Zhao Tong University

Wood vinegar (WV), a biomass pyrolysis by-product, is widely used in agriculture because of the complexity and abundance of its bioactive substances. However, the specific mechanisms underlying plant growth regulation by acids and phenolic compounds, accounting for the largest proportion of their constituents, remain unclear. Therefore, the main acids (N-ethylglycine, Lactic, and 2-pyridinecarboxylic acids) and phenols (Catechol and Guaiacol) were selected to understand their effects on soil properties, microbial communities, and tomato growth in a pot experiment. Results showed that individual applications of acids and phenolics significantly enhanced nutrient availability (e.g., soil AP, AK, and AN), promoted tomato growth (e.g., PH, SD, AB), and regulated endogenous hormone levels (upregulating auxin (IAA), gibberellin (GA3 ), and cytokinin (CTK); downregulating abscisic acid (ABA). Among them, N-ethylglycine and catechol exhibited the most pronounced effects. However, their mixture (acid-phenolic combination) attenuated growth-promoting effects and hormonal regulation, accompanied by reduced bacterial community richness (ACE and Chao indices) and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) compared to single treatments. The dominant bacteria in the treatments with N-ethylglycine, Catechol, and their combination were Pedobacter, Pseudoxanthomonas, and TM7a, respectively, whereas the dominant fungi were Olpidiaster, Borealophlyctis, and Spizellomyces, respectively. Network-based analysis showed that Pseudoxanthomonas was negatively correlated with Pedobacter, and Olpidiaster was positively correlated with Spizellomyces. These findings deepened our understanding of the effects of acids and phenolics in WV on endogenous hormone levels, soil chemical characteristics, microbial diversity, and metabolic processes in tomato, and revealed the mechanisms of regulatory effects of WV components on crop growth.

Aquatic fungi serve as core ecological engines in freshwater ecosystems, driving organic matter decomposition and energy flow to sustain environmental balance. Wetlands, with their distinct hydrological dynamics and nutrient-rich matrices, serve as critical habitats for these microorganisms. As an internationally designated Ramsar Site, Yunnan Dashanbao Black-Necked Crane National Nature Reserve in China not only sustains endangered black-necked cranes but also harbors a cryptic reservoir of aquatic fungi within its peat marshes and alpine lakes. This study employed high-throughput sequencing to characterize fungal diversity and community structure across 12 understudied wetland sites in the reserve, while analyzing key environmental parameters (dissolved oxygen, pH, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus). A total of 5829 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) spanning 649 genera and 15 phyla were identified, with Tausonia (4.17%) and Cladosporium (1.89%) as dominant genera. Environmental correlations revealed 19 genera significantly linked to abiotic factors. FUNGuild functional profiling highlighted saprotrophs (organic decomposers) and pathogens as predominant trophic guilds. Saprotrophs exhibited strong associations with pH, total nitrogen, and phosphorus, whereas pathogens correlated primarily with pH. These findings unveil the hidden diversity and ecological roles of aquatic fungi in alpine wetlands, emphasizing their sensitivity to environmental gradients. By establishing baseline data on fungal community dynamics, this work advances the understanding of wetland microbial ecology and informs conservation strategies for Ramsar sites.

Forest fires, due to their multitude of influencing factors, complex disaster scene environment, and the randomness of special fire behaviors, pose issues in emergency rescue training, such as insufficient realism in disaster scenarios, significant safety hazards, and difficulties in behavior quantification and monitoring. This study applies virtual reality (VR) technology to develop a forest fire rescue training system, establishing three main modules: disaster situation deduction, rescue training, and teaching assessment. The system implements dynamic deduction of typical types of forest fires, effectively improving the simulation level of training scenarios. It constructs a fire scene, weather system, combustible material library, tool and equipment library, and action rule library, realizing dynamic interaction between real-time behavior and fire disaster situation under virtual scenarios based on the operating procedure. The system also structures a behavior monitoring and assessment process, achieving quantitative detection and post-evaluation of rescue training effects. To evaluate the system’s efficacy, pretesting and post-testing controlled experiments were conducted to verify the learning outcomes of trainees. The experimental results show that after undergoing 5 days of VR training, with daily sessions lasting 30 minutes, significant improvements were observed in the trainees’ cognition concerning forest fire rescue theory, operational skills, and firefighting strategies, as determined by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). These improvements were statistically significant, promoting knowledge acquisition and transfer more effectively than traditional training methods ( p < 0.05*). In addition, according to the subjective feedback results of the trainees, 84.2% of the participants were satisfied with the overall results of the training using this system. Despite some limitations that restrict the generalizability of the experimental conclusions, this study offers a new perspective on forest fire rescue training. Moreover, it provides valuable insights and references for the development of various emergency rescue training programs and the modernization of China’s firefighting and rescue forces.

Pruritus is often accompanied with bacterial infections, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Although previous studies revealed that lipopolysaccharides (LPS) could directly activate TRPV4 channel and TRPV4 is involved in the generation of both acute itch and chronic itch, whether and how LPS affects TRPV4-mediated itch sensation remains unclear. Here, we showed that LPS-mediated TRPV4 sensitization exacerbated GSK101-induced scratching behaviour in mice. Moreover, this effect was compromised in TLR4-knockout mice, suggesting LPS acted through a TLR4-dependent mechanism. Mechanistically, LPS enhanced GSK101-evoked calcium influx in mouse ear skin cells and HEK293T cells transfected with TRPV4. Further, LPS sensitized TRPV4 channel through the intracellular TLR4-PI3K-AKT signalling. In summary, our study found a modulatory role of LPS in TRPV4 function and highlighted the TLR4-TRPV4 interaction in itch signal amplification.

BackgroundSmall bowel cancer (SBC) is a very rare solid malignancy. Consequently, compared with other malignant gastrointestinal tumors, our knowledge regarding SBC, specifically its molecular attributes, remains limited. Herein, we aim to provide an overview of the gene characteristics of Chinese patients with SBC, We particularly focus on elucidating the genetic intricacies that differentiate SBC patients whose primary tumors originate in distinct anatomical regions within the small bowel.MethodsDuring the period ranging from February 2018 to December 2022, a total of 298 tumor samples were consecutively collected from Chinese patients diagnosed with small bowel cancer.. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed to detect gene mutation, assess microsatellite instability (MSI), and evaluate tumor mutational burden (TMB). Additionally,, IHC was used to analyze the level of PD-L1 expression within the samples.ResultsThe outcomes of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) unveiled the predominant gene mutations observed in Chinese patients with small bowel cancer (SBC). The top ten gene mutations identified were as follows: TP53 (53%), KRAS (51%), APC (31%), SMAD4 (19%), VEGFA (15%), CDKN2A (15%), RAC1 (15%), LRP1B (14%), MGMT (14%, CD74 (13%). Subsequent analysis revealed disparities in the gene landscape between the cohort in this study and that of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Notably, distinguishable mutational frequencies were identified in several genes, including ERBB2, FBXW7, PIK3CA, etc. which exhibited contrasting presence in both this cohort and the MSKCC cohort.. Furthermore, we noticed variations in the frequency of gene mutations among SBC patients depending on the specific anatomical site where the tumors originated within the small bowel. In addition, the distribution of patients with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and tumor mutational burden (TMB) levels varied among SBC patients with tumors originating from the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.ConclusionChinese patients with small bowel cancer exhibited a distinct genetic profile in comparison to other populations, highlighting a unique genetic landscape. Furthermore, noticeable disparities in the genetic landscape were observed between patients with cancer situated in the duodenum and those with cancer affecting other regions of the small bowel, this suggests that these patients should be treated differently.

Mushrooms are popular due to their rich medicinal and nutritional value. Of the many characteristics of mushrooms, aroma has received extensive attention and research as a key determinant of consumer preference. This paper reviews the production, role and contribution of common volatile compounds (VCs) in wild and cultivated mushrooms, and explores the methods used to characterize them and the factors influencing aroma. To date, more than 347 common VCs have been identified in mushrooms, such as aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and sulfur-containing compounds. Extraction and identification of VCs is a critical step and combining multiple analytical methods is an effective strategy in mushroom aroma studies. In addition, the VCs and the aroma of mushrooms are affected by a variety of factors such as genetics, growing conditions, and processing methods. However, the mechanism of influence is unknown. Further studies on the production mechanisms of VCs, their contribution to aroma, and the factors influencing their formation need to be determined in order to fully elucidate aroma and flavor of mushrooms.