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To targeted overcome the multidrug resistance (MDR) and metastasis of liver tumors, we proposed to develop a palladium (Pd) agent based on a specific residue of human serum albumin (HSA) for multiacting on tumor cell and other components in the tumor microenvironment. To this end, a series of Pd(II) 2-acetylpyridine thiosemicarbazone compounds were optimized to obtain a Pd(II) compound (5b) with significant cytotoxicity against HepG2/ADM cells. Subsequently, we constructed a HSA-5b complex delivery system and revealed the structural mechanism of HSA delivering 5b. Importantly, 5b/HSA-5b effectively inhibited the growth and metastasis of multidrug resistant liver tumors, and HSA enhanced the targeting ability of 5b and reduced its side effects in vivo. Furthermore, we confirmed the mechanisms of 5b/HSA-5b integrating to overcome MDR and metastasis of liver tumors: multiacting on cancer cell, activating immune response, and inactivating cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Kleefstra syndrome (KS), formerly known as 9q subtelomeric deletion syndrome, is characterized by multiple structural abnormalities. However, most fetuses do not have obvious abnormal phenotypes. In this study, the fetus with KS presented with multiple system structural anomalies, and we aimed to explore the genotype-phenotype correlations of KS fetuses.

Two species of jellyfish, Cyanea nozakiiKishinouye and Nemopilema nomuraiKishinouye, have occurred off coastal areas of the northeastern China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea in recent years. They influence marine ecosystem safety and fishery production, and also pose a risk to human health. The current study examined the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of crude venoms extracted from the nematocysts of C. nozakiiand N. nomurai. The results showed that there were more nematocysts on tentacles from C. nozakiithan on tentacles of the same length from N. nomurai. The protein concentration per nematocyst extracted from N. nomuraiwas higher than that from C. nozakii. Both nematocyst venoms showed dose- and time-dependent hemolytic activity on erythrocytes from chicken, pigeon, and sheep, with sheep erythrocytes being the most sensitive, with EC50values of 69.69 and 63.62 μg/mL over a 30-min exposure with N. nomuraiand C. nozakiinematocyst venoms, respectively. A cytotoxic assay of both jellyfish venoms on A431 human epidermal carcinoma cells resulted in IC50values of 68.6 and 40.9 μg/mL after 24-h incubation, respectively, with venom from C. nozakiishowing stronger cytotoxic activity than that from N. nomurai. The results of current study indicate that nematocyst venom from C. nozakiihad stronger hemolytic and cytotoxic activities than that from N. nomuraiand, thus, C. nozakiimight be more harmful to the health of humans and other species than are N. nomuraiwhen they appear in coastal waters.

Byline: Pengyuan. Song, Wei. Sun, Min. Pang, Weina. He, Weihua. Zhang, Lijun. Sheng Purpose: Comparing the efficacy and complications of microwave ablation (MA) combined with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and [...]

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is associated with poor clinical outcomes and identifying novel biomarkers that are involved in the progression of LUSC is important for prognosis and targeted treatment. Herein, ankyrin repeat domain 49 (ANKRD49) protein in LUSC versus paired noncancerous lung tissues was tested and its clinical significance was evaluated through χ2test, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards model. The results showed the ANKRD49 protein in LUSC was elevated and correlated with the tumor-node-metastasis stage, lymph node metastasis, distal metastasis, and differentiation. Patients with higher ANKRD49 had lower overall survival rate and higher ANKRD49 expression in lung tissues may be used as an independent prognostic marker for LUSC patients.

Groundwater contamination induced by anthropogenic activities has long been a global issue. Characterizing and modeling contaminant transport processes is crucial to groundwater protection and management. However, challenges still exist in process complexity, data constraint, and computational cost. In the era of big data, the growth of machine learning has led to new opportunities in studying contaminant transport in groundwater systems. In this work, we introduce a new attention‐based graph neural network (aGNN) for modeling contaminant transport with limited monitoring data and quantifying causal connections between contaminant sources (drivers) and their spreading (outcomes). In five synthetic case studies that involve varying monitoring networks in heterogeneous aquifers, aGNN is shown to outperform LSTM‐based (long‐short term memory) and CNN‐ based (convolutional neural network) methods in multistep predictions (i.e., transductive learning). It also demonstrates a high level of applicability in inferring observations for unmonitored sites (i.e., inductive learning). Furthermore, an explanatory analysis based on aGNN quantifies the influence of each contaminant source, which has been validated by a physics‐based model with consistent outcomes with an R2value exceeding 92%. The major advantage of aGNN is that it not only has a high level of predictive power in multiple scenario evaluations but also substantially reduces computational cost. Overall, this study shows that aGNN is efficient and robust for highly nonlinear spatiotemporal learning in subsurface contaminant transport, and provides a promising tool for groundwater management involving contaminant source attribution. Groundwater contamination caused by human activities is a longstanding global challenge. Accurately characterizing and modeling the movement of contaminants is crucial for the protection and management of groundwater resources. However, the complexity of the processes, limitations in data availability, and high computational demands pose significant challenges. In the age of big data, machine learning offers new avenues for exploring contaminant transport in groundwater. In this study, we introduce a novel machine learning model called an attention‐based graph neural network (aGNN) designed to model contaminant transport with sparse monitoring data and to analyze the causal relationships between contaminant sources and observed concentrations at specific locations. We conducted five synthetic case studies across diverse aquifer systems with varying monitoring setups, where aGNN demonstrated superior performance over models based on other approaches. It also proved highly capable of making inferences about pollution levels at unmonitored sites. Moreover, an explanatory analysis using aGNN effectively quantified the impact of each contaminant source, with results validated by a physics‐based model. Overall, this study establishes aGNN as an efficient and robust method for complex spatiotemporal learning in subsurface contaminant transport, making it a valuable tool for groundwater management and contaminant source identification. A novel graph‐based deep learning method is proposed for modeling contaminant transport constrained by monitoring dataThe proposed model quantifies the contribution of each potential contaminant source to the observed concentration at an arbitrary locationThe deep learning method substantially reduces the computational cost compared with a physics‐based contaminant transport model A novel graph‐based deep learning method is proposed for modeling contaminant transport constrained by monitoring data The proposed model quantifies the contribution of each potential contaminant source to the observed concentration at an arbitrary location The deep learning method substantially reduces the computational cost compared with a physics‐based contaminant transport model

The photocatalytic reduction of CO2into valuable fuels and sustainable energy has a promising future, yet remains a challenge due to low charge separation efficiency and inadequate active sites. We find that ZnIn2S4-loaded secondary amine-functionalized organic silica (ZnIn2S4/NH–SiO2) was effective for visible-light driven CO2photocatalytic reduction. The ZnIn2S4/NH–SiO2with 40% ZnIn2S4content achieves a CO production rate of 1304.8 μmol g−1h−1at room temperature, which is about 3 times higher than that of pristine ZnIn2S4. The thin ZnIn2S4nanosheet accelerates the separation of photogenerated electron pairs, and the amine groups on ZnIn2S4/NH–SiO2act as active sites for adsorption and activation of CO2, hence facilitating the photoreduction of CO2.

Based on the low-field NMR, this study inveitigated bleeding property of the fresh cement pastes mixed with various gypsum dosage, specific area of cement and water reducers. Results showed that the gypsum dosage between 3 % and 5 % will cause an decrease bleeding and a lower bleeding velocity, while a 1 % gypsum dosage will increase the bleeding as a function of time. The increase of the cement surface will lead to a less bleeding rate. This can be explained that the finer particle will contribute to the packing which will form a low permeability of the cement paste, as a result less bleeding water is observed. The PCEs-made sample has smaller hot zone area which indocated the PCEs has good bleeding stability when varing water cement ratio. Furthermore, bying comparing with the NPE, it was found the ACS type water reducer has higher bleeding sensitivity when high water cement ratios were used.

In this paper, the effects of various components in alkali-free accelerator on the setting of cement paste were studied, and the morphology of the hydrates during hydration was investigated with SEM. The experimental results show that the aluminum sulfate, diethanolamine and hydrofluoric acid can effectively shorten the setting time of cement paste, while excessive dosage has minimal impacts on the setting time. The diethanolamine and hydrofluoric acid can not only shorten the setting time but also can improve the stability of the accelerator. It was evidenced by the SEM that the aluminum sulfate accelerates cement coagulation by quickly forming a large amount of ettringite in the cement paste. The results in this study suggest that the shortest setting can be achieved when the dosage of aluminum sulfate, diethanolamine and hydrofluoric acid in a liquid alkali-free accelerator is 57 %, 5 % and 5.7 % , respectively.

Solar-driven CO2conversion into fuels and sustainable energy has attracted increasing attention around the world. However, the efficiency of the transformation remains relatively low due to the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. In this work, we prepared a ZnIn2S4–ZnAlOxnanocomposite for visible light driven CO2reduction. The thin layered structure facilitated the photoinduced charge carrier separation and transfer, and also gave excellent adsorption ability towards CO2molecules. Such a nanocatalyst exhibited excellent activity in visible-light driven CO2reduction with a CO optimal formation rate of 1100 μmol g−1h−1, which is 5 times that over bulk ZnIn2S4, and the CO/H2ratio was increased from 0.2 over bulk ZnIn2S4to 1.5 over the ZnIn2S4–ZnAlOxcomposite. In situFT-IR experiments indicated that CO2was reduced on ZnIn2S4–ZnAlOxfollowing a COOH* pathway. This work gives insights into the mechanism of the photocatalytic CO2reduction reaction and inspiration to construct novel heterostructure materials for application in energy and environmental catalysis.

Resveratrol (trans-3,4'V,5-trihydroxystilbene) presents antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective functions in addition to its anticancer potential. In this study, we explored how resveratrol, as an anticancer agent, effectively influences cervical cancer HeLa cells. Our data showed that resveratrol could significantly inhibit HeLa cell proliferation and induce their apoptosis, as measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay and flow cytometry. The immunofluorescence staining results in the present study suggested that resveratrol could facilitate FOXO3a nuclear translocation. We then focused on the mechanism of resveratrol in promoting HeLa cell apoptosis. The following experiments suggested that the possible initial mechanism involves the upregulation Forkhead box O (FOXO) 3a expression, which further increases the expression of Bcl-2 interacting mediator of cell death (BIM), the gene transcribed in apoptosis. Resveratrol could also inactivate the basal extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity, causing FOXO3a activation and resulting in HeLa cell apoptosis. In summary, both mechanisms stimulated the accumulation of activated FOXO3a, promoted its nuclear translocation, and ultimately caused HeLa cell apoptosis. Thus, resveratrol may have a potential in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Ginger is an important horticultural crop with high economic and nutritional value. However, it is prone to pathogenic bacterial infection that negatively affects growth, post-harvest quality, and reduced economic profits. The study of pathogenic bacteria associated with ginger disease through its productive life cycle is extremely valuable. In this study, we isolated a key pathogen Serratia marcescensfrom diseased ginger rhizomes. Koch’s postulates helped verify that S. marcescensprovoked disease symptoms in ginger rhizomes and seedlings. Antioxidant enzyme activities of the host were markedly increased following S. marcescensinfection rhizomes. Disease incidence of seedlings was 87.3% ± 3.05, and the disease severity index was 27.1 ± 1.2 after 15 days of root filling. Further, we verified that the isolated bacterium could infect rat peripheral nerve cells (RSC96), resulting cell lysis and death. All in all, we isolated a key pathogenic bacteria S. marcescensfrom rot rhizomes and analyzed its pathogenic features in ginger rhizomes and seedlings and its latent ability to infect mammalian cells. This study provides new information critical to managing ginger diseases caused by bacteria with a cross-kingdom infective cycle.

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructures assembled by van der Waals (vdW) interactions show numerous unique physical properties such as quantum Hall effects and exotic correlated states, which have promising potential applications in the design of novel electronic devices. Understanding thermal transport in such junctions is critical to control the performance and stability of prospective nanodevices. In this work, using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we systematically investigate the thermal transport in asymmetric graphene/h-BN vdW heterostructures. It is found that the heat prefers to flow from the monolayer to the multilayer regions, resulting in a significant thermal rectification (TR) effect. To determine the optimum conditions for TR, the influences of sample length, defect density, asymmetric degree, ambient temperature, and vdW interaction strength are studied. Particularly, we found that the TR ratio could be improved by about 1 order of magnitude via increasing the coupling strength from 1 to 10, which clearly distinguishes from the commonly held notion that the TR ratio is practically insensitive or even decreasing with the interaction strength. Detailed spectral analysis reveals that this unexpected increase of the TR ratio can be attributed to heavily modified phonon properties of encased graphene due to enhanced interlayer coupling. Our results elucidate the importance of vdW interactions to heat conduction in nanostructures.

Curcumin has shown significant cardiovascular protective effects. However, the low bioavailability limits its practical application. As a natural bioenhancer, piperine is expected to increase the bioavailability of curcumin, and then, enhance its beneficial effects. Meanwhile, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling has been confirmed to be involved in the regulation of cardiovascular events. Herein, this study aimed to investigate whether piperine could enhance the beneficial effects of curcumin in pressure-overload rats and whether GLP-1/GLP-1R signaling is involved in their action mechanism.

ABSTRACTPatients with pediatric rheumatic diseases (PRDs) have higher morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases. Vaccination is an effective way to prevent infection. This study aimed to understand the vaccination status, vaccination-related attitudes, and adverse reactions in patients with PRDs in one of the largest Pediatric Rheumatic and Immune centers in China. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted among the caregivers of patients with PRDs admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. 189 valid questionnaires were collected. The most two common PRDs in this study were juvenile idiopathic arthritis (29.6%) and systemic lupus erythematosus (19.6%). Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify potential factors associated with vaccination completion among these patients. Univariate analysis suggested that the age of onset, course of the disease, treatment duration, disease duration <1 month, disease duration ≥24 months, treatment duration <1 month, use of biological agents, at least one hospitalization, whether with one-time intravenous human immunoglobulin, caregiver concerns about vaccination before or after illness, and vaccine hesitancy may affect the scheduled vaccination completion by age in patients (p < .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the age of onset (OR, 1.013; 95% CI, 1.005–1.022; p = .002) and caregiver concerns about vaccination before illness (OR, 0.600; 95% CI, 0.428–0.840; p = .003) independently influenced patients’ completion of scheduled vaccinations. This study suggests that rheumatic disease and treatment may influence age-appropriate vaccination. Appropriate education for patients and carers may improve vaccination cognition and attitudes.

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is the key cytokine involved in causing fibrosis through cross-talk with major profibrotic pathways. However, inhibition of TGF-β to prevent fibrosis would also abrogate its anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects. β-catenin is a common co-factor in most TGF-β signaling pathways. β-catenin binds to T-cell factor (TCF) to activate profibrotic genes and binds to Forkhead box O (Foxo) to promote cell survival under oxidative stress. Using a proximity ligation assay in human kidney biopsies, we found that β-catenin/Foxo interactions were higher in kidney with little fibrosis, whereas β-catenin/TCF interactions were upregulated in the kidney of patients with fibrosis. We hypothesised that β-catenin/Foxo is protective against kidney fibrosis. We found that Foxo1 protected against rhTGF-β1-induced profibrotic protein expression using a CRISPR/cas9 knockout of Foxo1 or TCF1 in murine kidney tubular epithelial C1.1 cells. Co-administration of TGF-β with a small molecule inhibitor of β-catenin/TCF (ICG-001), protected against kidney fibrosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction. Collectively, our human, animal and in vitro findings suggest β-catenin/Foxo as a therapeutic target in kidney fibrosis.

The scale of urban land has been expanding because the speed of urban development has increased the population. Thus, certain improvement in planning and construction based on circular economy is required. Industrial resource-based city planning and construction is particularly important based on the aforementioned problems and development background. The development of industrial resource cities in the transformation stage based on the circular economy was considered as the breakthrough point. The development, function, and concept of the new district planning were analyzed in view of the design strategy of the current domestic resource-based urban planning; moreover, the planning principles (integration of regional and harmonious resource constructions and coordinated organization function) that are suitable for resource industrial city were presented. In this study, taking the industrial transformation and resource-based city of Yichun as an example, the infrastructure and the general situation of the new district planning in the future were deeply analyzed. In the light of the functional development and planning structure of the transformation and development planning of resource-based industrial cities, the following planning and development strategies were proposed: the centralized small-scale space should be constructed. Diversion control should be carried out on bicycle lane and motorized lane in new area. The three-dimensional layout of the grid should be applied to the overall planning of the road, and according to the expressway, main roads, secondary roads and ordinary sections, there must be four kinds of traffic system, so as to construct a diversified traffic diversion system. The original industrial land should be extended into a continuous space, and the allocation of new district resources after transformation must be suitable for the development plan of brand strategy, so as to perfect the forestry land of Sun Yue gorge street and transform it into RBD recreational and entertainment community, and build a friendly eco city.

Transition metal carbides have been of great interest because of their noble-metal-like properties. Because of the complexity of their structures, it is crucial to design an experiment that can eliminate the influence of supports, surface carbon contamination and particle sizes when finding the exact catalytic active sites. In this work, phase-pure W2C nanorods (lengths of 2–4 μm and diameters of 100–600 nm) with different amounts of crystal defects were prepared by the pyrolysis of metatungstate and melamine hybrid nanorods with nanoscale periodic structure synthesized in the aqueous phase. The nanoscale alternating structure between tungsten oxide and melamine effectively promotes the reduction of tungsten oxide and the formation of tungsten carbide, avoiding the deposition of carbon on the surface. At the same time, vacancy defects are generated due to the deficiency of carbon. High pyrolysis temperature (900 °C), prolonged pyrolysis time (4 h), introduction of hydrogen and the proper increase of the temperature ramping rate (5 °C min−1) are favorable to the formation of vacancy defects. The activities of different catalysts were evaluated by the hydrodeoxygenation of benzofuran at 320 to 350 °C. The results show that the vacancy defect sites in W2C are the key to the high reactivity of W2C. The vacancy defect sites have favorable properties for the cleavage of carbon–oxygen bonds. The Caromatic–O bond is cleaved in the case of unsaturated aromatic rings, thereby reducing the consumption of hydrogen. In addition, it is found that the apparent activation energy of each chemical bond is linear-like and positively related to its bond dissociation energy.

Loss of E-cadherin marks a defect in epithelial integrity and polarity during tissue injury and fibrosis. Whether loss of E-cadherin plays a causal role in fibrosis is uncertain. α3β1 Integrin has been identified to complex with E-cadherin in cell-cell adhesion, but little is known about the details of their cross talk. Herein, E-cadherin gene (Cdh1) was selectively deleted from proximal tubules of murine kidney by Sglt2Cre. Ablation of E-cadherin up-regulated α3β1 integrin at cell-cell adhesion. E-cadherin–deficient proximal tubular epithelial cell displayed enhanced transforming growth factor-β1–induced α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and vimentin expression, which was suppressed by siRNA silencing of α3 integrin, but not β1 integrin. Up-regulation of transforming growth factor-β1–induced α-SMA was mediated by an α3 integrin-dependent increase in integrin-linked kinase (ILK). Src phosphorylation of β-catenin and consequent p-β-catenin-Y654/p-Smad2 transcriptional complex underlies the transcriptional up-regulation of ILK. Kidney fibrosis after unilateral ureteric obstruction or ischemia reperfusion was increased in proximal tubule E-cadherin–deficient mice in comparison to that of E-cadherin intact control mice. The exacerbation of fibrosis was explained by the α3 integrin-dependent increase of ILK, β-catenin nuclear translocation, and α-SMA/proximal tubular–specific Cre double positive staining in proximal tubular epithelial cell. These studies delineate a nonconventional integrin/ILK signaling by α3 integrin–dependent Src/p-β-catenin-Y654/p-Smad2–mediated up-regulation of ILK through which loss of E-cadherin leads to kidney fibrosis.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical application value of the 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) sustained‐release particles implanted along the cardiac tangent direction into malignant pericardial effusion (MPCE). A total of 81 MPCE patients underwent pericardiocentesis, and were implanted with 5‐FU sustained‐release particles into the pericardial cavity under ultrasound guidance. The puncturing path was along the cardiac tangent direction. Ultrasound examinations were performed every week, and the efficacy was evaluated 4 weeks after treatment. The 45 patients who were treated with pericardial catheter drainage and simultaneous intracavitary chemotherapy were used as the control group. The success rate of pericardiocentesis was 100%. Ultrasound reviews performed 4 weeks after treatment showed that 71 cases achieved complete remission and eight cases achieved partial remission, while treatment was completely ineffective in two cases. The total remission rate was 97.53%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (77.78%, p< 0.01). The implantation of 5‐FU sustained‐release particles along the cardiac tangent direction was safe, and demonstrated good efficacy and fewer adverse reactions. Thus, this method could be ideal for the treatment of MPCE.

What value does information technology (IT) create in governments and how does it do so? While business value of IT has been extensively studied in the information systems field, this has not been the case for public value. This is in part due to a lack of theoretical bases for investigating IT value in the public sector. To address this issue, we present a conceptual model on the mechanism by which IT resources contribute to value creation in the public-sector organizations. We propose that the relationship between IT resources and organizational performance in governments is mediated by organizational capabilities and develop a theoretical model that delineates the paths from IT resources to organizational performance, drawing upon public-value management theory. This theory asserts that public managers, on behalf of the public, should actively strive to generate greater public value, as managers in the private sector seek to achieve greater private business value. On the basis of the review of public-value management literature, we suggest that the following five organizational capabilities mediate the relationship between IT resources and public value – public service delivery capability, public engagement capability, co-production capability, resource-building capability, and public-sector innovation capability. We argue that IT resources in public organizations can enable public managers to advance public-value frontiers by cultivating these five organizational capabilities and to overcome conflicts among competing values.

n this paper, researchers test the attenuation law of millimeter wave to expandable graphite of different concentrations with 3mm (8mm) artificial fog insertion loss test system, through laboratory tests and smoke device field tests. The results of tests proved that the attenuation performance of expandable graphite to 3mm wave is better than to 8mm wave, which could reach 18dBm and 16dBm respectively when the density is 60g/m3 and the optical path is 0.2m. Besides, the indoor attenuation performance of expandable graphite is better than outdoor performance, which means that meteorological conditions have great impact on the attenuation performance of expandable graphite in the field tests, and that the sedimentation of expandable graphite is quite speedy under wind-free circumstances. Therefore, it is suggested to extend the suspension time of expandable graphite as long as possible, so as to improve the anti-interference ability of expandable graphite smoke.

On the base of analyzing the attenuation mechanism of expanded graphite, the influence of expanding volume of expanded graphite prepared by inserting nitric acid and attenuation performance of expanded graphite at 8mm wave in different expanding temperature is studied. Attenuation performance of expanded graphite prepared in the lab and by smoke equipment is compared in the same surface density. The results show that the temperature is over 500°C when the worm-like graphite can weaken 8mm wave effectively. At 1100°C, it will be up to the maximum, 4.9dBm. It is proved that attenuation performance at 8mm wave of the expanded graphite prepared in the lab is the same as that by smoke equipment.

Firstly, this paper introduced several kinds of frequently-used thermal insulation system, which included exterior wall insulation system, doors and windows insulation system and roof insulation system. Secondly, the principle and method of the consumption simulation of the public buildings are expatiated on, including software simulation principle, design process and the setting of related parameters. Thirdly, taking a public building in Nantong, Jiangsu province as an example, the operating energy consumption of different energy-saving design schemes are simulated with the Tangent Building Energy-saving Computation (TBEC) software, and the energy saving design schemes of the public building are optimized in the view of minimizing the energy consumption. At last some references of public building energy saving design are provided.

Recently, the critical chain study has become a hot issue in the project management research field. The construction of the critical chain with multi-resource constraints is a new research subject. According to the system analysis theory and project portfolio theory, this paper discusses the creation of project portfolios based on the similarity principle and gives the definition of priority in multi-resource allocation based on quantitative analysis. A model with multi-resource constraints, which can be applied to the critical chain construction of the A-bid section in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, was proposed. Contrast analysis with the comprehensive treatment construction method and aggressive treatment construction method was carried out. This paper also makes suggestions for further research directions and subjects, which will be useful in improving the theories in relevant research fields.

The synthesis of oleic acid phytosterol esters catalyzed by Zr(SO4)2·4H2O under free medium was investigated. The reaction conditions were optimized using response surface methods (RSM) measured by the degree of esterification (DE). A quadratic response regression equation of esterification rate on independent variables of temperature, substrate molar ratio (oleic acid: phytosterol), reaction time and catalyst amount was established. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the DE of phytosterol with oleic acid reached 93% and then the phytosterol esters catalyzed in the optimum condition confirmed by the GC and FTIR analysis. It was concluded that the esterification of phytosterols and oleic acid by the green catalyst Zr(SO4)2·4H2O is very efficient and this supplied as an alternative to the green synthesis of phytosterol esters.

Walking on eggshells:A facile and controlled route is presented to prepare Pd catalyst with an eggshell structure by CO reduction deposition of PdCl2on a SiO2–Al2O3support in ethanol aqueous solution at room temperature. The as‐prepared eggshell Pd catalyst exhibits a higher activity than the uniform one.

A series of pyrrolidine–camphor‐derived organocatalysts (1–4) were designed and synthesised. These organocatalysts were used for direct α‐amination of aldehydes with dialkyl azodicarboxylates to give the desired α‐aminated products in high chemical yields (up to 92 %) and with high to excellent levels of stereoselectivity (up to >99 % ee). The reactions proceeded rapidly (within 5 min) with low catalyst loading (5 mol‐%) at ambient temperature. Enantioselective aminations of asymmetric α,α‐disubstituted aldehydes in the catalytic system were studied, with reasonable to high stereoselectivities (up to 75 % ee) being obtained. The utility of this methodology was demonstrated with the synthesis of derivatives of β‐amino‐γ‐butyrolactone and a tetrasubstitutedcyclohexane‐derived amino alcohol with high stereoselectivities. Transition models were proposed for the asymmetric α‐amination reactions; they involve hydrogen‐bond interactions between the nucleophilic enamine formed in situ and the nitrogen source.

Asymmetric α‐amination of a range of aldehydes is successfully achieved in the presence of organocatalysts containing pyrrolidine and camphor subunits tethered via sulfone or sulfonamide functionality, e.g. PCSA, PCS (in parts published previously).

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