeding that of lignin pellets and sewage sludge by 7% and 27%, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in an oxidising atmosphere (air, heating rate of 10 °C/min) made it possible to determine the following key combustion parameters: the ignition temperature of the coke residue (T_i); the temperature at which oxidation is complete (T_b); the maximum combustion rate (R_max); and the combustion efficiency index (Q). The ignition temperature of the coke residue was 262.1 °C for SS, 291.8 °C for lignin pellets, and 290.0 °C for lignin briquettes. Analysis of co-combustion revealed non-linear behaviour in the thermograms, indicating synergistic effects, which are manifested by a decrease in the maximum combustion rate compared to the additive prediction, particularly in mixtures with a moderate lignin content (25–50%). It was established that the main synergistic interactions between the mixture components occurred during moisture evaporation and the combustion of coke residue. These results are valuable for designing and operating power plants that focus on co-combusting industrial organic waste, and they contribute to the development of thermal utilisation technologies within closed production cycles. Full article

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) represents the most readily available and crucial carbon source for soil microorganisms, influencing their community structure, nutrient cycling, and metabolic functions. However, the interplay between functional genes and the organic components of DOC remains poorly understood. In this study, a 33-year fertilization experiment on black soil was carried out, setting up five fertilization treatments: unfertilized control (CK), nitrogen and potassium (NK), nitrogen, P and potassium (NPK), NPK plus straw (NPKS), and NPK plus manure (NPKM). The variation characteristics of soil DOC composition and carbon-degrading functional gene abundance under different fertilization treatments were systematically analyzed. The study found that applying chemical fertilizers combined with organic materials significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and DOC contents in the thin-layer black soil of Gongzhuling. The soil DOC in this region is primarily derived from external inputs (Fresh plant-derived materials). Parallel factor analysis identified four fluorescent components: C1 as visible fulvic acid-like substances, C2 as humic acid-like substances, C3 as ultraviolet fulvic acid-like substances, and C4 as long-wavelength humic-like substances. Among these, NPK plus straw significantly enhanced the fluorescence intensity of the humic acid-like component (C2) and the total fluorescence intensity. The fluorescence intensity of the humic acid-like component increased by 36.0–208.9%, and the total fluorescence intensity increased by 23.8–270.9% compared to the CK. Moreover, the study found that the phylum composition of carbon-degrading microorganisms remained stable under different fertilization treatments. However, NPK plus straw significantly reduced the total abundance of carbon-degrading genes and influenced the composition and transformation of DOC by regulating the expression of key carbon-degrading genes ICL and abfA. These results offer new insights into the mechanisms by which fertilizer management affects the composition and stability of DOC in black soils via microbial functional gene pathways. Full article

Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the total water vapor flux transported by vegetation and surface soil to the atmosphere. It is an important component of water and heat regulation, and has an impact on plant productivity and water resource management. As a water-shortage region, the Mongolian Plateau is characterized by drought and an uneven distribution of rainwater resources. Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of ET on the Mongolian Plateau is important for water resource regulation for climate change adaption and regional sustainable development. This study calculated the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of the actual ET in the Mongolian Plateau based on the SFE-NP model and generated a surface ET dataset with a spatial resolution of 1 km and monthly temporal resolution from 2001 to 2020. Theil-Sen median and Mann–Kendall trend models were used to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of the actual ET over the Mongolian Plateau. This dataset has been validated for accuracy against the commonly used authoritative ET datasets ERA5_Land and MOD16A2, demonstrating high precision and accuracy. This dataset can provide data support for research and applications such as surface water resource allocation and drought detection in the Mongolian Plateau. Full article