Wiley最新文献

The bud bank of perennial grasses is a key aspect of their reproduction and longevity in frequently burned ecosystems. We investigated how fire intensity and time since fire affected fire-stimulated flowering and bud activity of wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana), a foundational bunchgrass in south-eastern US pine savannas. We manipulated fuels and monitored fire temperatures in plants during an experimental fire. We tested effects of plant size and fire intensity on flowering stem production and proportions of active and dead buds. We compared active, dead and total buds from plants in the experimental burn with those in stands burned one and 2 years ago, and described the species' bud morphology and anatomy. The duration above 60 °C had a marginally significant negative effect on the number of flowering stems per plant. This effect was less than the significant positive correlation of flowering stem number with plant size. Fire intensity did not affect the proportions of dead and active buds 5 months after fire. There were significant differences in proportions of active, dead and dormant buds 1 year after fire, and the total number of buds decreased with time since fire. Plants had an average of one bud per tiller, and mean bud depth was 3 cm. Perennial bud banks are a substantial source of regenerative biomass for plants in fire-prone savannas. For fire-stimulated flowering species, frequent fires are likely important for maintaining large bud banks that supply both vegetative and flowering structures. A focus on belowground structures should shed light on long-term ecosystem dynamics in fire-prone ecosystems.

Plants are multicellular organisms composed of diverse cell types, each with its own distinct mRNA, protein and metabolite profile. In addition, each cell type exhibits developmental gradients that require fine-tuned balancing with neighbouring cells in terms of cell geometry and chromatin status. These factors highlight the need for precise knowledge of gene expression and chromatin dynamics during stress responses at the single-cell level in planta, linked to cell position and fate. In this viewpoint, we discuss the importance of spatial cell biology in situ methods in modern plant research and briefly compare it with the methods currently available for studying single-cell resolution.

Lignin is an attractive feedstock for a wide variety of applications ranging from aromatic chemicals and transportation fuels to resins and coatings. Emerging biorefinery concepts, like the organosolv process, enable the separation of all the lignocellulose components, and moreover, produce lignins of high quality and purity susceptible to valorisation by depolymerisation. In this work, we focus on the depolymerisation of lignins obtained by γ-valerolactone (GVL) organosolv fractionation of four biomass feedstocks, eucalyptus, white birch, sugarcane bagasse and Scots pine. We demonstrate that lignins extracted with the GVL process are depolymerised using unsupported molybdenum-based catalysts under reductive conditions in supercritical ethanol. As a result, over 90% yields of low-molecular-weight lignin oils are obtained with minimal char formation, yields of the aromatic monomers being 7-16 wt%. Furthermore, the design of experiments method is used to analyse the effect of depolymerisation conditions, catalyst, hydrogen loading and temperature, on the yields and properties of the product fractions. Notably, we show that the properties of the lignin oils and monoaromatics can be tuned towards the targeted application by modifying the depolymerisation conditions.

In zero-gap saltwater electrolysis, ion transport is influenced by convective forces, but their effects have not been examined when using thin-film composite (TFC) membranes with advective flow through the membrane. In this study, we adapted a one-dimensional solution-friction transport model for a zero-gap electrolyzer to incorporate measured water flux across a TFC membrane. Open-circuit or electrolysis (20 mA cm^-2) experiments quantified ion transport with and without electrochemical reactions. Water velocity, estimated from volume changes in the anolyte and the catholyte, was used to infer convective contributions to ion transport. Ion-specific friction coefficients were determined using open-circuit data. Using the fitted friction factors and incorporating water flux, the modeled ion crossover concentration showed good agreement with electrolysis data, including changes caused by reversing the membrane orientation. Removing the convective flux from the model showed up to a 740% change in predicted ion crossover and worsened agreement with experimental data. The strong correlation between the fraction of charge carried by major salt ions and the measured water flux suggests that electroosmotic drag could be one of the main mechanisms responsible for the observed water flux. These results highlight the importance of incorporating solution convection when modeling ion behavior in zero-gap systems using TFC membranes.

Lignin (L)-stabilized emulsions have gained interest as sustainable systems. Despite their advantages, the interaction of lignin derivatives with oil and water in emulsion systems remains unclear. In this work, we verified a hypothesis that different modification strategies would generate lignin derivatives with different emulsifying performances, even if lignin is anionically charged to a similar degree. To verify this hypothesis, we generated sulfoethylated lignin (SL) and carboxyethylated lignin (CL) softwood kraft lignin (L) as functional emulsifiers for soybean water emulsion systems. It was observed that lignin derivatives with a more negative zeta potential (ζ-potential) and smaller oil particles resulted in more stable emulsions at alkaline pH due to enhanced electrostatic repulsion. Due to well-dispersed oil droplets and a strong electrostatic system, the viscosity of emulsions was lower at alkaline conditions. It was also noted that SL and CL generated Pickering emulsions via depositing on oil droplets and developing steric hindrance with oil droplet sizes of 436 and 452 nm at acidic pH. However, such systems had shorter lifespans under acidic environments, indirectly implying that steric hindrance was insufficient to generate emulsions with long-term stability. These findings verified the involvement of different mechanisms for stabilizing oil emulsions at various pH levels.

This work focuses on improving the sustainability of electrolytes for sodium-ion capacitors (SICs). Through the combination of a low-fluorinated salt, namely sodium difluoro(oxalato)borate (NaDFOB), and the bio-based solvent γ-Valerolactone (GVL), a new electrolyte formulation (1 mol L^-1 NaDFOB in GVL) is being studied for application in SICs. Remarkably, the performance of the SIC full-cells is very comparable to the most commonly used formulation of sodium hexafluorophosphate in ethylene carbonate:propylene carbonate (1 mol L^-1 NaPF₆ in EC:PC). Furthermore, presodiation strategies were compared for the novel electrolyte system. The in situ oxidation of a sacrificial salt (sodium squarate, Na₂C₄O₄) incorporated into the positive electrode yielded comparable results to the ex situ electrochemical approach. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies revealed that depending on the presodiation strategy, the solid-electrolyte-interphase composition varies significantly.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) shows sex differences in incidence and age of onset, yet the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Methods: We investigated sex-specific genetic architecture in an Italian ALS cohort with whole-genome sequencing (1,333 ALS cases, 755 controls). We performed a sex-stratified burden analysis of rare variants in ALS-associated genes and compared the proportions of male and female ALS patients carrying pathogenic or rare damaging variants. Key findings were replicated in the AnswerALS cohort (n = 723). Gene-specific sex ratios and familial history for C9ORF72, SOD1, and TARDBP were examined in an expanded dataset of 2,301 Italian ALS patients.

Results: Sex-stratified burden testing revealed that rare variants in ALS genes were enriched in female cases versus controls (odds ratio [OR] 5.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.60-34.29) but not in male cases. Female ALS patients more frequently carried rare damaging variants compared to males (23.2% vs 18.3%; OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.05-1.81), a finding that was replicated in the AnswerALS cohort (18.9% vs 12.4%; OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.10-2.26). Gene-level analyses of TARDBP carriers revealed a male predominance (2.1:1), yet a higher rate of familial history among females (40.4% vs 24.5%; OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.03-4.39).

Interpretation: Females with ALS exhibited a higher overall burden of rare damaging variants, suggesting sex-related differences in genetic liability. Gene-level analyses indicate that the influence of sex varies across ALS genes, particularly TARDBP. These findings help explain epidemiological patterns and have implications for the identification of sex-linked protective mechanisms. ANN NEUROL 2026.

Electrochemical bioassays based on oxidase reactions are widely used in biological sciences and medical industries. However, the enzymatic reaction kinetics are significantly restricted by the poor solubility and slow diffusion rate of oxygen in conventional solid-liquid diphase reaction system. This limitation compromises the detection accuracy, linearity and reliability of oxidase-based bioassays. In this study, an effective solid‒liquid‒air triphase bioassay system is provided that uses ZIF-7 nanoparticles (ZIF-7 NPs) as oxygen nanocarriers. We constructed a solid-liquid-air triphase enzyme electrode by encapsulating ZIF-7 NPs within an oxidase network. The hydrophobic nature of ZIF-7 NPs provides localized oxygen supply by releasing pre-stored oxygen from its hydrophobic pores, thereby enhancing the kinetics of oxidase-catalyzed reactions. Consequently, compared to the conventional diphase system, the triphase system significantly improves the enzymatic reaction kinetics with a 21-fold higher maximum reaction rate (V_max) and expands the linear detection range for glucose from 2 mM to 20 mM, a 10-fold improvement. Furthermore, this triphase technique can be applied to the detection of other biomolecules, and the design strategy offers a new route to addressing the gas deficiency problem in catalytic reactions that involve gas consumption.

The drug-coated balloons (DCBs) provide a combination therapy of balloon angioplasty and anti-proliferative drug delivery to target lesions, thereby facilitating the appealing concept of leaving nothing behind. However, several studies have highlighted significant challenges posed by low drug transfer efficiency and immediate lumen loss due to elastic recoil. Herein, we propose a bioabsorbable endovascular adhesive tape (BEAT) platform that can realize robust adhesion and complete transfer after balloon inflation, enabling efficient endoluminal drug delivery while providing temporary radial support against elastic recoil. This BEAT coated balloon contains sprayable Janus coating layers of crosslinked drug-eluting polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) and poly(thioctic acid) (PTA) adhesive layer. Notably, the poly (L-lysine-co-L-leucine)-poly (acrylic acid) PECs (PKL-PAA, KLA) exhibit exceptional anti-coagulation properties and selective endothelial cell adhesion behavior. Moreover, the hydrophobic interaction and photo-controllable crosslinking of KLA PECs enable flexible mechanical tunability (0.74-10.9 MPa), robust swelling resistance, and enzyme-responsive biodegradability, thus guaranteeing temporary mechanical reinforcement for blood vessels with efficient drug delivery. In a rat abdominal aorta injury model, this BEAT coated balloon demonstrates intact transfer with mechanical compliance to the vessel and effectively attenuates neointimal hyperplasia. This BEAT platform offers a promising perspective for the development of DCBs in vascular interventions.