Explore the vast range of titles available.

Primary kidney neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare renal malignancies. However, detecting and monitoring neuroendocrine neoplasms remains challenging because of their nonspecific nature. We herein present a case involving a 53-year-old woman who experienced episodes of intermittent abdominal pain, dizziness, and nausea for a period of 5 days. Computed tomography urography revealed a small (approximately 19- × 16-mm) nodular shadow in the left kidney. The nodular shadow exhibited slightly lower density than the surrounding tissue as well as enhancement, with a portion protruding into the renal sinus region. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses of the biopsy specimen from the mass indicated a well-differentiated NET. After analysis of this case, we performed a literature review and herein discuss various techniques for imaging and pathological diagnosis of renal NETs. Additionally, we provide insights into the treatment options and prognosis for affected patients. By combining this case study with the existing published literature, we aim to offer a valuable reference for clinicians treatment patients diagnosed with renal NETs.

Para-chloronitrobenzene (p-CNB) in soil has posed significant health risks because of its persistence and high toxicity. The efficacy of catalyzed Zero-Valent Iron (ZVI), activated persulfate, and ZVI-persulfate processes for the degradation of p-CNB in soil was investigated. The p-CNB removal rate significantly increased from 10.8 to 90.1% with increased ZVI dosage from 0.1 mmol g−1 to 1.0 mmol g−1. The p-CNB removal increased with the decrease of initial pH and a removal efficiency of 85.3% was obtained at an initial pH value of 6.8 in combined system. The p-CNB removal rate in the single persulfate system and ZVI system was 36.5% and 60.2%, while the ZVI-persulfate system showed more sufficient p-CNB removal capacity and the removal rate of p-CNB was 88.7%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was adopted in order to explore the degradation mechanism by ZVI-Persulfate system in soil.

The consecutive monoculture of leads to a serious decrease in its production and quality. Previous studies have demonstrated that intercropping altered species diversity and rhizosphere microbial diversity. However, it remained unknown whether the impaired growth of monocultured plants could be restored by enhanced belowground interspecific interactions. In the present research, a continuous cropping facilitator bidentata was intercropped with under pot conditions, and three different types of root barrier treatments were set, including that complete belowground interaction (N), partial belowground interaction (S), and no belowground interspecies interaction (M), with the aims to investigate belowground interaction and the underlying mechanism of alleviated replanting disease of by intercropping with . The results showed that the land equivalent ratio (LER) of the two years was 1.17, and the system productivity index (SPI) increased by 16.92 % under S treatment, whereas no significant difference was found in N and M regimes. In the rhizosphere soil, intercropping systems had significantly increased the contents of sugars and malic acid in the soil of , together with the content of organic matter and the invertase and urease activities. Meanwhile, intercropping increased the community diversity of fungi and bacteria, and the relative abundance of potential beneficial bacteria, such as , , and , despite the pathogenic was still the dominant genus in the rhizospheric soil of under various treatments. The results of antagonism experiments and exogenous addition of specific bacteria showed that isolated from rhizosphere soil had a significant antagonistic effect on the pathogen of . Taken together, our study indicated that the intercropping systems alleviate the consecutive monoculture problem of by recruiting beneficial bacteria. The studies we have conducted have a positive effect on sustainable agricultural development.

Silicon (Si) plays an important role in improving soil nutrient availability and plant carbon (C) accumulation and may therefore impact the biogeochemical cycles of C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in terrestrial ecosystems profoundly. However, research on this process in grassland ecosystems is scarce, despite the fact that these ecosystems are one of the most significant accumulators of biogenic Si (BSi). In this study, we collected the aboveground parts of four widespread grasses and soil profile samples in northern China and assessed the correlations between Si concentrations and stoichiometry and accumulation of C, N, and P in grasses at the landscape scale. Our results showed that Si concentrations in plants were significantly negatively correlated ( < 0.01) with associated C concentrations. There was no significant correlation between Si and N concentrations. It is worth noting that since the Si concentration increased, the P concentration increased from less than 0.10% to more than 0.20% and therefore C:P and N:P ratios decreased concomitantly. Besides, the soil noncrystalline Si played more important role in C, N, and P accumulation than other environmental factors (e.g., MAT, MAP, and altitude). These findings indicate that Si may facilitate grasses in adjusting the utilization of nutrients (C, N, and P) and may particularly alleviate P deficiency in grasslands. We conclude that Si positively alters the concentrations and accumulation of C, N, and P likely resulting in the variation of ecological stoichiometry in both vegetation and litter decomposition in soils. This study further suggests that the physiological function of Si is an important but overlooked factor in influencing biogeochemical cycles of C and P in grassland ecosystems.

Rapid and efficient detection of mycotoxins is of great significance in the field of food safety. In this review, several traditional and commercial detection methods are introduced, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), test strips, etc. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensors have the advantages of high sensitivity and specificity. The use of ECL biosensors for mycotoxins detection has attracted great attention. According to the recognition mechanisms, ECL biosensors are mainly divided into antibody-based, aptamer-based, and molecular imprinting techniques. In this review, we focus on the recent effects towards the designation of diverse ECL biosensors in mycotoxins assay, mainly including their amplification strategies and working mechanism.

Changes in climate and land use are causing grasslands to suffer increasingly from abiotic stresses, including soil salinization. Silicon (Si) amendment has been frequently proposed to improve plant resistance to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses and increase ecosystem productivity while controlling the biogeochemical carbon (C) cycle. However, the effects of Si on plant C distribution and accumulation in salt-suffering grasslands are still unclear. In this study, we investigated how salt ions affected major elemental composition in plants and whether Si enhanced biomass C accumulation in grassland species in situ . In samples from the margins of salt lakes, our results showed that the differing distance away from the shore resulted in distinctive phytocoenosis, including halophytes and moderately salt-tolerant grasses, which are closely related to changing soil properties. Different salinity (Na+/K+, ranging from 0.02 to 11.8) in plants caused negative effects on plant C content that decreased from 53.9 to 29.2% with the increase in salinity. Plant Si storage [0.02–2.29 g Si m–2 dry weight (dw)] and plant Si content (0.53 to 2.58%) were positively correlated with bioavailable Si in soils (ranging from 94.4 to 192 mg kg–1). Although C contents in plants and phytoliths were negatively correlated with plant Si content, biomass C accumulation (1.90–83.5 g C m–2 dw) increased due to the increase of Si storage in plants. Plant phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) increased from 0.07 to 0.28‰ of dry mass with the increase of Si content in moderately salt-tolerant grasses. This study demonstrates the potential of Si in mediating plant salinity and C assimilation, providing a reference for potential manipulation of long-term C sequestration via PhytOC production and biomass C accumulation in Si-accumulator dominated grasslands.

Dynamic environmental tests for a spacecraft are essential in the development stage. In the series of dynamic tests, acoustic test and random vibration test are recognized as two effective spacecraft environmental qualification programs. The current standard and existing technical process for spacecraft indicate that acoustic test and random vibration generally should perform selectively. The vibration test shall be conducted for a small, compact spacecraft, typically with a mass under 450 kilograms, that can be excited more effectively via interface vibration than by an acoustic field. However, it seems inappropriate for complex structure satellites such as lightweight design, large area antenna, large mask camera. In this paper, a tailoring method of random vibration and acoustic test is proposed and verified by simulation analysis and test data.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the etiological agent of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). The original prevalent genotype, PCV2a, has been replaced by genotypes 2b and 2d in the swine population worldwide. The Rep protein is critical for viral replication. Comparison of a large number of Rep protein amino acid (aa) sequences showed that three sites distinguish genotype 2b from genotype 2d. In order to analyze the effect of exchanging the amino acids (asparagine and serine) at position 6 in the Rep proteins of PCV2b and PCV2d, two wild-type and two mutant viruses were rescued. Real-time quantitative PCR and a one-step growth curve were used to determine the viral load to assess the replication ability of the rescued viruses. The results showed that there was no significant difference in in vitro performance between the wild-type PCV2b and the mutated virus, while the mutation of PCV2d enhanced viral replication.

AimsThe natural abundances of stable carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) are extensively used to indicate the C and N biogeochemical cycles at large spatial scales. However, the spatial patterns of δ13C and δ15N in plant-soil systems of grasslands in northern China and their main driving factors across regional climatic gradient are still not well understood.MethodsWe measured plant and soil δ13C and δ15N compositions as well as their associated environmental factors across 2000 km climatic gradient (-0.2 to 9 °C; 152 to 502 mm) in grasslands of northern China.ResultsThe soil δ13C and δ15N values in surface were lower than those in bottom for temperate typical steppe but had no significant differences for temperate meadow steppe and temperate desert steppe. Soil δ13C values declined with increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) but increased as mean annual temperature (MAT). These changes were attributed to the microbial decomposition rate. The δ15N values in soil and plant were negatively correlated with MAT and mean annual precipitation (MAP), which were mainly related to the low soil organic matter mineralization rate and the shift of dominant species from C4 to C3.ConclusionsOur results indicate the spatial patterns and different influencing factors on δ13C and δ15N values along the climatic gradient in grasslands of northern China. The findings will provide scientific references for future research on the C and N biogeochemical cycles of temperate grasslands.

PurposePhytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is mainly derived from the products of photosynthesis, which can be preserved in soils and sediments for hundreds-to-thousands of years due to the resilient nature of the amorphous phytolith silica. Therefore, stable and radioactive carbon (C) isotopes of phytoliths can be effectively utilized in paleoecological and archeological research. However, there still exists debate about the applicability of C isotopes of phytoliths, as a “two-pool” hypothesis to characterize PhytOC sources has been proposed, whereby a component of the PhytOC is derived from soil organic matter (SOM) absorbed through plant roots. Therefore, it is necessary to review this topic to better understand the source of PhytOC.Materials and methodWe introduce the stable and radioactive C isotopic compositions of PhytOC, present the impacts of different extraction methods on the study of PhytOC, and discuss the implications of these factors for determining the sources of PhytOC.Results and discussionBased on this review, we suggest that organic matter synthesized by photosynthesis is the main source of PhytOC. However, it is important to make clear whether and how SOM-derived C present in phytoliths influence the controversial “too-old” skew and isotopic fractionation.ConclusionsThough the two-pool hypothesis has been proved by many researches, the carbon isotopes of phytoliths still have potential in paleoecology and archeology, because the main source is photosynthesis and many previous studies put forward the availability of these parameters. This review also shows that phytolith C isotopes may vary with different organic C compounds within phytoliths, which needs further study at the molecular scale. Different phytolith extraction methods can influence 14C dating results.