Influencing factors of home hospice care needs of the older adults with chronic diseases at the end of life in China: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Chronic diseases are becoming a serious threat to the physical and mental health of older people in China as their aging process picks up speed. Home hospice care addresses diverse needs and enhances the quality of life for older adult individuals nearing the end of life. To ensure the well-being of chronically ill older adults at the end of life, it is vital to explore and assess the multidimensional hospice needs of terminally ill older individuals in their homes. The aim of this study was to investigate the current situation of home hospice care needs of Chinese older adults with chronic diseases at the end of life, and to analyze the influencing factors (sociodemographic and disease-related factors). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 247 older adult people with chronic diseases at the end of life were selected from the communities of 4 community health service centers in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province from June to October 2023 by random sampling method. A general information questionnaire and the home hospice care needs questionnaire developed by our research group were used to investigate. Independent samples t-test or one-way ANOVA was used to compare the differences in the scores of different characteristics, and the factors with significant differences were selected for multivariate linear regression analysis to determine the final influencing factors. Results: The total score of home hospice needs of the dying older adult was 115.70 ± 12, with the mean scores for each dimension in descending order being Information Needs (3.96 ± 0.61), Social Support Needs (3.96 ± 0.44), Spiritual Needs (3.92 ± 0.43), Physical Needs (3.60 ± 0.59), Psychological Needs (3.37 ± 0.65). Status of residence, duration of illness (year), the type of disease, and self-care ability were influential factors in the total score of home hospice needs. Discussion: The need for hospice care for the terminally ill older adult is high, and healthcare professionals should implement services according to the influencing factors of need to meet their multidimensional needs and improve their quality of life.

Enhanced biotoxicity by co-exposure of aged polystyrene and ciprofloxacin: the adsorption and its influence factors.

Microplastics (MPs), as emerging contaminants, usually experience aging processes in natural environments and further affect their interactions with coexisted contaminants, resulting in unpredictable ecological risks. Herein, the effect of MPs aging on their adsorption for coexisting antibiotics and their joint biotoxicity have been investigated. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of aged polystyrene (PS, 100 d and 50 d) for ciprofloxacin (CIP) was 1.10-4.09 times higher than virgin PS due to the larger BET surface area and increased oxygen-containing functional groups of aged PS. Following the increased adsorption capacity of aged PS, the joint toxicity of aged PS and CIP to Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1) was 1.03-1.34 times higher than virgin PS and CIP. Combined with the adsorption process, CIP posed higher toxicity to MR-1 compared to aged PS due to the rapid adsorption of aged PS for CIP in the first 12 h. After that, the adsorption process tended to be gentle and hence the joint toxicity to MR-1 was gradually dominated by aged PS. A similar transformation between the adsorption rate and the joint toxicity of PS and CIP was observed under different conditions. This study supplied a novel perception of the synergistic effects of PS aging and CIP on ecological health.

Influencing factors of home hospice care needs of family caregivers of the older adult with chronic diseases at the end of life in China: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: With increased life expectancy in the Chinese population coupled with chronic disease the care needs of people at the end of life are attracting much attention. Home hospice care can help the dying older adult achieve comfort and maintain their dignity at home. However, dying at home means great responsibility and challenge for family caregivers, and there are many unmet needs. The study aimed to investigate the home hospice care needs of family caregivers of older adult people with chronic diseases at the end of life in China, and to analyze the influencing factors of home hospice care needs of caregivers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, from May to September 2023, 4 community health service centers were selected by stratified sampling from seven administrative districts in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, where home hospice care was piloted. Then 224 family caregivers were selected from the communities of seven community service centers by simple random sampling method. A general information questionnaire and the home hospice care needs questionnaire developed by our research group were used to investigate. Univariate analysis was used to compare the differences in the scores of different characteristics, and the factors with significant differences were selected for multivariate linear regression analysis to determine the final influencing factors. Results: The total score of hospice care needs of family caregivers was 121.61 ± 15.24, among which the end-of-life knowledge need dimension score was 24.04 ± 2.71, the highest score index was 80.13%, while the symptom control need score was 15.58 ± 3.39, the lowest score index was 62.32%. In addition, Caregivers with caregiving experience, dying older adult with longer disease duration, and dying older adult with higher levels of education were the factors influencing the total need for home hospice care among family caregivers, with a variance explained of 22.7%. Discussion: The needs of family caregivers of the terminally ill older adult are high, and healthcare professionals should implement services to meet their multidimensional needs and improve the quality of care according to the factors affecting their needs.

Identification and Characterization of Bacterial Alliinase: Resource and Substrate Stereospecificity.

Limited alliinase resources cause difficulties in the biosynthesis of thiosulfinates (e.g., allicin), restricting their applications in the agricultural and food industries. To effectively biosynthesize thiosulfinates, this study aimed to excavate bacterial alliinase resources and elucidate their catalytic properties. Two bacterial cystathionine ß-lyases (MetCs) possessing high alliinase activity (>60 U mg -1) toward L-(-)-alliin were identified from Allium sativum rhizosphere isolates. Metagenomic exploration revealed that cystathionine ß-lyase from Bacillus cereus (BcPatB) possessed high activity toward both L-(±)-alliin and L-(+)-alliin (208.6 and 225.1 U mg -1), respectively. Although these enzymes all preferred l-cysteine S-conjugate sulfoxides as substrates, BcPatB had a closer phylogenetic relationship with Allium alliinases and shared several similar features with A. sativum alliinase. Interestingly, the Trp30Ile31Ala32Asp33 Met34 motif in a cuspate loop of BcPatB, especially sites 31 and 32 at the top of the motif, was modeled to locate near the sulfoxide of L-(+)-alliin and is important for substrate stereospecificity. Moreover, the stereoselectivity and activity of mutants I31V and A32G were higher toward L-(+)-alliin than those of mutant I31L/D33E toward L-(-)-alliin. Using bacterial alliinases and chemically synthesized substrates, we obtained thiosulfinates with high antimicrobial and antinematode activities that could provide insights into the protection of crops and food.

Comparative performance of contact plate metod and swab method for surface microbial contamination on medical fabrics.

BACKGROUND: The contact plate method is widely accepted and used in various fields where hygiene and contamination levels are crucial. Evidence regarding the applicability of the contact plate method for sampling fabric microbial contamination levels in real medical environments was limited. This study aimed to assess the applicability of the contact plate method for detecting microbial contamination on medical fabrics in a real healthcare environment, thereby providing a benchmark for fabric microbial sampling methods. METHODS: In a level three obstetrics ward of a hospital, twenty-four privacy curtains adjacent to patient beds were selected for this study. The contact plate and swab method were used to collect microbial samples from the privacy curtains on the 1st, 7th, 14th, and 28th days after they were hung. The total colony count on each privacy curtain surface was calculated, and microbial identification was performed. RESULTS: After excluding the effects of time, room type, and curtain location on the detected microbial load, the linear mixed-effects model analysis showed that contact plate method yielded lower colony counts compared to swab method (P < 0.001). However, the contact plate method isolated more microbial species than swab method (P < 0.001). 291 pathogenic strains were isolated using the contact plate method and 133 pathogenic strains were isolated via the swab method. There was no difference between the two sampling methods in the detection of gram-negative bacteria (P = 0.089). Furthermore, the microbial load on curtains in double-occupancy rooms was lower than those in triple-occupancy rooms (P = 0.021), and the microbial load on curtains near windows was lower than that near doors (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Contact plate method is superior to swab method in strain isolation. Swab method is more suitable for evaluating the bacterial contamination of fabrics.

The developmental and evolutionary characteristics of transcription factor binding site clustered regions based on an explainable machine learning model.

Gene expression is temporally and spatially regulated by the interaction of transcription factors (TFs) and cis-regulatory elements (CREs). The uneven distribution of TF binding sites across the genome poses challenges in understanding how this distribution evolves to regulate spatio-temporal gene expression and consequent heritable phenotypic variation. In this study, chromatin accessibility profiles and gene expression profiles were collected from several species including mammals (human, mouse, bovine), fish (zebrafish and medaka), and chicken. Transcription factor binding sites clustered regions (TFCRs) at different embryonic stages were characterized to investigate regulatory evolution. The study revealed dynamic changes in TFCR distribution during embryonic development and species evolution. The synchronization between TFCR complexity and gene expression was assessed across species using RegulatoryScore. Additionally, an explainable machine learning model highlighted the importance of the distance between TFCR and promoter in the coordinated regulation of TFCRs on gene expression. Our results revealed the developmental and evolutionary dynamics of TFCRs during embryonic development from fish, chicken to mammals. These data provide valuable resources for exploring the relationship between transcriptional regulation and phenotypic differences during embryonic development.

Enhanced sinks of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) in marine sediment compared to freshwater sediment: Influencing factors and mechanisms.

The difference in the transport behaviors of nanoplastics consistently assistant with their toxicities to benthic and other aquatic organisms is still unclear between freshwater and marine sediments. Here, the mobilities of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) and key environmental factors including salinity and humic acid (HA) were systematically studied. In the sand column experiments, both tested PSNPs in the freshwater system (100 nm NPs (100NPs): 90.15 %; 500 nm NPs (500NPs): 54.22 %) presented much higher penetration ratio than in the marine system (100NPs: 8.09 %; 500NPs: 19.04 %). The addition of marine sediment with a smaller median grain diameter caused a much more apparent decline in NPs mobility (100NPs: from 8.09 % to 1.85 %; 500NPs: from 19.04 % to 3.51 %) than that containing freshwater sediment (100NPs: from 90.15 % to 83.56 %; 500NPs: from 54.22 % to 41.63 %). Interestingly, adding HA obviously led to decreased and slightly increased mobilities for NPs in freshwater systems, but dramatically improved performance for NPs in marine systems. Electrostatic and steric repulsions, corresponding to alteration of zeta potential and hydrodynamic diameter of NPs and sands, as well as minerals owing to adsorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and aggregations from varied salinity, are responsible for the mobility difference.

The Application of Piecewise Regularization Reconstruction to the Calibration of Strain Beams.

Standard beams are mainly used for the calibration of strain sensors using their load reconstruction models. However, as an ill-posed inverse problem, the solution to these models often fails to converge, especially when dealing with dynamic loads of different frequencies. To overcome this problem, a piecewise Tikhonov regularization method (PTR) is proposed to reconstruct dynamic loads. The transfer function matrix is built both using the denoised excitations and the corresponding responses. After singular value decomposition (SVD), the singular values are divided into submatrices of different sizes by utilizing a piecewise function. The regularization parameters are solved by optimizing the piecewise submatrices. The experimental result shows that the MREs of the PTR method are 6.20% at 70 Hz and 5.86% at 80 Hz. The traditional Tikhonov regularization method based on GCV exhibits MREs of 28.44% and 29.61% at frequencies of 70 Hz and 80 Hz, respectively, whereas the L-curve-based approach demonstrates MREs of 29.98% and 18.42% at the same frequencies. Furthermore, the PREs of the PTR method are 3.54% at 70 Hz and 3.73% at 80 Hz. The traditional Tikhonov regularization method based on GCV exhibits PREs of 27.01% and 26.88% at frequencies of 70 Hz and 80 Hz, respectively, whereas the L-curve-based approach demonstrates PREs of 29.50% and 15.56% at the same frequencies. All in all, the method proposed in this paper can be extensively applied to load reconstruction across different frequencies.

EpiCarousel: memory- and time-efficient identification of metacells for atlas-level single-cell chromatin accessibility data.

SUMMARY: Recent technical advancements in single-cell chromatin accessibility sequencing (scCAS) have brought new insights to the characterization of epigenetic heterogeneity. As single-cell genomics experiments scale up to hundreds of thousands of cells, the demand for computational resources for downstream analysis grows intractably large and exceeds the capabilities of most researchers. Here, we propose EpiCarousel, a tailored Python package based on lazy loading, parallel processing, and community detection for memory- and time-efficient identification of metacells, i.e. the emergence of homogenous cells, in large-scale scCAS data. Through comprehensive experiments on five datasets of various protocols, sample sizes, dimensions, number of cell types, and degrees of cell-type imbalance, EpiCarousel outperformed baseline methods in systematic evaluation of memory usage, computational time, and multiple downstream analyses including cell type identification. Moreover, EpiCarousel executes preprocessing and downstream cell clustering on the atlas-level dataset with 707 043 cells and 1 154 611 peaks within 2 h consuming <75 GB of RAM and provides superior performance for characterizing cell heterogeneity than state-of-the-art methods. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The EpiCarousel software is well-documented and freely available at https://github.com/biox-nku/epicarousel. It can be seamlessly interoperated with extensive scCAS analysis toolkits.

Transmission characteristics in Tuberculosis by WGS: nationwide cross-sectional surveillance in China.

China, with the third largest share of global tuberculosis cases, faces a substantial challenge in its healthcare system as a result of the high burden of multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB). This study employs a genomic epidemiological approach to assess recent tuberculosis transmissions between individuals, identifying potential risk factors and discerning the role of transmitted resistant isolates in the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China. We conducted a population-based retrospective study on 5052 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates from 70 surveillance sites using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Minimum spanning tree analysis identified resistance mutations, while epidemiological data analysis pinpointed transmission risk factors. Of the 5052 isolates, 23% (1160) formed 452 genomic clusters, with 85.6% (387) of the transmissions occurring within the same counties. Individuals with younger age, larger family size, new cases, smear positive, and MDR/RR were at higher odds for recent transmission, while higher education (university and above) and occupation as a non-physical workers emerged as protective factors. At least 61.4% (251/409) of MDR/RR-TB were likely a result of recent transmission of MDR/RR isolates, with previous treatment (crude OR = 2.77), smear-positive (cOR = 2.07) and larger family population (cOR = 1.13) established as risk factors. Our findings highlight that local transmission remains the predominant form of TB transmission in China. Correspondingly, drug-resistant tuberculosis is primarily driven by the transmission of resistant tuberculosis isolates. Targeted interventions for high-risk populations to interrupt transmission within the country will likely provide an opportunity to reduce the prevalence of both tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Mitigation of biofouling in membrane bioreactors by quorum-quenching bacteria during the treatment of metal-containing wastewater.

Quorum quenching (QQ) is an efficient way to mitigate membrane biofouling in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) during wastewater treatment. A QQ bacterium, Lysinibacillus sp. A4, was isolated and used to mitigate biofouling in an MBR during the treatment of wastewater containing metals. A QQ enzyme (named AilY) was cloned from A4 and identified as a metallo-ß-lactamase-like lactonase. The QQ activity of A4 and that of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) overexpressing AilY could be promoted by Fe2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ while remaining unaffected by other metals tested. The two bacteria effectively mitigated biofouling by reducing the transmembrane pressure from around 30 to 20 kPa without negative influence on the COD, NH4+-N, or total phosphorus of the effluent. The relative abundance of Lysinibacillus sp. A4 increased greatly from 0.04 to 8.29% in the MBR with metal-containing wastewater, suggesting that Lysinibacillus sp. A4 could multiply quickly and adapt to this environment. Taken together, the findings suggested that A4 could tolerate metal to a certain degree, and this property could allow A4 to adapt well to metal-containing wastewater, making it a valuable strain for mitigating biofouling in MBR during the treatment of metal-containing wastewater.

Genome-Wide Identification, Expression Analysis under Abiotic Stress and Co-Expression Analysis of MATE Gene Family in Torreya grandis.

The multidrug and toxin efflux (MATE) family participates in numerous biological processes and plays important roles in abiotic stress responses. However, information about the MATE family genes in Torreya grandis remains unclear. In this study, our genome-wide investigation identified ninety MATE genes in Torreya grandis, which were divided into five evolutionary clades. TgMATE family members are located on eleven chromosomes, and a total of thirty TgMATEs exist in tandem duplication. The promoter analysis showed that most TgMATEs contain the cis-regulatory elements associated with stress and hormonal responses. In addition, we discovered that most TgMATE genes responded to abiotic stresses (aluminum, drought, high temperatures, and low temperatures). Weighted correlation network analysis showed that 147 candidate transcription factor genes regulated the expression of 14 TgMATE genes, and it was verified through a double-luciferase assay. Overall, our findings offer valuable information for the characterization of the TgMATE gene mechanism in responding to abiotic stress and exhibit promising prospects for the stress tolerance breeding of Torreya grandis.

A critical suppression feedback loop determines soybean photoperiod sensitivity.

Photoperiod sensitivity is crucial for soybean flowering, adaptation, and yield. In soybean, photoperiod sensitivity centers around the evening complex (EC) that regulates the transcriptional level of the core transcription factor E1, thereby regulating flowering. However, little is known about the regulation of the activity of EC. Our study identifies how E2/GIGANTEA (GI) and its homologs modulate photoperiod sensitivity through interactions with the EC. During long days, E2 interacts with the blue-light receptor flavin-binding, kelch repeat, F box 1 (FKF1), leading to the degradation of J/ELF3, an EC component. EC also suppresses E2 expression by binding to its promoter. This interplay forms a photoperiod regulatory loop, maintaining sensitivity to photoperiod. Disruption of this loop leads to losing sensitivity, affecting soybean's adaptability and yield. Understanding this loop's dynamics is vital for molecular breeding to reduce soybean's photoperiod sensitivity and develop cultivars with better adaptability and higher yields, potentially leading to the creation of photoperiod-insensitive varieties for broader agricultural applications.

Ultralow-content Pt nanodots/Ni3Fe nanoparticles: interlayer nanoconfinement synthesis and overall water splitting.

Minimizing precious metal loading into electrocatalysts for water splitting is vital to promoting hydrogen energy technology toward practical applications. Low-content loading of precious-metal electrocatalysts is achieved by decorating precious metal nanostructures on co-electrocatalysts typically via surface confinement. Here, an electrocatalyst of ultralow-content Pt nanodots (0.71 wt%)/Ni3Fe nanoparticles on reduced oxidation graphene (Pt/Ni3Fe/rGO) is constructed for overall water splitting by pyrolyzing a single-source precursor PtCl63- guest-intercalated MgNiFe-layered double hydroxide (MgNiFe-LDH) host via a distinctive interlayer confinement. Consequently, Pt/Ni3Fe/rGO demonstrates attractive overpotentials of 240 and 76 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER and HER), respectively, outperforming those of its /Ni3Fe/rGO counterpart. Moreover, the Pt/Ni3Fe/rGO∥Pt/Ni3Fe/rGO electrolyzer generates a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at 1.55 V, with a retention of 92.4% after 50 h. Furthermore, the measured specific activity and low transfer resistance, as well as the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, indicate that the active Pt/Ni3Fe in Pt/Ni3Fe/rGO can optimize the adsorption/desorption of reaction intermediates and thus boost OER/HER kinetics, all of which lead to enhanced performance. The results demonstrate that such an interlayer confinement-based synthesis strategy can allow for the design of cost-effective precious nanodots as potential electrocatalysts.

Simultaneous Dual-Gene Test of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus using an Argonaute-Centered Portable and Visual Biosensor.

The development of novel method for drug-resistant bacteria detection is imperative. A simultaneous dual-gene Test of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is developed using an Argonaute-centered portable biosensor (STAR). This is the first report concerning Argonaute-based pathogenic bacteria detection. Simply, the species-specific mecA and nuc gene are isothermally amplified using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique, followed by Argonaute-based detection enabled by its programmable, guided, sequence-specific recognition and cleavage. With the strategy, the targeted nucleic acid signals gene are dexterously converted into fluorescent signals. STAR is capable of detecting the nuc gene and mecA gene simultaneously in a single reaction. The limit of detection is 10 CFU/mL with a dynamic range from 10 to 107 CFU/mL. The sample-to-result time is <65 min. This method is successfully adapted to detect clinical samples, contaminated foods, and MRSA-infected animals. This work broadens the reach of Argonaute-based biosensing and presents a novel bacterial point-of-need (PON) detection platform.

Modeling alternative translation initiation sites in plants reveals evolutionarily conserved cis-regulatory codes in eukaryotes.

mRNA translation relies on identifying translation initiation sites (TISs) in mRNAs. Alternative TISs are prevalent across plant transcriptomes, but the mechanisms for their recognition are unclear. Using ribosome profiling and machine learning, we developed models for predicting alternative TISs in the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Distinct feature sets were predictive of AUG and nonAUG TISs in 5' untranslated regions and coding sequences, including a novel CU-rich sequence that promoted plant TIS activity, a translational enhancer found across dicots and monocots, and humans and viruses. Our results elucidate the mechanistic and evolutionary basis of TIS recognition, whereby cis-regulatory RNA signatures affect start site selection. The TIS prediction model provides global estimates of TISs to discover neglected protein-coding genes across plant genomes. The prevalence of cis-regulatory signatures across plant species, humans, and viruses suggests their broad and critical roles in reprogramming the translational landscape.

The design, synthesis and bioactivity evaluation of novel androgen receptor degraders based on hydrophobic tagging.

Prostate Cancer (PCa) easily progress to metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) that remains a significant cause of cancer-related death. Androgen receptor (AR)-dependent transcription is a major driver of prostate tumor cell proliferation. Proteolysis-targeting chimaera (PROTAC) technology based on Hydrophobic Tagging (HyT) represents an intriguing strategy to regulate the function of therapeutically androgen receptor proteins. In the present study, we have designed, synthesized, and evaluated a series of PROTAC-HyT AR degraders using AR antagonists, RU59063, which were connected with adamantane-based hydrophobic moieties by different alkyl chains. Compound D-4-6 exhibited significant AR protein degradation activity, with a degradation rate of 57 % at 5 µM and nearly 90 % at 20 µM in 24 h, and inhibited the proliferation of LNCaP cells significantly with an IC50 value of 4.77 ± 0.26 µM in a time-concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, the present study lays the foundation for the development of a completely new class of therapeutic agents for the treatment of mCRPC, and further design and synthesis of AR-targeting degraders are currently in progress for better degradation rate.

Linkage and association mapping in multi-parental populations reveal the genetic basis of carotenoid variation in maize kernels.

Carotenoids are indispensable to plants and critical components of the human diet. The carotenoid metabolic pathway is conserved across plant species, but our understanding of the genetic basis of carotenoid variation remains limited for the seeds of most cereal crops. To address this issue, we systematically performed linkage and association mapping for eight carotenoid traits using six recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Single linkage mapping (SLM) and joint linkage mapping (JLM) identified 77 unique additive QTLs and 104 pairs of epistatic QTLs. Among these QTLs, we identified 22 overlapping hotspots of additive and epistatic loci, highlighting the important contributions of some QTLs to carotenoid levels through additive or epistatic mechanisms. A genome-wide association study based on all RILs detected 244 candidate genes significantly associated with carotenoid traits, 23 of which were annotated as carotenoid pathway genes. Effect comparisons suggested that a small number of loci linked to pathway genes have substantial effects on carotenoid variation in our tested populations, but many loci not associated with pathway genes also make important contributions to carotenoid variation. We identified ZmPTOX as the causal gene for a QTL hotspot (Q10/JLM10/GWAS019); this gene encodes a putative plastid terminal oxidase that produces plastoquinone-9 used by two enzymes in the carotenoid pathway. Natural variants in the promoter and second exon of ZmPTOX were found to alter carotenoid levels. This comprehensive assessment of the genetic mechanisms underlying carotenoid variation establishes a foundation for rewiring carotenoid metabolism and accumulation for efficient carotenoid biofortification.

Effects of light qualities on growth and physiological-biochemical traits of Scutellaria baicalensis.

Canopy spectral composition significantly affects growth and functional traits of understory plants. In this study, we explored the optimal light condition suitable for enhancing Scutellaria baicalensis's yield and quality, aiming to provide scientific reference for the exploitation and utilization of medicinal plant resources in the understory of forests. We measured the responses of growth, morphology, biomass allocation, physiological traits, and secon-dary metabolites of S. baicalensis to different light qualities. S. baicalensis was cultured under five LED-light treatments including full spectrum light (control), ultraviolet-A (UV-A) radiation, blue, green, and red light. Results showed that UV-A significantly reduced plant height, base diameter, leaf thickness, leaf area ratio, and biomass of each organ. Red light significantly reduced base diameter, biomass, effective quantum yield of photosystem Ⅱ (ФPSⅡ), and total flavonoid concentration. Under blue light, root length and total biomass of S. baicalensis significantly increased by 48.0% and 10.8%, respectively, while leaf number and chlorophyll content significantly decreased by 20.0% and 31.6%, respectively. The other physiological and biochemical traits were consistent with their responses in control. Our results suggested that blue light promoted photosynthesis, biomass accumulation, and secondary metabolite synthesis of S. baicalensis, while red light and UV-A radiation negatively affected physiological and biochemical metabolic processes. Therefore, the ratio of blue light could be appropriately increased to improve the yield and quality of S. baicalensis.

Promoted photocatalytic N2 fixation to ammonia over floatable TiO2/Bi/Carbon cloth through relay pathway.

The floatable photocatalyst at N2-water interface allows the adequate supply of N2 reactant and the utilization of photothermal energy for photocatalytic N2 fixation, however, the presence of non-volatile NO3- product poses a challenge to the stability as it easily covers the catalytic active sites. Herein, a floatable TiO2/Bi/CC (Carbon cloth) photocatalyst was designed, in which the non-volatile NO3- can be transformed to the volatile NH3 via the newly synergistic relay photocatalysis pathway (N2 â†’ NO3- â†’ NH3) between TiO2 (N2 â†’ NO3-) and Bi (NO3- â†’ NH3). Attractively, the spontaneous NO3- â†’ NO2- step occurs on Bi component to promote the relay pathway performing. Therefore, TiO2/Bi/CC system displays better long-term stability than TiO2/CC, and moreover, it achieves a higher NH3 yield of 8.28 mmol L-1 h-1 g-1 (i.e. 4.14 mmol h-1 m-2) than that 1.46 mmol L-1 h-1 g-1 for TiO2/Bi powder. Importantly, the N2 fixation products by TiO2/Bi/CC effectively promote lettuce growth and enhance lettuce nutrient contents, which further validates the feasibility of this system in large-scale application of crop cultivation.