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The accumulation of soil-borne pathogens is the main driving factor of negative plant-soil feedbacks (NPSFs), which seriously restricts the sustainable development of agriculture. Using natural volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from plants or microorganisms as biofumigants is an emerging strategy to alleviate NPSFs in an environmentally-friendly way. Here, we identified α-terpineol from the VOCs of pine needles, confirmed the ability of α-terpineol fumigation in alleviating the NPSF of Panax notoginseng via significantly reducing seed decay rate, and also deciphered the underlying mechanism by which the soil microbial community is modified. α-Terpineol fumigation could suppress culturable fungi but enrich bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. Network analysis with high-throughput sequencing data revealed that α-terpineol could distinctly modify both fungal and bacterial communities. In detail, α-terpineol significantly suppressed the relative abundance of Ascomycota from 64.04 to 32.26%, but enriched the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria. Subnetwork analysis further demonstrated that α-terpineol could directly or indirectly suppress fungal pathogens and enrich plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs). In vitro fumigation and co-culture experiments with culturable isolates validated these findings. The antagonism between beneficial bacteria and pathogens, and the synergistic growth promotion among α-terpineol-enriched bacteria might be involved in soil microbial community assembly. In summary, α-terpineol fumigation could directly or indirectly modify the soil microbial community to alleviate NPSFs, especially by suppressing fungal pathogens and enriching beneficial bacteria. This study suggests that VOCs from natural products are worth developing as biofumigants due to their multiple functions in modifying the soil microbial community.

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It is important to study the law of water distribution in potted soil and the appropriate irrigation methods for improving the level of water-saving irrigation in greenhouse cultivation. In this study, pepper was taken as the experimental crop. Two kinds of drip irrigation models (root zone infiltrating irrigation and surface drip irrigation) and two kinds of irrigation emitter arrangements (a 3 × 120° distribution and a 2 × 180° distribution) were used to plot out the distribution pattern of soil water in a potted planting environment for two kinds of soils (Yunnan red loam and yellow-sand soil). Then, the growth indices of peppers were compared. The results showed that drip irrigation models and soil types had a significant interactive effect on soil water distribution (P < 0.01); in Yunnan red loam, the matric potential played a major role in the transport of irrigation water, while in yellow-sand soil, gravitational potential played a major role. Under root zone infiltrating irrigation, the high-water-content distribution area of the two types of soil is more continuous and balanced than that of surface drip irrigation, and the balance of water distribution of the yellow-sand soil is better than that of the red loam. In Yunnan red loam, the growth indices of peppers (plant height, stem diameter, fruit fresh weight, fruit dry weight, and similarly hereinafter) increased by 12.9%, 14.3%, 46.1%, and 36.8%, respectively; in yellow-sand soil, the growth indices under root zone infiltrating irrigation were 31.7%, 25.9%, 26.9%, and 35.3%, which were lower than those of surface drip irrigation. The experiment shows that in a greenhouse potting environment, Yunnan red loam with root zone infiltrating irrigation offers more water-saving potential. The results provide a theoretical basis and data support for the rational selection of drip irrigation models for facility agriculture in Yunnan.

ObjectiveAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting the upper and lower motor neurons. Though the pathogenesis of ALS is still unclear, exploring the associations between risk factors and ALS can provide reliable evidence to find the pathogenesis. This meta-analysis aims to synthesize all related risk factors of ALS to understand this disease comprehensively.MethodsWe searched the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science, and Scopus. Moreover, observational studies, including cohort studies, and case-control studies, were included in this meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 36 eligible observational studies were included, and 10 of them were cohort studies and the rest were case-control studies. We found six factors exacerbated the progression of disease: head trauma (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.40), physical activity (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.09), electric shock (OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.62, 4.56), military service (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.61), pesticides (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.7, 2.26), and lead exposure (OR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.44, 3.71). Of note, type 2 diabetes mellitus was a protective factor for ALS. However, cerebrovascular disease (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.75, 1.29), agriculture (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.74, 1.99), industry (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.81, 1.91), service (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.19, 1.17), smoking (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.5, 3.09), chemicals (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 0.89, 6.77), and heavy metal (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.47, 4.84) were not risk factors for ALS based on meta-analyses.ConclusionsHead trauma, physical activity, electric shock, military service, pesticides, and lead were risk factors for ALS onset and progression. But DM was a protective factor. This finding provides a better understanding of ALS risk factors with strong evidence for clinicians to rationalize clinical intervention strategies.INPLSY registration numberhttps://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-9-0118/, INPLASY202290118.

Abstract. In this study, an equivalent mechanical model was established for the clogging induced by soil suction under negative pressure during root-zone infiltration irrigation in a crop-free pot, and a state diagram was plotted for the clogging process induced by a single soil suction factor under negative pressure. Three groups of impact factor experiments were conducted using three different emitters: a flow-adjustable emitter with eight horizontal outlets (emitter L), a flow-adjustable emitter with two vertical outlets (emitter Q), and an anti-clogging material wrapped around the outer surface of emitter L (emitter K). The first group of experiments investigated the influence of irrigation pressure, the variation of irrigation pressure (range of 0.02 to 0.12 MPa), and the amount of sediment inside emitter L in Yunnan laterite. For the second group of experiments, two soil types (Yunnan laterite and yellow sand), two single-event irrigation volumes (170 and 250 mL), and two numbers of irrigation events (8 and 16) were used to quantitatively analyze the sediment content in emitter L. The third group of experiments used emitters L, Q, and K and involved quantitative analysis of the clogging differences in the different emitter types with two soil types (Yunnan laterite and yellow sand) and two numbers of irrigation events (24 and 64). Statistical analysis showed that irrigation pressure, soil type, irrigation pattern, and emitter type were significant (p &lt; 0.05) for the amount of sediment due to negative suction inside the emitter. The results demonstrate that emitter clogging induced by negative pressure tends to first decrease and then increase with increasing irrigation pressure. The amount of sediment that accumulates within an emitter is influenced by both the soil suction effect under negative pressure as well as soil flushing under positive pressure. Within emitter L, clogging induced by soil suction under negative pressure was more likely to occur when using Yunnan laterite rather than yellow sand soil. When both soil types were used in the test, emitter L was observed to be more prone to clogging induced by negative pressure compared to emitter Q, whereas emitter K exhibited the best anti-clogging performance. This study provides a quantitative account of the factors associated with clogging induced by negative pressure, and it provides a theoretical and experimental basis for gaining an in-depth understanding of emitter clogging during root-zone infiltration irrigation in Yunnan laterite. Keywords: Emitter, Negative-pressure clogging, Pot environment, Root-zone infiltration irrigation, Yunnan laterite.

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