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Organisms must make sense of a constant stream of sensory inputs from both internal and external sources which compete for attention by determining which ones are salient. The ability to detect and respond appropriately to potentially salient stimuli in the environment is critical to all organisms. However, the neural circuits that process salience are not fully understood. Here, we identify a population of glutamatergic neurons in the ventral pallidum (VP) that play a unique role in salience processing. Using cell-type-specific fiber photometry, we find that VP glutamatergic neurons are robustly activated by a variety of aversion- and reward-related stimuli, as well as novel social and non-social stimuli. Inhibition of the VP glutamatergic neurons reduces the ability to detect salient stimuli in the environment, such as aversive cue, novel conspecific and novel object. Besides, VP glutamatergic neurons project to both the lateral habenula (LHb) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Together, our findings demonstrate that the VP glutamatergic neurons participate in salience processing and therefore provide a new perspective on treating several neuropsychiatric disorders, including dementia and psychosis.

Precise monitoring of internal temperature is vital for thermal homeostasis in mammals. For decades, warm-sensitive neurons (WSNs) within the preoptic area (POA) were thought to sense internal warmth, using this information as feedback to regulate body temperature (T

In the age of information explosion, image classification is the key technology of dealing with and organizing a large number of image data. Currently, the classical image classification algorithms are mostly based on RGB images or grayscale images, and fail to make good use of the depth information about objects or scenes. The depth information in the images has a strong complementary effect, which can enhance the classification accuracy significantly. In this paper, we propose an image classification technology using principal component analysis based on multi-view depth characters. In detail, firstly, the depth image of the original image is estimated; secondly, depth characters are extracted from the RGB views and the depth view separately, and then the reducing dimension operation through the PCA is implemented. Eventually, the SVM is applied to image classification. The experimental results show that the method has good performance.

Flexible composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) are fabricated by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), followed by physical doping with ionic bond modified nanoparticles (IBNs) based on nanoscale silica. In reference to PEGMA-PEGDA cross-linked framework prepared by ultraviolet light irradiation directly, RAFT polymerization endows the electrolyte membranes with excellent flexibility, and further increase in yield stress and tensile modulus achieved with IBNs adding in the system. CPEs obey Arrhenius law and its ionic conductivity is found to be maximum of 6.77 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C, but that of the electrolytes consisted of the same molar feeding ratio of PEGMA/PEGDA without IBNs blending is 3.76 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C, indicating that the loading of IBNs improves the ionic conductivity, due to the elevated chain mobility. Besides, the electrochemical stability of CPEs is promoted in comparison with the traditional linear poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) based electrolytes. Moreover, the electrolyte membrane exhibits good cycling performance with lithium iron phosphate and retained 94.3% of capacity after 40 charge-discharge cycles, demonstrating the great potential of this kind of CPEs prepared in this study as electrolyte materials for battery systems.

Warming greatly reshapes carbon cycle of peatlands where soil is water saturated with anaerobic condition prevailing all the year round. However, little is known about the response of anaerobic mineralization of peatlands carbon to global warming, especially when considering the difference of soil from above water table (AWT) and below water table (BWT). This study measured variations in soil carbon anaerobic mineralization as a function of warming and depth by sampling 100-cm soil columns in Zoige plateau. Warming enhanced carbon anaerobic mineralization significantly with different increments among the whole depths. The response of CO2-C and CH4-C to warming varied with depth: at surface soil, both CO2-C and CH4-C emission increased with higher increment; at deep soil, CO2-C emission increased with small increment and CH4-C emission decreased. Substrate availability influenced carbon anaerobic mineralization rate and pathway. Substantial resistant carbon at deep soil lowered CO2 increment and varied CH4 production pathway. The temperature sensitivity of peat carbon anaerobic mineralization varied with depth, suggesting the heterogeneous distribution of soil substrate among the whole depths. AWT soil was higher in temperature sensitivity than BWT soil for the substantial simple carbon and higher microbial/enzyme activity at AWT. BWT soil was a major contributor of the amount of carbon emission and the total increased carbon caused by warming. Further, for the management of peatlands, we should conduct advanced research by focusing more towards the soil of whole depth, especially on the temperature sensitivity of AWT soil and the contribution to total carbon emission of BWT soil.

Arabidopsis thaliana copper-zinc superoxide dismutase 1 (AtSOD1) is a typical metalloenzyme conferring cellular protection against the excessive accumulation of toxic reactive oxygen species, and is therefore considered as a critical protein. However, the structure and function of the vital amino acids around the active site of AtSOD1 remain poorly understood. Herein, the coordinated geometry of the catalytic center in AtSOD1 was reconstructed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique, and it was found to be composed of copper and four histidine (H) residues using site-directed mutagenesis. Analysis of the mutants showed that H45 and H62 play essential roles in the catalytic reaction, and H119 plays an accessary role in facilitating substrate or proton transfer. The results indicated that the redox change of the Cu ion and the overall enzymatic activity of the protein were sustained by the H45-Cu-H62 core structure. In contrast, the residue H47 showed nearly no effect on the SOD catalytic activity. These data should contribute to a deeper understanding of the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme, and provide a new approach for the effective molecular modification of copper/zinc SODs to facilitate further research in this field.

The nervous and immune systems are closely entwined to maintain the immune balance in health and disease. Here, we showed that LPS can activate suprarenal and celiac ganglia (SrG-CG) neurons and upregulate NPY expression in rats. Single-cell sequencing analysis revealed that knockdown of the NPY gene in SrG-CG altered the proliferation and activation of splenic lymphocytes. In a neuron and splenocyte coculture system and in vivo experiments, neuronal NPY in SrG-CG attenuated the splenic immune response. Notably, we demonstrated that neuronal NPF in Drosophila exerted a conservative immunomodulatory effect. Moreover, numerous SNPs in NPY and its receptors were significantly associated with human autoimmune diseases, which was further supported by the autoimmune disease patients and mouse model experiments. Together, we demonstrated that NPY is an ancient language for nervous-immune system crosstalk and might be utilized to alleviate inflammatory storms during infection and to modulate immune balance in autoimmune diseases.

Warming and human activities have caused peatland degradation and water table drawdown, which greatly influence the physicochemical characteristics of soil at different depths. How water table drawdown affects soil physicochemical characteristics is not well understood for the Tibetan Plateau, especially the Zoige peatlands. This study measured variations in C/N ratio, ash content, δ13C, and humification index (HI) as a function of water table drawdown and depth by sampling 100-cm soil columns from three sites with different water tables in the Zoige peatlands. C/N ratio decreased while ash content and HI increased with water table drawdown, suggesting greater decomposition of soil organic matter at sites with a lower water table. The response of soil physicochemical characteristics to water table drawdown varied with depth: in the layer above the water table, C/N ratio did not vary, ash content decreased and HI increased; in the layer below the water table, C/N ratio and HI decreased, while ash content increased. The physicochemical characteristics above the water table were influenced mainly by new carbon input, while the characteristics below the water table were influenced mainly by decomposition. The depth profile of C/N ratio, ash content and HI aligned well with peat formation and decomposition and may be indicators of peat degradation. δ13C did not vary with water table drawdown, depth, or decomposition process. These insights into the variation of soil physicochemical characteristics with depths and water table may help elucidate the processes behind peatland degradation.

The grafted polymer modified by ionic bond was synthesized by a simple and scalable method based on sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) and the monoamine-terminated PEO derivative (M2070). Porous polymer electrolytes (PPEs) containing the grafted polymer and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) were prepared by phase inversion process. The dense pores distributed in the polymer matrix, which could store liquid electrolyte and provide enough channels for ionic conduction, and the ionic conductivity of PPEs was thus improved effectively. Furthermore, the effect of the mass fraction of grafted polymer on porosity, electrolyte uptake, and ionic conductivity was investigated. The PPE membrane with 30 wt% grafted polymer (PPE-3) exhibited the better pore distribution and superior electrolyte uptake compared with pure PVDF membrane, which resulted in the remarkable ionic conductivity (3.05 × 10−3 S cm−1) of the corresponding PPE-3 at 30 °C. The contact angle of PPE-3 (14.9°) decreased significantly owing to the good affinity of grafted polymer with electrolyte. The LiFePO4/PPE-3/Li cell showed a stable charge/discharge performance with initial discharge capacity of 141 mA h g−1 at room temperature and 96% capacity retention after 130 cycles. Those results suggest that PPEs containing the grafted polymer via ionic band can be promising electrolyte candidates for high-performance lithium ion batteries.

The rapid development and application of nanotechnology have led to increasing concern about the environmental implications of released nanomaterials and potential risks to public health and aquatic ecosystems. Information on the joint effect of nanomaterials and co-existing contaminants such as heavy metals is still inadequate. Our work investigated the effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles (NPs; nano-Al2O3) on the toxic effect of Pb in the unicellular marine phytoplankton Isochrysis galbana. Results showed that a dose–response effect of nano-Al2O3 was found. Significant enhancement of fluorescence in cell cytoplasm rather than cell membrane occurred in the presence of nano-Al2O3, indicating that nano-Al2O3 can penetrate cells and affect the fluorescence emitted from the chloropigments inside them. The presence of nano-Al2O3 has no impact on the toxic effect of Pb at an NP concentration of 1 mg/L but increased that at NP concentrations of 10 mg/L and 100 mg/L. A synergistic effect was also found for the toxic effect of Pb in the presence of 10 mg/L nano-Al2O3. The presence of 100 mg/L nano-Al2O3 significantly increased the bio-uptake of Pb in the range of 0.25 mg/L to 2.0 mg/L Pb, and the maximum accumulated Pb in algae can reach up to 18.22 ng/105 cells with 100 mg/L nano-Al2O3 compared with Pb alone at 2.0 mg/L(12.53 ng/105 cells). Inside cells, Pb loaded onto nano-Al2O3 can be more toxic than the same amount of free Pb species. The results of toxicity tests and accumulated Pb in algae imply that, in addition to the total Pb cell content, the bioavailability of Pb inside algae should be taken into consideration in evaluating the joint toxicity effect. Our work enhances understanding of the combined toxicity of NPs and co-existing heavy metals and is of practical significance in the natural environment.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing using visible light has attracted great attention for high sensitivity with low undesired background noise. A CuO electrode with nanowires on Cu foil was synthesized by thermal oxidation and the devices was used to explore the PEC sensing for ethanol detection under visible light. The morphology, composition, optical, and PEC properties of CuO nanowires have been systematically investigated. The results showed that the CuO nanowires were present on the top surface of specimens with single phase and the thick interface layer were made of Cu2O between CuO nanowires and Cu foil substrate. The CuO nanowires on surface contained two types of nanowire (bend CuO Nws and vertical CuO Nws). With the temperature increasing, the Nws of first type decreased, and the Nws of second type started to increase. When the Cu foil were annealed at 700 °C, densely bundled CuO Nws array was vertically fabricated on the foil. The band gaps of CuO nanowires annealing at 400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C, and 700 °C, were 1.715, 1.714, 1.698, 1.691 eV, indicating that CuO nanowires annealing at 700 °C can obtain the highest photoreponse. The photocurrent of the vertical CuO nanowires array annealing at 700 °C were calculated with 668 μA cm−2 about 2-fold, 6-fold and 10-fold higher than that to CuO nanowires annealing at 600 °C, 500 °C and 400 °C, respectively. Combing with the morphology of CuO nanowires annealing at different temperature, the vertivally-aligned nanowires array at 700°Cwas attractive than others. This vertical CuO nanowires device prepared at 700 °C is visible-light irradiation and shows the fast photoresponse, present a detection limit of 23.2 nM, which is much lower than those with the similar configurations reported previously. It is probable that the vertical CuO nanowires array may be applied as the proposed PEC sensor to determine ethanol in further.

To explore the surgical methods and clinical effect of endoscopic endonasal approaches for the treatment of invasive pituitary adenomas (IPAs).A retrospective analysis was made of the clinical data of 74 patients (75 procedures) with IPAs treated by different endoscopic endonasal approaches at the Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University from May 2014 to August 2017. The data include clinical manifestation, imaging features, surgical methods and complications, resection rate, cure rate, prognosis, and complications in different Knosp classifications and Hardy stages. The transcavernous approach was used in 47 patients, the lateral-cavernous approach was used in 14 patients, the tuberculum sella planum approach was used in 8 patients, and the diaphragma sellae open or dorsum sellae cut approach was used in 6 patients.The gross total resection (GTR) rate was 70.7% (53 patients) and tumor residue rate was 29.3% (22 patients). GTR rate for pituitary adenoma according to Knosp classification was 89.3% in grade 3 and 28.6% in grade 4. The biology cure rate was 75.0% and 23.8%, respectively. There was significance between them (P 0.05). In addition, the GTR rate of Hardy stage was 90.5% in stage C, 90.0% in stage D, 26.1% in stage E, and the biology cure rate was 80.1%, 75.0%, and 13.0%, respectively. There was significance among them (P 0.05) Postoperative severe complications included 9 patients (12.0%) with cerebrospinal fluid leaks, 26 patients (34.7%)with electrolyte imbalance, 36 patients (48.0%) with transient diabetes insipidus, 22 patients (29.3%) with hypopituitarism, 2 patients (2.7%) with permanent hypopituitarism, and 2 patients (2.7%)with epistaxis. The follow-up lasted 2-41 months (average, 19.3 months). No patient experienced recurrence after GTR, 1 patient undergoing subtotal experienced recurrence and underwent reoperation, 3 patients underwent postoperative Gamma Knife treatment, and 2 patients with refractory IPA were given temozolomide and metformin chemotherapy.According to the invasiveness of IPA, choosing the appropriate endoscopic surgical approach is helpful in removing tumors and reducing complications.

TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) could adversely impact aquatic ecosystems. However, the aggregation of these NPs could attenuate this effect. In this work, the biological effects of TiO2 NPs on a marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana were investigated. The aggregation kinetics of TiO2 NPs under different conditions was also investigated to determine and understand these effects. Results showed that, though TiO2 NPs had no obvious impact on the size and reproducibility of algal cells under testing conditions, they caused a negative effect on algal chlorophyll, which led to a reduction in photosynthesis. Furthermore, fast aggregation of TiO2 NPs occurred under all conditions, especially at the pH close to the pHzpc. Increasing ionic strength and NP concentration also enhanced the aggregation rate. The aggregation and the following sedimentation of TiO2 NPs reduced their adverse effects on I. galbana.

In the turbine passage, the secondary flow makes the film cooling jets driven from the pressure side to the suction side, resulting in the corner region of the pressure surface is difficult to cool. In this paper, end-wall film cooling performance and aerothermal performance with the three cases, which include the cylindrical cooling scheme, the swirling cooling scheme and the compound cooling scheme, at different axial positions of the turbine passage are studied respectively. Results show that significant improving the cooling performance for the swirling case at corner region of pressure surface is found. Furthermore, its overall adiabatic averaged cooling effectiveness at different axial positions are all increased. Compared with the compound and cylindrical cases, the swirling cooling effectiveness of the first row is increased by 77.4% and 63%, respectively, at M = 2.2. The physical mechanism of the improvement end-wall cooling performance is that the pair anti-vortex produced by the swirling coolant are twisted and squeezed each other, which makes the coolant injections attached to the wall and achieves a larger coolant coverage in lateral direction. Although the swirling cooling scheme increases the heat transfer of the endwall, it still has the best overall endwall cooling performance.

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), an important biological process to reduce global methane emissions to the atmosphere, can utilize methane as an electron donor to reduce sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, iron, manganese, AQDS (9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate), etc.; thus, AOM has been a hot topic in global climate change research in recent years. In addition, nitrogen deposition of terrestrial ecosystems can input more nitrogen to nitrogen-limited peatlands, which could impact the AOM process. However, the effect of nitrogen addition on AOM is not well studied. Here, we investigated the effects of two forms of nitrogen on the vertical distribution (0–100 cm) of AOM in the Zoige peatlands (China) using an anaerobic incubation experiment. The results show that the concentrations of inorganic nitrogen species changed with nitrogen addition, but it did not significantly promote the potential of AOM. The cumulative AOM of treatments without nitrogen (CK) and ammonium chloride (Nred) was 2343.43 ± 18.96 µg·g−1 and 2340.76 ± 16.11 µg·g−1, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of sodium nitrate (Nox) addition treatment (2098.13 ± 13.59 µg·g−1). In addition, the potential of AOM increased with depth, but different soil layers had different responses to the two forms of nitrogen, which could reflect the variable need for different forms of nitrogen in the different soil layers. The soil water content (SWC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), iron content (Fe3+), and pH played important roles in the potential of AOM in the Zoige peatlands. Overall, our results found that nitrogen addition did not increase the potential of AOM, but instead had an inhibitory effect on it. This study provides a basis for understanding the response of AOM to nitrogen addition in peatlands, which has important implications for global climate change.

Solid polymer electrolytes based on a novel comb-like copolymer, polyethylene glycol-grafted sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK- g -PEG), was designed and synthesized through the reaction between partially hydroxyl-functionalized sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) and epoxy-functionalized PEG. The resulting SPEEK- g -PEG was fully characterized by FTIR, 1 H NMR, TGA, and DSC. All data proved the successful grafting of PEG onto the SPEEK main chain. The resulting comb-like structure effectively inhibited the crystallization of PEG. After doping with a lithium salt, the obtained SPEEK- g -PEG polymer electrolyte membrane showed an improved ionic conductivity. The effects of chain length and PEG grafting ratio on the ionic conductivity of SPEEK- g -PEG were also investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Moreover, the effect of this comb-like structure on increasing the ionic conductivity is higher than that of SPEEK/PEG blends, making these comb-like SPEEK- g -PEG copolymers attractive for an application in LIBs.

This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of sublobar resection for the treatment of pulmonary aspergilloma compared with lobectomy.Patients with pulmonary aspergilloma who underwent lobectomy or sublobar resection in our department between March 2007 and December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Data were collected for patient demographic characteristics, medical history, preoperative investigations, perioperative findings, postoperative conditions, and recurrence status. Propensity-matched comparative analyses were performed to adjust for potential differences of patients' baseline characteristics between the groups.A total of 96 patients underwent lobectomy, 46 patients underwent attempted sublobar resection. The median follow-up time is 53 months. No recurrence was found in either group. Three patients (3.1%) in the lobectomy group required reoperation for bleeding. The patients who underwent sublobar resection had less underlying lung disease (p = 0.031), smaller lesions (p = 0.033), and were more likely to have been treated with video-assisted thoracic surgery (p0.001). These differences were eliminated by propensity score matching (46 pairs were successfully matched). Comparative analyses in matched groups demonstrate that there was no marked difference in the volume and duration of chest drainage or the length of postoperative hospital stay. However, the patients with sublobar resection had shorter operation time (p = 0.004), less blood loss (p = 0.042), and less postoperative complication (p = 0.048).Sublobar resection performed for small simple pulmonary aspergilloma and selected complex pulmonary aspergilloma has a low recurrence rate and confers perioperative advantages compared with lobectomy.

Spirulina was used for the first time as a raw nitrogen-doped porous carbon source to synthesize carbon/sulphur (carbon/S) composite cathodes for lithium-sulphur batteries. The composites consisting of sulphur and spirulina-derived carbon with micro- and meso-pores showed an obvious carbon encapsulating sulphur structure. The carbon/S cathodes exhibited much better electrochemical performance than pristine sulphur, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 662 mAh g−1 with nearly 60% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 1 C current density (1670 mA g−1). The improved electrochemical stability of the composites can be ascribed to the synergistic effects between the encapsulation of sulphur by spirulina-derived carbon and adsorption of polysulfides on N doped carbon lattice. These effects successfully prevented or retarded the shuttle effect of sulphur cathodes.

One of the central questions in the characterization of enzyme inhibitors is determining the mode of inhibition (MOI). Classically, this is done with a number of low-throughput methods in which inhibition models are fitted to the data. The ability to rapidly characterize the MOI for inhibitors arising from high-throughput screening in which hundreds to thousands of primary inhibitors may need to be characterized would greatly help in lead selection efforts. Here we describe a novel method for determining the MOI of a compound without the need for curve fitting of the enzyme inhibition data. We provide experimental data to demonstrate the utility of this new high-throughput MOI classification method based on nonparametric analysis of the activity derived from a small matrix of substrate and inhibitor concentrations (e.g., from a 4S × 4I matrix). Lists of inhibitors from four different enzyme assays are studied, and the results are compared with the previously described IC50-shift method for MOI classification. The MOI results from this method are in good agreement with the known MOI and compare favorably with those from the IC50-shift method. In addition, we discuss some advantages and limitations of the method and provide recommendations for utilization of this MOI classification method.

Morphology‒controlled porous Co3O4 electrode materials with rugby‒shaped and spherical structures are synthesized through a facile solvothermal method followed by annealing treatment, and the regulation of the morphologies is accomplished by simply adjusting the concentration of the reactants. According to the N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm curves, the samples have a relatively rich mesoporous structure, and the Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) pore size distributions are found at 2.5 and 32.8 nm for the Co3O4 sample with rugby‒shaped structure (denoted as R–Co3O4), and 2.2 nm for the spherical Co3O4 sample (denoted as S–Co3O4). Simultaneously, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of the R–Co3O4 and S–Co3O4 samples are 31.3 and 26.7 m2 g−1, respectively. Electrochemical properties of the samples as anode materials for Li‒ion batteries show that the R–Co3O4 electrode material has higher specific capacity, better rate performance and superior cycle stability than the S–Co3O4 for the higher specific surface area, richer pore size distribution, nanosized particles, lower charge transfer resistance and better reaction reversibility.

Honeycomb regenerators are widely used in regenerative burners to preheat combustion air with exhausted flue gases and their unsteady conjugated heat transfer were investigated by two-dimensional numerical simulations in the literatures. In the present work, a three-dimensional numerical model is constructed with the CFD package ANSYS Fluent for the ceramic honeycomb regenerator with small square openings. In this model, the Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the fluid velocity and user-defined functions are compiled to express the alternate flow of air and flue gas in the opposite directions. To minimize the computation load, the unit cell is taken to stand for the whole device and the radiation heat transfer is ignored. The numerical model is validated by comparing the computed results with the numerical and experimental data released in the literature. With the current numerical investigation, the heat transfer mechanism in the regenerator is analyzed, and the effects of regenerator length and switching time on the performances of heat transfer and flow resistances are investigated under the conditions of different fluid flowrates.

One of the principal functions of physical barriers between the blood and central nervous system protects system (i.e., blood brain barrier and blood-spinal cord barrier) is the protection from toxic and pathogenic agents in the blood. Disruption of blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) plays a key role in spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCIRI). Following SCIRI, the permeability of the BSCB increases. Maintaining the integrity of the BSCB alleviates the spinal cord injury after spinal cord ischemia. This review summarizes current knowledge of the structure and function of the BSCB and its changes following SCIRI, as well as the prevention and cure of SCIRI and the role of the BSCB.

The blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) is the physiological and metabolic substance diffusion barrier between blood circulation and spinal cord tissues. This barrier plays a vital role in maintaining the microenvironment stability of the spinal cord. When the spinal cord is subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, the structure and function of the BSCB is disrupted, further destroying the spinal cord homeostasis and ultimately leading to neurological deficit. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is an approach in which interspersed cycles of preconditioning ischemia is followed by reperfusion to tissues/organs to protect the distant target tissues/organs against subsequent lethal ischemic injuries. RIPC is an innovation of the treatment strategies that protect the organ from I/R injury. In this study, we review the morphological structure and function of the BSCB, the injury mechanism of BSCB resulting from spinal cord I/R, and the effect of RIPC on it.

In aquatic ecosystems, mercuric compounds are considered to be highly toxic to a great variety of aquatic biota ranging from bacteria to fishes. In the present study, the effects of different concentrations (0, 2.0, 6.0, 10.0, 14.0 and 18.0 μg·L − 1 ) of Hg 2 + on the life table demography of Brachionus calyciflorus were investigated at three densities (1.0 × 10 6 , 2.0 × 10 6 and 4.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 ) of Scenedesmus obliquus . The results showed that compared to the controls, Hg 2 + at 14.0 and 18.0 μg·L − 1 significantly decreased both the average lifespan and the life expectancy at hatching, Hg 2 + at 2.0–18.0 μg·L − 1 shortened the generation time, and Hg 2 + at 18.0 μg·L − 1 decreased the net reproductive rate of B. calyciflorus cultured at 1.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus . Increase in algal food level reduced the negative effects of high concentrations of Hg 2 + on survival, reproduction and population growth of the rotifers. Hg 2 + at 6.0 μg·L − 1 , and 6.0 and 18.0 μg·L − 1 increased the intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers cultured at 1.0 × 10 6 and 2.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus , respectively. But Hg 2 + at 18.0 μg·L − 1 decreased the intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers cultured at 4.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus . Significantly nominal concentration–response relationships existed between Hg 2 + concentration and each of all the five life history variables of B. calyciflorus cultured at 1.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus , the generation time of the rotifers cultured at 2.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus , as well as the intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers cultured at 4.0 × 10 6 cells·mL − 1 of S. obliquus . Among all the life history variables, generation time was the most sensitive to mercury pollution. Since algal levels chosen in the present study are much higher than those available in natural waters, except in eutrophic water bodies, the effects of mercury on survival, reproduction and population growth of the rotifers in natural waters may be more severe than those extrapolated from the present study.

Developing new visible light-triggered fluorescent molecular photoswitches is highly desirable for potential application in the fields of photoresponsive optoelectronics and photopharmacology. In this contribution, two novel tetra-/triphenylethene-dithienylethene-BF2bdk triads (TDB1 and TDB2) have been designed and prepared by appending tetra-/triphenylethene and BF2bdk moieties at the termini of dithienylethene unit. Before irradiation with blue light at 460-470 nm, they showed an intense emission in solution and in the PMMA film state, suggesting that the AIE effect of tetra-/triphenylethene was inhibited, and functioned only as electron-donating groups. Moreover, upon alternating irradiation with blue/NIR light, TDB1 and TDB2 displayed effective fluorescent switching behaviors and NIR photochromism in toluene and the PMMA film. Therefore, they would be utilized as novel visible light-triggered switches integrated in smart optoelectronic materials. The DFT calculations further validate the differences for their optical properties in the experiments.

Tremendous studies were focused on the influence of single parameter on the properties of cladded coating, while scarce efforts have been devoted to investigate the coating performance affected by specific energy. Herein, the effects of laser specific energy in the range 40.0–88.9 J/mm2 on the morphology, microstructure and properties of TiN/Ti3AlN-Ti3Al composite coating were analyzed. Results revealed that the dilution rate of the coating increased with increasing of specific energy, the coating at 58.3 J/mm2 exhibited the least defects with dilution rate was about 14.0%. The coating was mainly composed of TiN, Ti3AlN and Ti3Al phases, the amount of Ti3Al and TiN decreased slightly as the specific energy increased to 58.3 J/mm2, whereas the Ti3Al and TiN decreased remarkable when the specific energy increased further. Comparatively, when the specific energy reached 58.3 J/mm2, the coating exhibited uniform distribution of TiN and finer microstructure, and core-rim structure formed in the coating. As a result, the microhardness of the composite coating was approximately 3 times higher than that of the substrate and the wear resistance was improved remarkably under optimum specific energy 58.3 J/mm2. This study provided an insight for the development of high-performance Ti3Al matrix composite coating.

Recently, spinel-type LiMn2O4 (LMO) cathode has attracted great attention to mitigate manganese dissolution especially at elevated temperature. In this work, LMO with surface specific facets and different morphologies are successfully controlled synthesized via a facile solvothermal-lithiation method. It suggests that microspheres, micro-tubes and hybrid sphere-interconnected-tube microstructures with different surface lattice orientation using urea, oxalic acid and mixture of urea and oxalic acid as precipitants at solvothermal stage, respectively. Specifically, LMO microspheres (LMO-MS) display (111) facets and the micro-tubular LMO materials (LMO-MT) exhibit the high index lattice (311). It is more interesting is that hybrid sphere-interconnected-tube microstructures (LMO-MST) are clearly observed the densest (111) facets at the micro-spherical surface and a new (111) plane appearance on the surface of microtubes. LMO-MST demonstrates excellent cycling performance (84.3 % capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C) and superior rate capability up to 10 C (124.2 mAh g−1 at 10 C). The electrochemical performances of LMO-MST cathodes are also investigated at elevated (55°C) and lower (-5°C) temperatures, under which LMO-MST still maintains optimal cycling stability. The superior electrochemical performance of LMO-MST cathodes can be attributed to the unique sphere-bridged-tube seamless outer structure and the preferentially exposed stable facets on the crystal surface.

The hadal trenches (>6000 m) are considered to be ultimate sinks of organic carbon (OC) from biosphere. However, highly spatial heterogeneity of geographic background and organic matter in different zones make significant influences on the OC cycling, and further the carbon burial. In this study, three sediment cores were drilled across the northern Yap Trench axis (9.8–9.9°N, 138.3–138.7°E). The elemental compositions, stable carbon isotopes of organic matter, mineral-specific surface area, and grain size composition were analyzed to investigate the spatial variations of organic sources, distribution, and its degradation in the northern Yap Trench. The surface sedimentary OC (SOC) contents in the northern Yap Trench increase from 0.25% at abyssal depth (4435 m) to 0.50% at hadal depth (~6674 m). Higher OC content (0.27% ± 0.08%) and sedimentation rate (5.8 cm kyr−1) occur in the station on the gradual oceanward slope (~4.2°) compared to those on the steep landward slope (~10°) (0.17% ± 0.13%, 0.52–1.8 cm kyr−1), suggesting enhanced accumulation of OC on the gradual slope. The allochthonous OC (i.e. marine phytoplankton-derived (55% ± 7%) and terrestrial (16% ± 8%)) dominates the SOC pool on the oceanward slope, whereas autochthonous microbe reworked OC contributes more than 50% in the steep landward slope, based on the evaluation of a three-end-member mixing model using δ13C composition and OC/N ratios as source markers. Correspondingly, radiocarbon age of SOC in the gradual slope is ~700 years younger than that in the steep slope with similar depth, indicating that the relatively fresh allochthonous OC is selectively deposited on the gradual slope. A multi-G degradation model demonstrates that OC degradation rates in the northern Yap Trench range from 0.00015 yr−1 to 0.00068 yr−1, which can be comparable with abyssal plain (3000–6000 m) and are lower than those of neritic environments (