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H-bonding and van der Waals forces affect the self-assembly between molecules, explaining the self-assembly process of the gel. The spatial configuration of the dimer and the forces between molecules can be visualized through the ESP graph.

A novel strategy of “preadsorption–degradation” for efficient PFOA removal based on the EC-NaClO system with an Fe/Ni foam electrode has been successfully achieved.

Fluorine pollution has become a global public health problem due to its adverse health effects. Adsorption is the primary method for removing fluoride from drinking water. However, the adsorption method has disadvantages such as difficulty in recovering the adsorbent, and the need to add additional chemicals for regeneration, thereby causing secondary pollution, which limits further industrial applications. Capacitive deionization (CDI), as an emerging water treatment technology, has attracted widespread attention due to its advantages of simple operation, low energy consumption and less environmental impact. In this study, a polypyrrole (PPy) film was prepared on a graphite substrate by electrodeposition, and then metal-organic framework Ce/Zn-BDC-NH

Soil microbial community structure is altered by petroleum contamination in response to compound toxicity and degradation. Understanding the relation between petroleum contamination and soil microbial community structure is crucial to determine the amenability of contaminated soils to bacterial- and fungal-aided remediation. To understand how petroleum contamination and soil physicochemical properties jointly shaped the microbial structure of soils from different oilfields, high-throughput sequencing of 16S and ITS amplicons were used to evaluate the shifts of microbial communities in the petroleum-contaminated soils in Ughelli East (UE), Utorogu (UT), and Ughelli West (UW) oilfields located in Delta State, Nigeria. The results showed 1515 bacteria and 919 fungal average OTU number, and community richness and diversity, trending as AL > UT > UW > UE and AL > UW > UT > UE for bacteria, and AL > UW > UT > UE and UW > UT > AL > UE for fungi, respectively. The bacterial taxa KCM-B-112, unclassified Saccharibacteria, unclassified Rhizobiales, Desulfurellaceae, and Acidobacteriaceae and fungal Trichocomaceae, unclassified Ascomycota, unclassified Sporidiobolales, and unclassified Fungi were found to be the dominant families in petroleum-contaminated soils. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that total carbon (TC), electric conductivity (EC), pH, and moisture content (MO) were the major drivers of bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS) analysis exhibited that the differences in C7–C10, C11–C16, and C12–C29 compounds in the crude oil composition and soil MO content jointly constituted the microbial community variance among the contaminated soils. This study revealed the bacterial and fungal communities responsible for the biodegradation of petroleum contamination from these oilfields, which could serve as biomarkers to monitor oil spill site restoration within these areas. Further studies on these contaminated sites could offer useful insights into other contributing factors such as heavy metals.

Enterobacter sp. A11 and Comamonas sp. A23 were isolated and identified. Coculturing these two strains with Cd(II) led to the production of biofilm, H2S, and succinic acid (SA), and Cd(II) was adsorbed by cells and formed CdS precipitates. After centrifugation, 97% Cd(II) was removed from the coculture. Proteomic and metabolomic analyses of the cocultured bacteria revealed that H2S and SA production pathways, metal transportation, and TCA cycle were active under Cd(II) stress. In vitro addition of SA enhanced the production of H2S and biofilm formation and Cd(II) adsorption. Two-season greenhouse pot experiments with Brassica rapa L. were performed with and without the coculture bacteria. Compared with the control, the average Cd amounts of the two-season pot experiments of the aboveground plants were decreased by 71.3%, 62.8%, and 38.6%, and the nonbioavailable and immobilized Cd in the soils were increased by 211.8%, 213.4%, and 116.7%, for low-, medium-, and high- Cd-spiked soils, respectively. The two strains survived well in soil during plant growth using plate counting, quantitative real-time PCR, and metagenomics analysis. Our results indicate that the combination of Enterobacter and Comamonas strains with the production of H2S and biofilm are important effectors for the highly efficient immobilization of Cd.

Blood glucose (BG) concentration of the human body serves as an important index for diagnosis of diabetes, and its detection methods need to be more efficient due to high mortality rates for diabetes. Typical household BG meters are invasive products based on electrochemistry and rely on finger pricks to procure blood, which might result in skin damage and bacterial infections. Moreover, such BG meters can only detect the BG concentration at a certain time while ignoring the BG level at other times. Recently, to achieve microinvasive, noninvasive and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) by detecting body fluid, such as sweat or tears, the research direction has been gradually developing toward wearable devices. This review discusses the glucose detection mechanism of various electrochemical and optical glucose sensors, and briefly analyzes their advantages and challenges. Additionally, wearable products based on various principles that have appeared on the market are also summarized. Furthermore, based on the analysis, this review proposes a design concept for future research directions.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Immunohistochemical staining of LUSC tissue sections demonstrating YTHDF2. (A) The corresponding normal lung tissue specimen with low expression of YTHDF2. (B) Lung squamous cell carcinoma specimen with high expression of YTHDF2.

As a highly biotoxic element, mercury (Hg) can be enriched by the food chain and has negative effect on ecosystems. Changes of Hg flux and reserves in forest have important effects on its biogeochemical cycle in forest ecosystem. Due to limitation of temporal and spatial monitoring, there is not comprehensive understanding on Hg distribution. Widely distributed trees can be used as effective bio-monitors and Hg records in tree rings can be used to study Hg temporal and spatial distribution. Hg accumulated by root, leaf, bark, and other tissues can be detained in bole and record environmental Hg variations. Therefore, historical Hg trends can be restructured by analyzing Hg concentration in tree rings and the biogeochemical characteristics can be understood with Hg isotope ratio. We reviewed the method of measurement of Hg concentration and isotope ratio and application of reconstruction using Hg concentration in tree ring. We suggested the great application potential of Hg isotope ratio in atmospheric Hg construction and biogeochemistry cycle and raised concerns in further studies.汞作为生物毒性较强的金属元素之一,通过食物链富集进而威胁生态系统健康。汞在森林生态系统中的通量以及储量变化成为汞地球化学循环的重要影响因素。受汞监测记录的时空分布限制,对汞的时空分布变化认识尚不全面。分布广泛的树木是环境汞污染的有效生物监测器之一,能够利用树轮中的汞记录开展汞的时空分布变化研究。环境中的汞通过根系、叶片、树皮等组织吸收富集,最终在树木年轮中得以保存。因此,树轮能够重建污染历史并根据同位素比率反映地球化学循环特征。本文综述树木年轮汞浓度和汞同位素比率测量方法以及树轮汞浓度重建的应用,探讨树轮汞同位素记录在环境重建中以及森林生态系统汞的地球化学循环研究潜力,指出今后研究需要关注的问题。.

In this paper, Sb2O3/PP composite specimens were prepared by ball milling and melt blending. The effects of Sb2O3 particle size and filling amount on the toughening, reinforcing effect and crystallinity of PP composites were analyzed by notch impact test, tensile test, SEM, XRD and DSC characterization. The experimental results show that the filling of Sb2O3 particles can improve the mechanical properties and crystallization properties of Sb2O3/PP composites. With the increase of filling amount of Sb2O3 particles, the tensile strength and impact strength of Sb2O3/PP composite increased first and then decreased. When the content of Sb2O3 is 2 wt.%, the tensile strength and impact strength of Sb2O3/PP composites reach the maximum. When the filling amount is the same, the crystallization and mechanical properties of nanoSb2O3/PP composites are better than those of micron Sb2O3/PP composites.

The thermal decomposition kinetics of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and flame-retardant PBT (FR-PBT) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis at various heating rates. The kinetic parameters were determined by using Kissinger, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Friedman methods. The y (α) and z (α) master plots were used to identify the thermal decomposition model. The results show that the rate of residual carbon of FR-PBT is higher than that of PBT and the maximum mass loss rate of FR-PBT is lower than that of PBT. The values of activation energy of PBT (208.71 kJ/mol) and FR-PBT (244.78 kJ/mol) calculated by Kissinger method were higher than those of PBT (PBT: 195.54 kJ/mol) and FR-PBT (FR-PBT: 196.00 kJ/mol) calculated by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method and those of PBT and FR-PBT (PBT: 199.10 kJ/mol, FR-PBT: 206.03 kJ/mol) calculated by Friedman methods. There is a common thing that the values of activation energy of FR-PBT are higher than that of PBT in different methods. The thermal decomposition reaction models of the PBT and FR-PBT can be described by Avarami-Erofeyev model (A1).

Key decisions made in the application of PPP models rely on VFM(Value for Money) evaluation. In the face of the current dilemma of evaluation results ‘straying from being truthful’, how to establish a more scientific evaluation method needs to be urgently resolved. Given the advantages of BIM technology, it is suggested to introduce BIM into VFM quantitative analysis of PPP projects, and cost analysis and risk estimation in the evaluation system. This paper presents an innovative BIM-based VFM evaluation method throughout the Decision-Making Stages of PPP projects, which is of both theoretical and pragmatic significance to overcome existing VFM dilemma and pave the way for sustainable development of PPP projects.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is currently mainly used for locally advanced breast cancer. However, there is currently no effective way to predict the prognosis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy patients. Methods: All relevant data before and after chemotherapy were collected and evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy through RECIST1.1 and pathology. Survival curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. A nomogram was developed using a binary logisti regression model with a cross validation. Results: A total of 158 patients were included in our study. The ORR was 64.6% (cCR, 3.8%; cPR, 60.8%). The pCR rates wer 12.0% for breast tumor and axillary nodes. The pCR rates were 17.1% for breast tumor and 30.4% for axillary nodes. Our study found that only differences in HER-2 status could predict different clinical efficacy, and clinical remission (CR+PR) was more likely to be achieved if HER-2 positive than negative (16.7% vs 7.5%, p=0.05). There was no significant difference in the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in age, clinical stage, and molecular classification of patients. In a single factor COX proportional hazard model study, it was found that ER positive relative to HR negative(HR 0.479,CI 95% 0.272-0.844, p=0.011), PR positive relative to PR negative (HR 0.423,CI 95% 0.235-0.763, p=0.004), HER-2 positive relative to HER-2 negative (HR 2.011, CI 95% 1.000-4.042, p=0.050), TNBC (HR 2.229, CI 95% 1.189-4.178, p=0.012), and HER-2 (HR 2.808, CI 95% 1.301-6.062, p=0.009) type are more effective than patients with Luminal type breast cancer 0btain a longer survival time, which is considered a protective factor. A nomogram was developed based on the clinical and statistically significant predictors. ROC curve for 3-year survial with area under the curve = 0.731 (95% confidence interval, 0.663-0.828); ROC curve for 5-year survial with area under the curve = 0.743 (95% confidence interval, 0.652-0.834); ROC curve for 10-year survial with area under the curve = 0.726 (95% confidence interval, 0.639-0.812). Conclusion: In conclusion, the hormone receptor status before chemotherapy can predict the prognosis of patients in advance, and we successfully constructed nomogram, which can help us predict the OS of patients with NAC.

The decline of sewage purification efficiency in winter is a frequent problem in sub-plateau municipal sewage treatment plants (MSTPs). Understanding the links between activated sludge (AS) bacterial community and sewage purification is crucial for exploring the cause of this problem. In this study, Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was applied to investigate the seasonal changes of AS bacterial community in sub-plateau MSTPs. The sequencing result indicates that the bacterial community OTU number, diversity, and relative abundance in winter are significantly lower than that in summer samples. The discriminant linear effect size analysis (LEfSe) reveals that Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi members were enriched in summer AS, while Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were enriched in winter AS. The results indicate that different core bacterial community assembly was developed in summer and winter, respectively. The changes in bacterial community may be the reasons for the lower sewage purification efficiency in winter. Furthermore, redundancy analysis (RDA) shows that temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) are the principal factors that drive the seasonal changes in the core bacterial community diversity, richness and structure in sub-plateau MSTPs. Thus, the sub-plateau AS selects for a unique community assembly pattern and shapes the particular AS ecosystem. These results expand previous understanding and provide insight into the relationship between bacterial community and performance of sub-plateau MSTPs.

Sludge foaming has been a persistent ailment in worldwide municipal sewage treatment plants (MSTPs). In particular, this problem frequently occurs and lasts throughout the winter and spring season in the sub-plateau MSTPs. Aims to explore the causes of sludge foaming under sub-plateau circumstance, the correlation between the structural and functional changes in bacterial communities and sewage properties was conducted using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The results from 16S rRNA gene sequencing shown that the relative abundances of Actinobacteria (39.5 % ± 4.8 %) and Firmicutes (10.5 % ± 1.0 %) in the foaming sludge were remarkably higher than that in the non-foaming sludge. The abundances of Candidatus Microthrix parvicella (29.8 % ± 6.9 %), Trichococcus (6.5 % ± 1.0 %), and Ornithinibacter (3.5 % ± 0.6 %) were increased after sludge foaming, and which are considered as the dominated foaming-causative bacterial assemblages by the linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Spearman’s correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) also agreed that lower temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, higher lipid and protein contents were significantly correlated with sludge foaming. In addition, the predictive functional profiling indicated that the enzymes and their coding genes of the bacterial communities are mainly involved in the fast proliferation and lipid metabolism, and which abundance are highly upregulated during foaming period. These results suggested that the sludge foaming was strongly linked to the Actinobacteria and Firmicutes communities and higher lipid and protein content in the sewage under sub-plateau circumstance. The findings might be important for developing operating strategies to maintain the desired microbial community pattern and improve the performance of MSTPs.

In this article, we present a facile method for fabricating high thermally conductive and high-strength polybenzimidazole/boron nitride nanoflakes (BNNS) composites. In brief, based on the method of liquid-phase exfoliation, the polybenzimidazole functionalized BNNS (f-BNNS) were facile obtained by directly sonicating the bulk hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes/dimethylsulfoxide dispersion in presence of polybenzimidazole. The yield concentration of exfoliated BNNS can facile reach a high concentration of ∼1.43 mg/mL after direct sonication of 10 h with assistance of polybenzimidazole. By means of solution casting, the obtained f-BNNS/polybenzimidazole composite films shows higher thermally conductivity and mechanical property compared to that of hexagonal boron nitride/polybenzimidazole composites. With 20 wt% of f-BNNS loading, the yield and ultimate tensile strengths of f-BNNS/polybenzimidazole composite film can reach ∼225.7 and 252.6 MPa. When the loading of f-BNNS is 30 wt%, the thermal conductivity of f-BNNS/polybenzimidazole composites is ∼8.58 W/mK, 27.68 times higher than that of pure polybenzimidazole. POLYM. COMPOS., 2017. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

Poor dispersity and low stability are two predominant shortcomings hindering the applications of metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs). The confinement of MOPs in nanoscale cavities of mesoporous matrices is efficient in overcoming both shortcomings, while the improvement of the current double-solvent method is highly expected. Here we develop a facile, controllable strategy to fabricate three MOPs (coordinated from dicopper and carboxylates) in confined cavities via in situ site-induced assembly (SIA), for the first time. The cavities of mesoporous matrix SBA-16 were pre-functionalized with amine sites, which induce in situ assembly of precursors that diffused into cavities. Hence, both the amount and location of MOPs in the mesoporous matrix can be easily controlled. Upon confinement, the dispersity, stability, and catalytic performance (on ring-opening reactions) of MOPs are greatly improved. Moreover, the enhancement of stability makes it possible to observe MOPs using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) directly.

The astronomical observation satellite and the astronomical telescope carried by the stratospheric balloon are evidently superior to ground observatories. Astronomical observation has demanding requirements for control of the carrier platform: first, extremely high direction accuracy, and even higher attitude stability; second, long duration continuous tracking observation due to weak signals from celestial targets. Thus highly-reliable and safety control will be required. To this end, this paper, taking the Solar Space Telescope (SST) satellite as an example, has first introduced the design method for its high-performance control system, including establishing the equation of motion and defining such input conditions as orbital characteristics, Mass inertia characteristics, whole satellite mode, and performance index requirements. In the aspect of basic design of pointing control system, the configuration of control components has been determined, and the basic structure of attitude determination, control law and filter established. In terms of the detailed design of the performance indices, influence of the component error has been analyzed, controller parameters selected under the premise of ensuring the stability margin. The error distribution has been made to the sensor and the actuator, the sampling period and the computer frequency determined and the angular momentum management strategy established. The simulation results show that the control scheme can meet the stringent control performance requirements. Furthermore, taking the balloon-borne astronomical telescope in the stratosphere as an example, the typical attitude control problems and fault tolerant control requirements have been expounded and the fault tolerant control based on layered and cooperative health monitoring proposed.

Additional file 1. PubMed search strategy.

Background. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication in diabetic patients and has been considered as the main cause of end-stage renal disease. However, there are no studies on the role of stromal interaction molecule (STIM) and its two subtypes, STIM1 and STIM2, in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of podocytes induced by diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The present study suggests for the first time that STIM inhibition decreases DKDinduced EMT. Methods. All DKD patients were diagnosed based on renal biopsies carried out at the Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital and selected using the Mayo Clinic/Renal Pathology Society Consensus Report on Pathologic Classification, Diagnosis, and Reporting of GN. Images were taken and the number of positive puncta in cells was analyzed using software equipped for immunofluorescence microscopy. STIM1, STIM2, FcγRIIa, FcγRIIb, Nephrin, CTGF, and α-SMA protein levels were detected by Western blotting analysis using the corresponding antibodies. The viability of cells was measured using CCK-8 assays. Absorbance at 450 nm was measured with a Multiskan FC Microplate Reader (Thermo Scientific, USA) and the results were normalized to those of untreated cells. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 19.0 software (Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA). Results. A total of 30 DKD patients and 30 control patients were enrolled in the study. We found that the level of urine protein in patients and db/db diabetic mice is higher than control group and the levels of STIM1 and 2 significantly increased in DKD groups. We also demonstrated that STIM is upregulated during DKD injury. Next, we discovered that DKD-induced podocyte EMT is related to STIM overexpression in vivo and in vitro. Further research demonstrated that STIM siRNA reverses podocytes from DKD-induced injury and EMT and reverses FcγRII activity in HG-treated podocytes. Conclusion. Our study suggests that STIM and FcγRII play an essential role in the regulation of DKDinduced podocyte EMT. STIM is an essential component of FcγR activation and inhibition of STIM-mediated signaling pathway might be a new strategy to treat IgGdependent renal diseases.

Metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) have attracted great attention due to their intriguing structure. However, the applications of MOPs are severely hindered by two shortcomings, namely low dispersity and poor stability. Here we report the introduction of four MOPs (constructed from dicopper and carboxylates) to cavity-structured mesoporous silica SBA-16 via a double-solvent strategy to overcome both shortcomings simultaneously. By judicious design, the dimension of MOPs is just between the size of cavities and entrances of SBA-16, MOP molecules are thus confined in the cavities. This leads to the formation of isolated MOPs with unusual dispersion, making the active sites highly accessible. Hence, the adsorption capacity on carbon dioxide and propene as well as catalytic performance on ring opening are much superior to bulk MOPs. More importantly, the structure and catalytic activity of MOPs in confined cavities are well preserved after exposure to humid atmosphere, whereas those of bulk MOPs are degraded seriously.

Concentration gradients of multiple heavy metals (HMs) in the arid loess region near a smelter were determined. In order to understand the response of soil microbes to multiple HM gradients, bacterial and fungal community structures and functions were analyzed using high-throughput RNA gene sequencing and the PICRUSt method. RDA/PCA analyses revealed that soil pH, HMs, and electrical conductivity (EC) jointly affected the bacterial communities in the soils. The soil microbial community structures responded differently to HMs, EC, and pH. High HMs increased the abundances of the bacterial phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Deinococcus-Thermus, and Chloroflexi, and the genera Blastococcus, Rubrobacter, Quadrisphaera, and Tunicatimonas, whereas they decreased the abundances of the phyla Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria and the genera Streptomyces and Nocardioides. High EC and low pH decreased the abundance of most of the dominant bacterial phyla but increased the abundances of Firmicutes, Deinococcus-Thermus, and Nitrospirae. Furthermore, high HMs and EC reduced the numbers of soil-specific bacterial and fungal groups and drove the succession of certain groups that were highly resistant to increased HMs and EC. In addition, many bacterial and fungal groups exhibited different response patterns to each HM, implying that, in multiple HM-contaminated soils, HMs jointly shaped the microbial communities. PICRUSt analysis suggested that high HMs significantly decreased the total gene abundance and most KEGG modules in the soils. High EC and low pH significantly enhanced the abundances of several two-component system-, electron transfer-, and methanogenesis-related modules. We conclude that excessive multiple HMs and EC principally repressed the microbial activity and severely drove the gradient succession of bacterial and fungal communities in the arid loess region.

Bacterial persisters comprise a small fraction of phenotypically heterogeneous variants with transient capability for survival when exposed to high concentrations of antibiotic. In aquatic pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas veronii, Small Protein B (SmpB), the core factor of trans-translation system, was identified as a new persistence-related gene. The SmpB deletion exhibited a higher susceptibility and lower persister cell formation under aminoglycosides antibiotics pressure compared with wild type. The transcriptional and translational activities of smpB gene were significantly enhanced by the gentamicin challenge in exponential phase, but not changed in stationary phase. The transcriptomic analysis revealed that the smpB deletion stimulated the production of proton-motive force (PMF). The cell survival induced by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) further verified that SmpB variation affected the quantities of PMF. Taken together, these results uncovered a novel mechanism of persister formation mediated by SmpB under aminoglycosides treatments.

In vitro experiments were performed to determine whether auxin can mediate the formation of adventitious roots in response to heavy metal and drought stresses using a model rooting plant, mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]. The treatments with CdCl2 or mannitol alone significantly inhibited the formation and growth of adventitious roots in mung bean seedlings. In contrast, when CdCl2 or mannitol was applied together with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), IBA considerably cancelled the inhibition of adventitious rooting by stresses. Treatment with CdCl2 or mannitol alone significantly increased the soluble protein and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. CdCl2 and mannitol stress each induced differentially significant changes in the activities of antioxidative enzyme and antioxidant levels during adventitious rooting. Notably, both CdCl2 and mannitol stress strongly reduced the peroxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities and glutathione (GSH) and phenols levels. Catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were enhanced by CdCl2 but reduced by mannitol. CdCl2 increased the ascorbate acid (ASA) level, which was decreased by mannitol. Furthermore, when CdCl2 or mannitol was applied together with IBA, IBA counteracted the CdCl2- or mannitol-induced increase or decrease in certain antioxidants, MDA, and antioxidative enzymes. These results suggest that Cd and mannitol stress inhibition of adventitious rooting is associated with the regulation of antioxidative enzymes and antioxidants in cells to defense the oxidative stress. Moreover, IBA alleviates the effects of Cd and mannitol stress on the rooting process partially through the regulation of antioxidative defense systems.

Owing to their high physicochemical stability and low skeleton density, polymers are highly promising for capturing the greenhouse gas CO2. However, complicated monomers, expensive catalysts, and/or severe conditions are usually required for their synthesis, which makes the process costly, tedious, and hard to scale up. In this paper, a facile nucleophilic substitution reaction is developed to synthesize polymers from low-cost monomers, namely chloromethylbenzene and various diamines. Due to the appropriate reactivity of monomers, the polymerization takes place at a low temperature of about 60 °C in the absence of any catalysts. A series of polymers containing plentiful secondary amines are successfully fabricated; these secondary amines provide a proper adsorbate–adsorbent interaction from the viewpoints of selective capture of CO2 and energy-efficient regeneration of adsorbents. Moreover, the materials possess well-defined micropores with the dimension close to the size of adsorbate molecules and subseq...

Energy conservation is the primary goal for MAC protocol design in Wireless sensor networks. Based on the analysis of the existing low-duty-cycle S-MAC algorithms and the structural features of hierarchy WSN , an adaptive duty-cycle MAC protocol is proposed,which is integrated M/M/1/n queuing system. The new protocol can predict data throughput of next period based on the node’s queue model and then adjust the duty-cycle to achieve energy conservation. Analysis and simulation results show that, compare with S-MAC,the MAC protocol based on M/M/1/n saves about 48% energy, reduces latency by 21% and improves throughput by 33% in a cross topology network,which effectively prolongs the network lifetime.

A series of epicatechin derivatives, including 3-O-palmitoyl epicatechin, 3-O-myristoyl epicatechin, 3-O-lauroyl epicatechin, 3-O-decanoyl epicatechin and 3-O-octanoyl epicatechin, were prepared by the acylation method. Structures of these prepared products were characterized by LC/MS and1H-NMR spectroscopy. Their antioxidant activity were assessed by the methods of DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging. The results showed that aliphatic acyl epicatechin derivatives with varying aliphatic groups were synthesized by this method. The antioxidant activity of aliphatic acyl epicatechin derivatives were better than the oil-soluble tea polyphenol and BHT, equal to TBHQ.

Mulch films are used in agricultural application mainly to produce high-quality crops. Based on Penicillium chrysogenum mycelium or on citric acid fermentation residue, biodegradable films with the function of soil temperature preservation, moisture maintenance and controlled fertilizer release of P were manufactured in this work to avoid waste of bioresources and plastic film pollution. They had been later used as suitable alternative to low density polyethylene (LDPE) films for cotton and maize production. Mechanical properties, water vapor permeability and thermal tests of films were measured in the laboratory before application. Their weight loss, microorganism growth on their surface and soil microclimate were also investigated during field application to evaluate their biodegradability. Only small cracks emerged in the structure of biodegradable films after four weeks in contact with the soil. The loss weight of the two films could reach about 40% and 21%, respectively after 90 days of application. The study also showed that biodegradable films demonstrated soil temperature preservation with 5–7 °C higher than un-mulched control and comparable function of moisture maintenance with commercial films after application.

Based on the literature review and baseline survey, this study was carried out to explore the structure of undergraduates employability under the background of China. 612 students as the subjects were predicted, the items were formed through exploratory factor analysis. The results indicated that undergraduates employability comprised two longitudinal dimensionalities: job-attain and job-maintain; and the horizontal dimension were two stage structure with 3 second-order factors and 7 one-order factors. Then 412 students were investigated to test the validity and reliability of the undergraduates employability cognition scale. The scale was found to have a good internal reliability coefficient (a=.928) and Spearman-Brown coefficient (r=.852) of job-attain dimension, the job-maintain dimension were .927 and .845 respectively.

Systematic studies of plasma activated-ALD SiO2 films have been done to investigate the formation and origin of charge defects in the oxide films, and the effects of post anneal treatments. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements were done to extract information on interface trapped/fixed charge and bulk oxide trap charge formation as a function of process temperature, pressure and post annealing treatments. The results from these studies show that interface trap charge formation is controlled by both temperature and plasma conditions, while bulk oxide trap charge formation is controlled dominantly by plasma conditions. The post annealing treatment however, removes or reduces the concentration of these defects.

It is a breakthrough exploratory area about sandstone-type uranium deposit of Bayanwula area in Erlian basin, Inner Mongolia, a detailed study of the form of occurrences . Ore-bearing horizon is the down cretaceous Saihan formation in Bayanwula area. Study on uranium occurrences which is significance for Uranium mining smelting.The host rocks are gray silt - fine sandstone, gray medium - fine sandstone, yellow medium - fine sandstone . The EPMA(electron probe microanalysis) results show that the uranium minerals are mainly pitchblende, coffinite, uranyl-carbonate, uranothorite, isomorphous uranium and uranium bearing phosphate. among which, the uranothorite and isomorphous uranium are of no industrial significance, uranium mineralization closely occurs with pyrite, ilmenite, quartz, feldspar, rare earth and organic matter.

This study aimed to compare the effects of two types of drip irrigation line design on cotton yield, water use, and net returns. The experiments were carried out in the arid region of Xinjiang, Northwest China, during 2009-2010 growing years. The two types of lateral placement are commonly used by the local farmers in the area: double lines (two laterals controlling four rows) and single line designs (one lateral controlling four rows). The results indicated that less irrigation water was applied by single line compared with double lines design. This implies that more irrigation water could be saved using single line, by reducing the water consumption of cotton. The emergence rates for double lines were 2 and 6% higher than those for single line design in 2009 and 2010. The seed cotton yields for double lines design were 5.76 and 6.41 Mg ha(-1) which were 13 and 9% higher than for single line design in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Single lines could however lower the investment cost compared to double lines, which produced 10 and 7% more net income in 2009 and 2010, respectively. By contrast, the double lines was more profitable and suitable for the farmers in Northwest China than single line design.

Novel biodegradable films were prepared via blending of poly (vinyl alcohol) and waste mycelium from sauce residue and citric acid fermentation residue, respectively. The performance of these two types of films when used as alternative covers for pak-choi growth under semi-arid climatic conditions was evaluated via field test towards their abilities for water retention and biodegradation, together with the impact on the yield and nutritional quality of pak-choi. Experimental results showed that the use of these films could result in 50% higher water retention than a blank control film after 96-h treatment at 40 °C. Films were biodegraded within 14 weeks under natural conditions, leading to a significant mineralization, progressively releasing over 56% of K+, NO3−, Mg2+ and organics, beneficial for plant growth as fertilizer. The yield of pak-choi was increased by 80% in weight when using these films compared with the unmulched control. Compared to those treated with traditional LDPE mulching film, the average contents of chlorophyll, crude protein and soluble sugar in pak-choi were increased by 52.9, 7.2, 80.7% (blends of sauce residue) and 26.7, 11.4, 10.8% (blends of citric acid fermentation residue), respectively.

Recently, several genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have reproduced the significant association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1344706 (located in intron 2 of the zinc finger protein 804A (ZNF804A) on chromosome 2q32.1) with schizophrenia. Bioinformatic analysis of the chromosome segment around rs1344706 suggests that a short conserved mammalian region exists approximately 3 kb downstream of rs1344706. In the present work, we studied all SNPs in this conserved mammalian region and performed genetic analyses on samples from Chinese schizophrenia patients (n = 516) and compared control subjects (n = 520). Significant association between an allele of rs13423388 and schizophrenia was found ( P = 0.0012). Haplotype analysis of the three SNPs rs4666998, rs13423388, and rs56280129 showed significant associations with schizophrenia (global P = 0.00001). Furthermore, we performed a four-SNP haplotype analysis which included the SNPs from the three-SNP haplotype analysis and rs1344706 (global P = 0.0005), and found that haplotype GCCG was associated with schizophrenia ( P = 0.003). In summary, the present study adds new evidence for an association between the conserved mammalian region of the ZNF804A gene and schizophrenia. Further research is needed to clarify the transcriptional regulation of ZNF804A gene and to relate this to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

In this paper, a novel turbo-coded 16-ary orbital angular momentum - shift keying-free space optical (OAM-SK-FSO) communication system combining a convolutional neural network (CNN) based adaptive demodulator under strong atmospheric turbulence is proposed for the first time. The feasibility of the scheme is verified by transmitting a 256-grayscale two-dimensional digital image. The bit error ratio (BER) performance of the system is investigated and the effect of different factors such as turbulence strength, propagation distance, code rate, length of random interleaver and length of bit interleaver is also taken into account. An advanced encoder/decoder structure and mapping scheme are applied to diminish the influence of CNN misclassification and reduce the BER effectively. With the optimal encoder/decoder structure and CNN model settings, the BER varies from 0 to 4.89×10−4 when the propagation distance increases from 200m to 1000m for a given turbulence strength Cn2 equals 5×10−14m−2/3. For a determined propagation distance equals 400m, the BER ranges from 0 to 4.01×10−4 when Cn2increases from 1×10−15m−2/3 to 4×10−13m−2/3. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed system can provide better BER performance under strong atmospheric turbulence and conditions when the classification ability of CNN is limited.

Wheel/rail rolling noise is the main source of noise from railway operations, it is at least as important as aerodynamic noise. In this paper, the makeup of unit modules of CAE(Computer Aided Engineering) simulation platform for of railway passenger car and its function frame are given. Based on finite element method, boundary element method, the structural model, interior acoustic cavity and acoustics model of electric locomotive wheel were analyzed by Nastran and Sysnoise software. This paper is imposed sinusoidal excitation on the wheel, and then the laying of the viscoelastic layer and optimization of damping-wheel, obtain the wheel’s structure of the vibration noise radiation.The analysis result shows that the laying of the viscoelastic layer can reduce wheels radiation noise, and the noise can be reduced from 0.27 to 8.62 dB.Practical application indicated this simulation platform can supply effective technology support for the development of product.

Accumulating evidence shows that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) acts as a multifunctional signaling molecule in plants, whereas the interaction between H2S and ethylene is still unclear. In the present study we investigated the role of H2S in ethylene-promoted banana ripening and senescence by the application of ethylene released from 1.0 g·L-1 ethephon solution or H2S with 1 mM sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) as the donor or in combination. Fumigation with ethylene was found to accelerate banana ripening and H2S treatment effectively alleviated ethylene-induced banana peel yellowing and fruit softening in parallel with decreased activity of polygalacturonase (PG). Ethylene+H2S treatment also delayed the decreases in chlorophyll and total phenolics, and increased the accumulation of flavonoid, whereas decreased the contents of carotenoid, soluble protein in banana peel and reducing sugar in pulp compared with ethylene treatment alone. Besides, ethylene+H2S treatment suppressed the accumulation of superoxide radicals (·O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) which accumulated highly in ethylene-treated banana peels. Furthermore H2S enhanced total antioxidant capacity in ethylene-treated banana peels with the 2,2'-azobis(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay. The result of quantitative real-time PCR showed that the combined treatment of ethylene with H2S down-regulated the expression of ethylene synthesis genes MaACS1, MaACS2 and MaACO1 and pectate lyase MaPL compared with ethylene treatment, while the expression of ethylene receptor genes MaETR, MaERS1 and MaERS2 was enhanced in combination treatment compared with ethylene alone. In all, it can be concluded that H2S alleviates banana fruit ripening and senescence by antagonizing the effect of ethylene through reduction of oxidative stress and inhibition of ethylene signaling pathway.

Today's Through Silicon Via (TSV) processes are limited to aspect ratios of 10:1. High performance logic devices drive the need for aspect ratios approaching 20:1 in order to achieve the desired performance while simultaneously reducing costs. The reduced via area required on the wafer enables the designer to utilize less real estate on the die to reduce cost or to potentially add redundant vias to improve yield. However, current conventional processes and techniques are not capable of achieving robust fill on aspect ratios greater than 12:1. This presentation will highlight the technical challenges in achieving robust copper fill on super high aspect ratio TSV structures. Additionally, a compelling, economic solution pathway will be presented that integrates a low temperature conformal high quality dielectric isolation layer, a high step coverage Cu barrier / seed technology and a void free high speed electroplating process with a wide process window that could accelerate the adoption of the high aspect ratio TSV design schemes.

Reclamation of salt-affected land plays an important role in mitigating the pressure of agricultural land due to competition with industry and construction in China. Drip irrigation was found to be an effective method to reclaim salt-affected land. In order to improve the effect of reclamation and sustainability of salt-affected land production, a field experiment (with reclaimed 1-3 yr fields) was carried out to investigate changes in soil physical, chemical, and biological properties during the process of reclamation with cropping maize and drip irrigation. Results showed that soil bulk density in 0-20 cm soil layer decreased from 1.71 g cm-3 in unreclaimed land to 1.44 g cm-3 in reclaimed 3 yr fields, and saturated soil water content of 0-10 cm layer increased correspondingly from 20.3 to 30.2%. Both soil salinity and pH value in 0-40 cm soil layer dropped markedly after reclaiming 3 yr. Soil organic matter content reduced, while total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium all tended to increase after cropping and drip irrigation. The quantities of bacteria, actinomycete, and fungi in 0-40 cm soil layer all greatly increased with increase of reclaimed years, and they tended to distribute homogeneously in 0-40 cm soil profile. The urease activity and alkaline phosphatase activity in 0-40 cm soil layers were also enhanced, but the sucrase activity was not greatly changed. These results indicated that after crop cultivation and drip irrigation, soil physical environment and nutrients status were both improved. This was benefit for microorganism’s activity and plant’s growth.