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Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is largely lacking. Here, we report results from a network of 10 experimental sites from paired grazed and ungrazed grasslands across an aridity gradient, including some of the largest remaining native grasslands on the planet. We show that aridity partly explains the responses of biodiversity and multifunctionality to long-term livestock grazing. Grazing greatly reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in steppes with higher aridity, while had no effects in steppes with relatively lower aridity. Moreover, we found that long-term grazing further changed the capacity of above- and below-ground biodiversity to explain multifunctionality. Thus, while plant diversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grasslands with excluded livestock, soil biodiversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grazed grasslands. Together, our cross-site experiment reveals that the impacts of long-term grazing on biodiversity and function depend on aridity levels, with the more arid sites experiencing more negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. We also highlight the fundamental importance of conserving soil biodiversity for protecting multifunctionality in widespread grazed grasslands. Experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is limited. Here, the authors show that grazing impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions are aggravated with aridity using experimental sites across an aridity gradient.

Understanding the mechanisms of grassland productivity variation is critical for global carbon cycling and climate change mitigation. Heretofore, it is unknown how different environmental factors drive small-scale spatial variation in productivity, and whether land use intensification, one of the most important global changes, can regulate the processes that drive productivity change. Here we performed an 18-year exclosure experiment across six sites with high-intensity mowing/grazing history in northern China to examine the effects of land use intensification on plant functional diversity, soil properties, and their relative contributions to above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP). We found that plant functional diversity and soil properties contributed to the variation in ANPP both independently and equally in enclosed grasslands (plant diversity: 20.6%; soil properties: 19.5%). Intensive land use significantly decreased the Rao’s quadratic entropy (RaoQ) and community-weighted mean value (CWM) of plant height, and further suppressed the contributions of plant functional diversity to ANPP. In contrast, intensive land use increased soil available N, P, pH, electrical conductivity, and homogeneity of soil available P, and strengthened their contributions to ANPP (31.5%). Our results indicate that high-intensity land use practices in grasslands decrease the role of plant functional diversity, but strengthen the effects of soil properties on productivity. We, therefore, suggest that plant functional diversity can be used effectively to boost productivity in undisturbed grasslands, while soil properties might be a more critical consideration for grassland management in an areas with increased land use.

Aqueous zinc‐based batteries face critical stability issues at the zinc metal anode, primarily manifested as uncontrolled dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, and corrosion. To address these issues in an eco‐friendly manner, we report a biomass‐derived additive, 3‐acetylamino‐5‐acetylfuran (3A5AF), synthesized from chitin, which features abundant polar N/O functional groups. Even at an ultralow concentration (0.3 mg mL−1), 3A5AF could restructure the solvation shell of Zn2+ and establish a protective layer on the anode surface, thereby curbing undesirable side reactions and guiding the uniform deposition of zinc. This stabilization strategy endows the Zn||Zn symmetric cell with robust longevity, achieving a cycle life exceeding 2700 h under 1 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2. Even when subjected to a demanding current density of 4 mA cm−2, the cell maintains stable operation for 2400 h. The practical utility was further confirmed in Zn||I2 full cells, which delivered a reversible capacity of 192.6 mAh g−1 following 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1 and, at 8 A g−1, sustained 20 000 cycles with merely a 6.1% capacity loss (93.9% retention). This work highlights the promise of sustainable biomass‐derived additives in developing high‐performance and green aqueous zinc batteries. A biomass‐derived additive synthesized from chitin, 3‐acetylamino‐5‐acetylfuran (3A5AF), resolves key stability issues such as uncontrolled dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, and corrosion of zinc anodes by reconstructing the solvation structure of the electrolyte and protecting the anode interface.

Background Fabry disease is a rare and non-specific disease that is difficult and expensive to diagnose. This study aimed to investigate the clinical phenotypes and genetic characteristics of patients with Fabry disease characterised by the GLA IVS4 + 919G > A variant in China through a proposed pilot program integrating high-risk and family screening. Methods The 31-months-long pilot program assessed high-risk screening for Fabry disease in 388 patients by integrating previous screening methods that measure their dry blood spot (DBS) α-galactosidase A (α-GAL) activity, globotriaosylsphingosine (Lyso-GL-3), and GLA gene sequence at Ninghai First Hospital. Patients whose dried blood spot (DBS) α-GAL enzyme activity was low (< 2.40 µmol·L − 1 ·h − 1 ) or whose Lyso-GL-3 level was high (> 1.10 ng/mL) underwent GLA genetic testing for diagnostic confirmation. Gender-specific family screening and evaluation was carried out on the proband, and the clinical and genetic characteristics of Fabry disease characterised by the GLA IVS4 + 919G > A variant were summarised. Results A yield of Fabry disease diagnosis of 1.80% (7/388) was achieved, which is much larger than have been previously reported. These diagnoses include a 9.8-year-old girl, who was screened because of a high-risk profile of severe pain in the extremities, as well as 6 males, who were diagnosed with Fabry disease and who were screened because of unexplained left ventricular hypertrophy. All 7 diagnosed patients were carriers of the GLA IVS4 + 919G > A variant. Family screening of 7 probands revealed that 18 family members carried pathogenic variants, resulting in a diagnosis rate of 6.44% (25/388); 13 were clinically affected, 2 were asymptomatic carriers, and 3 declined further clinical assessment. The 25 patients had multiple affected organs and systems included the heart (60.00%), peripheral nerves (16.00%), kidney (36.00%), eye (20.00%), brain (12.00%), and gastrointestinal tract (24.00%). Conclusions Screening high-risk populations and family screening is critical for early diagnosis and timely intervention in patients with Fabry disease. The GLA IVS4 + 919G > A variant is associated with diverse phenotypes of Fabry disease and is highly prevalent in late-onset cases in Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province, Eastern China.

Plant diversity can be affected by both herbivore grazing and soil resources. However, it is unclear if the joint effects of herbivores and soil resources might vary with components of plant diversity. Here, we evaluated the relative and combined effects of herbivore assemblage and soil nitrogen (N) quantity and heterogeneity on the α and β components of plant diversity in a grassland that was subjected to four years of grazing under differing herbivore assemblages (no grazing, cattle grazing, sheep grazing, and mixed grazing). We found that herbivore assemblage combined with soil N quantity explained 41% of the variation in plant α-diversity, while herbivore assemblage combined with soil N heterogeneity explained 15% of the variation in plant β-diversity. The independent effects of herbivore assemblage explained more than those of soil N for both α- and β-diversity (α-diversity: 12% vs. 4%; β-diversity: 18% vs. 16%). We concluded that the effects of herbivores are stronger than those of soil N, and that grazing-induced changes in soil resources are important drivers of plant diversity change, especially α-diversity. Therefore, we suggest that managing herbivore species by accounting for the effects that their grazing can have on soil resources may be significant for plant diversity maintenance.

Background and aim Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a common cause of cardiovascular death worldwide. Due to its nonspecific clinical symptoms, PTE is easy to be missed or misdiagnosed. Pulmonary transit time (PTT) is a noninvasive cardiopulmonary hemodynamic index, which is the time required for a blood sample to pass through pulmonary circulation. This study is aim to establish a rabbit PTE model using auto-thrombus, evaluating the dynamic changes in a rabbit’s heart structure and function at multiple time points before and after modeling by echocardiography and exploring the application value of PTT obtained by contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in evaluating a PTE model. Methods Twenty-four healthy rabbits were intubated by femoral vein puncture to establish the PTE model. Echocardiography was performed before embolization, 2 h, 24 h, 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days after embolization to obtain conventional ultrasonic parameters. Then, CEUS was performed to obtain the PTT. Results Seventh day after modeling, nineteen rabbits were alive. Compared with pre-modeling, right heart parameters and heart rate in echocardiography were significantly impaired in the acute phase (2 and 24 h after modeling) and gradually returned to normal in the compensatory phase (3, 5, and 7 days after modeling). In contrast with conventional ultrasound parameters, PTT and nPTT revealed a gradually increasing trend at each time point. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed with an extension of molding time, the area under the curve (AUC) of (n)PTT is larger and larger. Conclusions Right heart parameters obtained using conventional echocardiography can accurately indicate changes in the structure and function of the right heart during the acute phase of PTE, while (n)PTT measured by CEUS continues to extend during the acute and compensatory phases of PTE. Therefore, PTT (nPTT) obtained by CEUS is a useful clinical indicator for the diagnosis of PTE and can be utilized as a supplement to conventional echocardiography parameters. Graphical Abstract

Transplant rejection and the side effects of immunosuppressive therapy have hindered heart transplantation development. Rejection of a heart transplant can lead to cellular and antibody-mediated immunoinflammatory responses and allograft dysfunction, thereby significantly affecting patients’ survival and prognosis. To address these challenges, many new technologies and materials, including nanomaterials, have been developed for potential applications in the heart transplantation field. Nanomaterials are most commonly used as drug delivery carriers, and the addition of specific ligands can enhance drug utilization, strengthen therapeutic effects, and reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions. In addition, nanomaterials have been developed as targeted molecular probes to support various imaging techniques and to assist in monitoring the infiltration of immune cells (such as T cells and macrophages) into cardiac tissue, thus facilitating the early diagnosis of acute rejection (AR). Continuous advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of “theranostic” and intelligent-response nanomaterials for precise disease diagnosis and simultaneous treatment. Nanomedicine primarily relies on the development of Nanomaterials and nanostructured surfaces, along with the application of nanotechnology, for molecular diagnosis, therapy, monitoring, and disease treatment. In this review, we examine the recent development of nanomaterials for the diagnosis and treatment of AR in heart transplantation, and discuss the challenges and future directions for the clinical translation of nanomaterials in heart transplantation.

Soils support a highly diverse community of plant pathogens, which are highly responsive to global change. Climate and livestock grazing are the main global changes in grasslands, yet, how long-term grazing alone, and in interaction with climate, influence the distribution of soil-borne plant pathogens remain virtually unknown. Here, we present the first long-term regional-scale experimental investigation on the impacts of livestock grazing on soil-borne fungal plant pathogens and their association with plant community across 10 experimental sites spanning a climate gradient in the steppe in Northern China. Our results showed that long-term grazing effects on the diversity and proportion of soil-borne fungal plant pathogens are strongly controlled by temperature, with grazing increasing pathogen richness and proportions largely in cooler grasslands. We further show that long-term grazing supported stronger connections between soil-borne fungal pathogens and plant communities. Our work demonstrates that climate controls the effects of grazing on plant pathogens, which is critical to understand and manage grasslands in a changing world. Long-term effects of grazing on soil-borne fungal plant pathogens are strongly controlled by temperature, posing greater potential threats to plant pathogen infections in cooler grasslands.

Context Water conservation services (WCs), which play an important role in ecosystem hydrological processes and sustainable water resource utilization, are mainly affected by the combination of climate change and land use. However, such impacts are still not effectively differentiated. Objectives This study aimed to (1) reveal the year-by-year changes in WCs in the Ussuri River Basin; (2) to quantify the contribution of climatic factors and land-use changes to WCs based on the year-by-year data; and (3) to clarify the mechanisms by which climate and land-use changes act on WCs. Methods The relative contributions of drivers (climate change and land use) to WCs were quantified based on year-by-year series data in a typical agricultural development watershed in China (Ussuri River Basin). Results The mean WCs were increasing from 2000 to 2020, with an annual mean of 16.45 mm and at an increasing rate of 0.39 mm/year⁻ 1 ( P  = 0.071). Climate change was the dominant factor in WCs, explaining 71% of the variation in WCs compared to 29% for land use. Forestland area (standardized path coefficients: β  = 0.797, P  < 0.05) and precipitation ( β  = 0.242, P  < 0.05) had direct and enhancing effects on WCs, implying that moisture and vegetation cover play important roles in influencing WCs in this study area. Although the high proportion of cropland shows a relatively low direct correlation with WCs, its strong correlation with forestland area indirectly contributes to the enhancement of WCs. The covariance of this indirect effect is approximately 0.8, suggesting a very strong interaction. Conclusions Rational regulation of water availability and land-use relationships enables the restoration of WCs in agricultural areas. This study underscores the pivotal role of anthropogenic land management in sustaining ecosystem services and water resources.

In this paper, a continuous and dense coating was deposited on samples of the ZA27 alloy through the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process to improve its wear and corrosion performance. A nontoxic and environmentally friendly inorganic salt, Na2SiO3, is chosen as electrolytes with different concentrations. The effect of the concentration of Na2SiO3 aqueous solutions on the coating performances was investigated. The coatings with 3Al2O3·2SiO2 (mullite), Zn2SiO4 and Al2O3 (either crystal phase or with some amorphous SiO2 phases) were formed by the PEO processes. It was found that the coating thickness increased with the increase in electrolyte concentration. However, the wear and corrosion resistance performance of the coatings did not improve as the coating’s thickness increased. This was due to the fact that the coating produced with electrolytes of 10 g/L has a porous structure with large pore size. Among all the samples, coating produced by 15 g/L Na2SiO3 has the best wear and corrosion resistance, which is attributed to its continuous and dense structure with thickness of about 47 μm.