Temporal variations of δC-CH in rice paddies dominated by the plant-mediated pathway.

The stable carbon isotope signature of methane (δC-CH) helps constrain CH emissions on regional to global scales, yet observations in rice paddies remain limited. The temporal dynamics of δC-CH and its drivers in rice paddies are still not fully understood. Here, we conducted continuous observations of CH and δC-CH at three canopy heights throughout a rice growing season.

Pervasive but biome-dependent relationship between fragmentation and resilience in forests.

The relationship between landscape fragmentation and vegetation resilience is uncertain. Here we use multiple satellite-based tree cover data and vegetation indices to quantify the apparent effects of fragmentation on global forest resilience and potential mechanisms thereof. We measure fragmentation as edge density, patch density and mean patch area of tree cover patches, and measure resilience as one-lag temporal autocorrelation of vegetation indices.

Global evidence for a positive relationship between tree species richness and ecosystem photosynthesis.

Forest biodiversity plays a critical role in sustaining ecosystem functioning and buffering the effects of increased extreme weather events on forests. A global assessment of the relationship between biodiversity and photosynthesis in natural forest ecosystems, however, remains elusive. We used a large dataset of the richness of tree species from a large number of globally distributed forest plots combined with satellite retrievals of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, a novel proxy for photosynthesis, to evaluate the relationship between forest biodiversity and photosynthesis and its biological mechanisms at the global scale.

Regulating the Electric Double Layer Structures Driven by Current Density for High-Rate Aqueous Zinc Metal Batteries.

The notorious dendrite growth, serious Zn corrosion and hydrogen evolution confronted by the Zn anode greatly limit the cycle life of aqueous zinc metal batteries. Here, the structure of electrical double layer (EDL) is designed by a specifically adsorbed anionic surfactant (MOA) featuring a zincophilic phosphate group and hydrophobic long alkyl chain, decreasing the activity of water on the Zn anode, effectively inhibiting the side reactions. More importantly, the reconstructed EDL by MOA exhibits a high current response characteristic, leading to the formation of a denser and thinner EDL under a high current density, which accelerates the diffusion kinetics of Zn and benefits the uniform Zn plating/stripping.

Constructing Low-Strain Cation Storage via High-Entropy Doping to Stabilize Layered Oxide Cathodes for Advanced Sodium-Ion Batteries.

P2-type manganese-based layered cathode materials hold great promise for sodium-ion battery applications. However, their practical implementation is hindered by structural instability caused by Jahn-Teller distortion and complex phase transitions. Herein, this work proposes a simple and efficient high-entropy doping strategy by introducing redox-active and lattice-stabilizing cations to elaborate sodium-deficiency P2-type NaAlFeNiCuZnMnO cathodes with low-strain operation, which can significantly reduce the Mn Jahn-Teller active centers and enhance structural stability.

In Situ-Polymerized High-Entropy-Driven Solid Polymer Electrolyte for Safer Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

The most promising way to achieve scaled-up solid-state battery production is to use the in situ polymerization process, which inherits excellent interfacial contact and is compatible with existing battery manufacturing processes. However, the resulting solid polymer electrolytes suffer from poor oxidation stability and, thus, cannot match mainstream high-voltage cathodes. Herein, in situ-polymerized high-entropy-driven solid polymer electrolytes based on five cyclic ether structured monomers are designed for safer high-voltage solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Scalable and Ultrathin Dual Entangled Network Polymer Electrolytes for Safe Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Identifying ultrathin and flexible solid-state electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and low interfacial resistance is crucial for scale-up production of solid-state sodium (Na) metal batteries (SSMBs). However, the challenges of poor processing scalability, insufficient intrinsic mechanical strength, and limited ionic transport capacity remain unaddressed. Herein, an ultrathin 9.

A global estimate of multiecosystem photosynthesis losses under microplastic pollution.

Understanding how ecosystems respond to ubiquitous microplastic (MP) pollution is crucial for ensuring global food security. Here, we conduct a multiecosystem meta-analysis of 3,286 data points and reveal that MP exposure leads to a global reduction in photosynthesis of 7.05 to 12.

Accelerated photonic design of coolhouse film for photosynthesis via machine learning.

Controlling the suitable light, temperature, and water is essential for plant photosynthesis. While greenhouses/warm-houses are effective in cold or dry climates by creating warm, humid environments, a cool-house that provides a cool local environment with minimal energy and water consumption is highly desirable but has yet to be realized in hot, water-scarce regions. Here, using a synergistic genetic algorithm and machine learning, we propose and demonstrate a coolhouse film that regulates temperature and water for photosynthesis without requiring additional energy or water.

A dataset of forest regrowth in globally key deforestation regions.

Deforestation-induced forest loss largely affects both the carbon budget and ecosystem services. Subsequent forest regrowth plays a crucial role in ecosystem restoration and carbon replenishment. However, there is an absence of comprehensive datasets explicitly delineating the forest regrowth following deforestation.

Effects of soil water on fungal community composition along elevational gradients on the northern slope of the Central Kunlun Mountains.

Soil fungi are essential to ecosystem processes, yet their elevational distribution patterns and the ecological mechanisms shaping their communities remain poorly understood and actively debated, particularly in arid regions. Here, we investigated the diversity patterns and underlying mechanisms shaping soil fungal communities along an elevational gradient (1,707-3,548 m) on the northern slope of the Central Kunlun Mountains in northwest China. Results indicated that the dominant phyla identified across the seven elevational gradients were and , displaying a unimodal pattern and a U-shaped pattern in relative abundance, respectively.

A high-resolution satellite-based solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence dataset for China from 2000 to 2022.

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) serves as a valuable proxy for photosynthesis. The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) aboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission offers nearly global coverage with a fine spectral resolution for reliable SIF retrieval. However, the present satellite-derived SIF datasets are accessible only at coarse spatial resolutions, constraining its applications at fine scales.

Prothrombotic antibodies targeting the spike protein's receptor-binding domain in severe COVID-19.

Thromboembolic complication is common in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), leading to an investigation into the presence of prothrombotic antibodies akin to those found in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). In a study of samples from 130 hospitalized patients, collected 3.6 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, 80% had immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies recognizing complexes of heparin and platelet factor 4 (PF4; PF4/H), and 41% had antibodies inducing PF4-dependent P-selectin expression in CpG oligodeoxynucleotide-treated normal platelets.

Pim1 is Critical in T-cell-independent B-cell Response and MAPK Activation in B Cells.

The Pim family consists of three members that encode a distinct class of highly conserved serine/threonine kinases. In this study, we generated and examined mice with hematopoiesis-specific deletion of Pim1 and bone marrow (BM) chimeric mice with B-cell-specific targeted deletion of Pim1. Pim1 was expressed at all stages of B-cell development and hematopoietic-specific deletion of Pim1 altered B-cell development in BM, spleen and peritoneal.

A global dataset of forest regrowth following wildfires.

Wildfires result in forest loss or degradation and release substantial emissions into the atmosphere. Forest regrowth following these fires allows for ecosystem repair and carbon replenishment. However, there is a lack of datasets explicitly characterizing the forest regrowth after fires.

Earlier peak photosynthesis timing potentially escalates global wildfires.

More intense fire weather due to climate change is implicated as a key driver of recent extreme wildfire events. As fuel stock, the role of vegetation and its phenology changes in wildfire dynamics, however is not fully appreciated. Using long-term satellite-based burned areas and photosynthesis observations, we reveal that an earlier peak photosynthesis timing (PPT) potentially acts to escalate subsequent wildfires, with an increase in the global average burned fraction of 0.

Formulating Self-Repairing Solid Electrolyte Interface via Dynamic Electric Double Layer for Practical Zinc Ion Batteries.

Zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) encounter interface issues stemming from the water-rich electrical double layer (EDL) and unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein, we propose the dynamic EDL and self-repairing hybrid SEI for practical ZIBs via incorporating the horizontally-oriented dual-site additive. The rearrangement of distribution and molecular configuration of additive constructs the robust dynamic EDL under different interface charges.

Lattice Strain with Stabilized Oxygen Vacancies Boosts Ceria for Robust Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Outperforming Benchmark Pt.

Earth-abundant metal oxides are usually considered as stable but catalytically inert toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their unfavorable hydrogen intermediate adsorption performance. Herein, a heavy rare earth (Y) and transition metal (Co) dual-doping induced lattice strain and oxygen vacancy stabilization strategy is proposed to boost CeO toward robust alkaline HER. The induced lattice compression and increased oxygen vacancy (O) concentration in CeO synergistically improve the water dissociation on O sites and sequential hydrogen adsorption at activated O-neighboring sites, leading to significantly enhanced HER kinetics.

Incorporating Sodium-Conductive Polymeric Interfacial Adhesive with Inorganic Solid-State Electrolytes for Quasi-Solid-State Sodium Metal Batteries.

Inorganic solid-state electrolytes have attracted enormous attention due to their potential safety, increased energy density, and long cycle-life benefits. However, their application in solid-state batteries is limited by unstable electrode-electrolyte interface, poor point-to-point physical contact, and low utilization of metallic anodes. Herein, interfacial engineering based on sodium (Na)-conductive polymeric solid-state interfacial adhesive is studied to improve interface stability and optimize physical contacts, constructing a robust organic-rich solid electrolyte interphase layer to prevent dendrite-induced crack propagation and security issues.

Computational Insights into Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes with the Organophosphorus Flame Retardant DOPO.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) were used as green char promoters in the formulation of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) for polymeric materials, and they could reduce the amount of usage of OPFRs and their release into the environment by forming [host:guest] inclusion complexes with them. Here, we report a systematic study on the inclusion complexes of natural CDs (-, -, and -CD) with a representative OPFR of DOPO using computational methods of molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and quantum mechanical (QM) calculations. The binding modes and energetics of [host:guest] inclusion complexes were analyzed in details.

Atomic-Level Catalyst Coupled with Metal Oxide Heterostructure for Promoting Kinetics of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Despite the low competitive cost and high theoretical capacity of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, their practical application is severely hindered by the lithium polysulfide (LiPS) shuttling and low conversion efficiency. Herein, the electronic structure of hollow Titanium dioxide nanospheres is tunned by single Iron atom dopants that can cooperatively enhance LiPS absorption and facilitate desired redox reaction in practical Li-S batteries, further suppressing the notorious shuttle effect, which is consistent with theoretical calculations and in situ UV/vis investigation. The obtained electrode with massive active sites and lower energy barrier for sulfur conversions exhibits exceptional cycling stability after 500 cycles and high capacity under the sulfur loading of 10.

Weakening warming on spring freeze-thaw cycle caused greening Earth's third pole.

The Tibetan Plateau, recognized as Earth's third pole and among the most responsive regions to climate shifts, profoundly influences regional and even global hydrological processes. Here, we discerned a significant weakening in the influence of temperature on the initiation of surface freeze-thaw cycle (the Start of Thawing, SOT), which can be ascribed to a multitude of climatic variables, with radiation emerging as the most pivotal factor. Additionally, we showed that the diminishing impact of warming on SOT yields amplified soil moisture within the root zone.