Profiling the Chemical Exposomic Landscape of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

While the cancer genome is well-studied, the nongenetic exposome of cancer remains elusive, particularly for regionally prevalent cancers with poor prognosis. Here, by employing a combined knowledge- and data-driven strategy, we profile the chemical exposome of plasma from 53 healthy controls, 14 esophagitis and 101 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, and 46 esophageal tissues across 12 Chinese provinces, integrating inorganic, endogenous, and exogenous chemicals. We first show that components of the ESCC chemical exposome mediate the relationship between ESCC-related dietary/lifestyle factors and clinic health status indicators.

Development of biodegradable starch-based lambda-cyhalothrin microcapsules for sustainable long-term pest control and enhanced utilization efficacy.

The inefficiency of traditional pesticides leads to significant resource waste, severe environmental pollution, and potential threats to human health. Pesticide microcapsules present a promising strategy for developing environmentally friendly, safe, and sustained-release formulations. In this study, we produced degradable starch nanocrystals (SNCs) via acid hydrolysis and employed octenyl succinic anhydride-modified SNCs (O-SNCs) to fabricate pesticide microcapsules.

Enhancing nitrogen management in aerated landfills: Quantifying fungal contributions to nitrification using a model-based approach.

Effective nitrogen management is critical for minimizing environmental risks in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. In-situ aeration has emerged as a practical strategy to accelerate waste stabilization and improve nitrogen stabilization. However, the role of fungi in regulating nitrogen transformation processes-particularly nitrification-remains insufficiently understood.

Directed Structural Evolution of Nickel Nanoparticles into Atomically Dispersed Sites for Efficient CO Electroreduction.

Electrochemical CO reduction (CORR) to carbon monoxide (CO) offers a sustainable pathway for carbon utilization, yet challenges remain in terms of improving selectivity and activity. Herein, we report a Ni/NC catalyst synthesized via a milling - pyrolysis method, in which Ni particles anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) are electrochemically activated under an Ar atmosphere, leading to their structural evolution into single-atom Ni sites. After activation in Ar atmosphere, the current density nearly doubles (from ≈30 to ≈60 mA cm), and concurrently, the Faradaic efficiency of CO stays at ∼90% with the potential set to -0.

Double Nanofoaming Enhanced Interfacial Polymerization toward Ultra-High-Performance Nanofiltration Membranes.

Polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membranes represent a promising approach to safe drinking water production. Yet, selective removal of contaminants while retaining essential minerals remains a critical challenge for cost-effective water treatment processes. Here, we employed ammonia bicarbonate (AB) as an economical additive to modify interfacial polymerization (IP) for developing high-performance NF membranes suitable for drinking water applications.

Hydrological regime mediates stoichiometry regime and source-sink alternation in shallow lakes.

Shallow lakes are increasingly subjected to pronounced alterations in hydrological regimes and exacerbated nutrient stoichiometric imbalances due to climate change and anthropogenic factors. Understanding the interactions between watershed eco-hydrological processes and lake systems, particularly their impact on nutrient balance dynamics deserves further investigation. Employing seasonal-trend decomposition (STL), Copula modeling, and the Lindeman-Merenda-Gold (LMG) algorithm, this study systematically analyzed eco-hydrological processes in Poyang Lake basin and identified hydrological regime as the key factor governing lake nutrient balance.

Developmental changes in epidermal anatomy, drought tolerance, and biomechanics in the leaves of a tropical fern.

Throughout leaf development, cell expansion is dynamic and driven by the balance between local cell wall mechanical properties and the intracellular turgor pressure that overcomes the stiffness of the cell wall leading to plastic deformation. The epidermal pavement cells in most leaves begin development as small, polygonally shaped cells, but in mature leaves epidermal pavement cells are often shaped as highly lobed puzzle pieces. However, the developmental and biomechanical trajectories between these two end points have not before been fully characterized.

Defense Responses of Native Plant Communities to Alien Plant Invasion.

Understanding the mechanisms that facilitate the successful invasion of invasive plant species is essential for improving invasive species management and ensuring biosecurity. Traditional invasion ecology has primarily focused on the traits of invasive plants or the static characteristics of invaded communities, while comparatively overlooking the potential active responses of native plant communities during the invasion process. Drawing inspiration from the concept of "herd immunity" in medicine, this study proposes that native plant communities may develop a "community defense" response mechanism through a series of ecological defense processes.

Interaction between airway inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by high temperatures (40 °C) and traffic-PM in mouse model.

Though epidemiological studies have shown that high temperatures and traffic-PM alone can increase the risk of asthma, there were not clear about their associated impact on asthma. This study investigated the combination effect of high temperatures (40 °C) and traffic-PM on asthma and molecular mechanism. BALB/c mice were treated with high temperature and traffic-PM.

Taking advantage of open data in coastal science and conservation.

Human society relies on, and interacts with, a diverse assortment of organisms and ecological systems, from the local to the global level. Research and management of these coupled social-ecological systems requires data that speaks to the variety of processes, statuses, and situations defined by them. Effective stewardship is enhanced by interdisciplinary thinking and, critically, access to interoperable data describing human society and governance and ecological and environmental conditions.

Peanut oil is more environmentally sustainable than rapeseed oil from a carbon and nitrogen footprint perspective in China.

Peanut and rapeseed oil, prominent edible oils in China, significantly contribute to greenhouse gas and reactive nitrogen emissions. A comprehensive examination of their environmental footprints is foundational for developing green and low-carbon products. Using a cradle-to-factory gate life cycle assessment, we quantified the carbon footprint (CF) and nitrogen footprint (NF) associated with the oil production of peanut and rapeseed from 2004 to 2023 in China.

Hydrothermal characteristics of carboxymethyl cellulose-induced soil film in farmland.

The Ningxia Yellow River Irrigation Area is located in a temperate arid zone, where the development of double-cropping systems is strongly restricted by high evaporation. The application of modified carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) can induce the binding of surface soil particles to form a soil film, achieve a mulching effect, and improve soil hydrothermal conditions. To elucidate the hydrothermal characteristics of soil film in farmland, we conducted an experiment with the treatments including ammonium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-NH) application rates of 0 (CK, control), 50 (T), 100 (T), 200 (T), and 300 kg·hm(T) to induce soil film formation, and analyzed their effects on soil temperature at 20 cm depth, soil water content, and crop yield in a spring wheat-summer maize rotation system.

From two to three dimensions: Advanced techniques for evaluating ecosystem services in urban green spaces.

Urban green spaces, as a crucial nature-based solution to mitigate "urban diseases", have received significant attention due to their pivotal role in providing ecosystem services. Available studies on the assessment of ecosystem services in urban green spaces predominantly rely on two-dimensional spatial characteristics, with insufficient exploration of three-dimensional structural attributes and their associated ecosystem service effects, which makes it difficult to comprehensively and accurately reveal the actual contribution of green space to enhance residents' well-being. We systematically reviewed current methods in assessing ecosystem services in urban green spaces, critically analyzed the limitations of two-dimensional spatial assessment approaches, and highlighted the application of emerging technologies (e.

The impact of circularity and circular strategies on firm employment.

In the past, research on a circular economy often focused on economic and ecological sustainability, while research on the social side of circularity has stepped up recently. The circular economy is often framed as a way to not only foster competitiveness and resource security, but also create opportunities to boost employment and provide high-quality, local jobs. This study aims to be the first to empirically interrogate this labor-enhancing assumption by using advanced Natural Language Processing in a unique combination with cross-sectional regression analysis for all private companies in Belgium in 2021.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of the white-eye gene in the tephritid pest Bactrocera zonata.

Bactrocera zonata is a highly invasive agricultural pest that causes extensive damage to fruit crops. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), a species-specific and environmentally friendly pest control method, significantly benefits from the availability of Genetic Sexing Strains (GSSs) that enable efficient mass production of males for sterile release. However, no GSS currently exists for B.

Effects of Raw Materials and Pyrolysis Temperatures on Physicochemical Properties of Biochars Derived from Hemp Stalks.

Hemp stalk, a widely available agricultural waste, is an ideal eco-friendly raw material for biochar production. Carbonization experiments were conducted as a novel approach for the scalable and value-added utilization of hemp stalk under oxygen-exclusion conditions. The effects of feedstock types- (KS), spp.

A Review on the Degradation of Antibiotic Resistance Genes During Composting of Livestock Manure.

As emerging pollutants, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been recognized as originating from diverse sources. Among these, the use of livestock feed and veterinary drugs was identified as the primary source of ARGs in livestock manure. ARGs were found to be widely distributed in global environments, particularly in agriculture-related soils, water bodies, and the atmosphere, posing potential threats to ecological environments and human health.

Assessing grassland degradation based on abrupt changes in living status of vegetation in a subalpine meadow.

Grassland degradation impacts and restoration strategies have been extensively studied in existing literature. Nevertheless, current diagnostic approaches for assessing degradation conditions predominantly rely on either empirical or mechanistic approaches, leading to inconsistent findings across studies. Here, we proposed a geo-coding and abrupt analysis based (GAAB) method to identify the degradation conditions of grasslands.

The impact of rainfall variability on selected soil properties and ecophysiological traits in Prosopis juliflora invaded plots.

Prosopis juliflora is a major invasive species in tropical and subtropical regions. This study explores the link between precipitation, soil moisture, and plant growth, focusing on the invasive P. juliflora in a simulated altered rainfall regime.

Microbes from Different Soil Regions Play Distinct Roles in the Processing of Aquatic Dissolved Organic Matter.

Soil harbors abundant bacteria and viruses that can be delivered into water environments and alter aquatic ecology. However, the mechanisms by which the intruded soil microbes mediate the turnover of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in waters are unknown. Here, we prepared bacterial and phage-enriched inocula from the northern high-humic-composition (NHHS) and southern low-humic-composition (SLHS) soils in China, and investigated their roles in aquatic DOM transformation via microcosm experiments.

Degradation of bisphenol A during heat-activated peroxodisulfate treatment: kinetics, mechanism, and transformation products.

In this study, we systematically investigated the degradation kinetics, mechanism, and transformation products of bisphenol A (BPA) in a heat-activated peroxodisulfate (heat/PDS) system. The pseudo-first-order rate constants ( ) values of BPA increased with initial PDS dosage (0-1.0 mM), temperature (50-65 °C), and solution pH (4.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions via harvest residue management in eucalyptus afforestation on Brazilian sandy soils.

Introduction: The greenhouse gas balance is a central theme in discussions related to forest ecosystems. In this context, the present study evaluated the impact of five eucalyptus harvest residue management systems on atmospheric C-CO retention in soil, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the global warming potential (GWP) in plantations.

Methods: The management systems examined were: AR - all harvest residues retained on soil; NB - harvest residues kept on soil, except bark; NBr - harvest residues kept on soil, except branches; NR - all harvest residues (bark, branches, leaves) removed; NRs - all residues from the previous rotation and new plantation litter removed using shade cloth.

From Visualization to Mechanism: Uncovering Early Fouling Dynamics in Nanofiltration through LIF Experiments.

Early fouling in nanofiltration membranes critically impacts long-term performance and operational efficiency, yet its dynamic evolution remains poorly understood due to limitations in real-time characterization. This study employs laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technology to visualize and quantify the spatiotemporal development of early fouling during the initial 120 min of filtration. Combined with discrete phase model (DPM) simulations, the work reveals how cross-flow velocity and transmembrane pressure modulate early fouling behavior.