Search

A facile and sustainable approach for the amination of benzothiazoles with KSeCN using iodine as the catalyst in water has been disclosed under transition-metal free conditions. The reaction proceeded smoothly to afford various primary 2-amino benzothiazoles in up to 96% yield. A series of control experiments were performed, suggesting a ring-opening mechanism was involved via a radical process. This protocol provides efficient synthesis of primary 2-aminobenzothiazoles

Despite the progress made with the recent clinical use of the anticancer compound cabazitaxel, the efficacy in patients remains unsatisfactory, largely due to the high in vivo toxicity of the agent. Therefore, strategies that achieve favorable outcomes and good safety profiles will greatly expand the repertoire of this potent agent. Here, we propose a combinatorial strategy to reform the cabazitaxel agent and the use of sequential supramolecular nanoassembly with liposomal compositions to assemble a prodrug-formulated liposome, termed lipoprodrug, for safe and effective drug delivery. Reconstructing cabazitaxel with a polyunsaturated fatty acid (i.e., docosahexaenoic acid) via a hydrolyzable ester bond confers the generated prodrug with the ability to be readily integrated into the lipid bilayer of liposomes for systemic administration. The resulting lipoprodrug scaffold showed significantly sustained drug release profiles and improved pharmacokinetics in rats as well as a reduction in systemic toxicity in vivo. Notably, the lipoprodrug outperformed free cabazitaxel in terms of in vivo therapeutic efficacy in multiple separate tumor xenograft-bearing mouse models, one of which was a patient-derived xenograft model. Surprisingly, the lipoprodrug was able to reduce tumor invasiveness and reprogram the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment by proinflammatory macrophage polarization. Our findings validate this lipoprodrug approach as a simple yet effective strategy for transforming the highly toxic cabazitaxel agent into an efficacious nanomedicine with excellent in vivo tolerability. This approach could also be applied to rescue other drugs or drug candidates that have failed in clinical trials due to poor pharmacokinetic properties or unacceptable toxicity in patients.

A novel nonlinear optical switch based on a single mode fiber – graded index multimode fiber (GIMF) – single mode fiber (SMS) twined into polarization controller (PC) was proposed as a saturable absorber (SA), to generate ultrashort pulse in fiber laser. The SA device geometry, where a sandwiched GIMF section spliced to two standard SMF at both ends of GIMF, was coiled into a PC. By properly tuning the paddles of PC, mode-locking can be easily realized and the nonlinear saturable absorption characteristics of SMS-SA was changed. In the experiment, the modulation depth of the SMS-SA containing 0.6 m GIMF can be observed 9%, 10.5%, 21.7%, respectively. Based on SMS-SA mode-locking, the stable ultrafast pulse duration of 559 fs, with the FWHM bandwidth of 6.84 nm were generated. The fundamental repetition rate of 25 MHz and wavelength-tuning range of 14 nm can be obtained by adjusting the paddles. The SMS-SA excellent tunable nonlinear optical properties and all-fiber structure have strong potential application in the field of ultrafast photonics.

MDG-1, a β-D-fructan polysaccharide extracted from the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus, had preventive effect against obesity and hyperlipidemia in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mice. Interestingly, MDG-1, as an inulin-type fructan, is poorly absorbed and its possible mechanism against lipid disturbance remained unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the benefits of MDG-1 treatment on NAFLD model and elucidate mechanism from the perspective of gut-liver axis, especially about gut microbiota, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and hepatic lipid metabolism. In this study, after two months HFD feeding, C57BL/6J male mice were randomly divided into HFD group and various MDG-1 dose group. Results showed that MDG-1 markedly blocked weight gain, and ameliorated lipid accumulation, liver damage and macrovesicular steatosis. MDG-1 could restore gut microbiota balance and increase relative abundance of beneficial bacteria, especially SCFAs-producing bacteria. After degradation and utilization by the gut microbiota, MDG-1 could increase the contents of acetic acid and valeric acid, thus regulating inflammatory responses and hepatic lipid metabolism. Specifically, MDG-1 enhanced expression of hepatic phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, accompanying by regulating hepatic adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation, thereby inhibiting progress of NAFLD. Our findings may provide new ways in the treatment of hyperlipidemia and lipid-related metabolic syndrome.

The trap-assisted photomultiplication (PM) organic photodetectors (OPDs) are very attractive for achieving high sensitivity photodetection, with external quantum efficiency (EQE) in excess of 100%. A classic structure of PM-type OPDs has a poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT): Phenyl-C70-butyric acid methyl ester (PC70BM) blend active layer, made with the weight ratio of P3HT to PC70BM of 100:1. The presence of a low PC70BM content in the P3HT:PC70BM blend layer forms isolated PC70BM domains serving as the defect sites to trap the photogenerated electrons. The trapped electrons induce a strong interfacial band bending at the organic/metal contact (Al) interface assisting in an enhanced hole injection via tunneling effect. In this work, we report a comprehensive study to understand the effect of the distribution of the photogenerated charge carriers on performance of the PM OPDs, made with a P3HT:PC70BM active layer with different layer thicknesses, for optimizing the PM effect. The combination effect of both the exciton generation and carrier loss properties affects the distribution of the photogenerated charge carriers and hence the PM processes in the OPDs. The optical properties of the PM OPDs were simulated. It reveals that a stronger exciton generation occurs near the organic/Al interface in PM OPD with a thinner active layer. The photoluminescence and surface morphology measurements suggested that a 230 nm thick active layer with a smooth surface had the lowest nonradiative loss. An optimal EQE of 105569% and a photoresponsivity of 344 A/W were obtained for a PM OPD with a 205 nm thick active layer, which are about 330% higher than that of the OPD with a 325 nm thick active layer. Due to the tradeoff between EQE and dark current, the OPD with a thin active layer (205 nm) yields a maximum detectivity of 1.87 × 1013 Jones at the short wavelength range while the OPD with a thick active layer (325 nm) has the highest detectivity of 2.32 × 1013 Jones at the long wavelength range. Our work contributes to the development of high performance low-cost PM OPDs for detecting weak light signals.

Minimization of the internal strain in growing high quality strained multiple quantum wells (MQWs) has attracted enormous attention due to their high potential with optimized crystal quality for next-generation diode lasers technology applications. Among which the alternative multilayer structures with high performance of the strain quantum wells are prerequisite in the quantum cascade lasers and vertical cavity lasers. The periodic structure with an appropriate design strain-balanced MQWs are imperative for high performance devices. In present work, the strain compensated InGaAs/GaAsP multiple quantum well structures are developed. By engineering the composition of phosphorus in the barrier layer, i.e., 0.15 at.%, the best performance was achieved with high crystal quality via modulating the indium and phosphorus. Our systematic theoretical and experimental studies are performed upon the strain-balanced values investigations by complementary atomic force microscope and photoluminescence characterizations. The influence of variables on the measurement results and the internal correlated impact factors are discussed in detail. With tailored strain compensated structure, our developed InGaAs/GaAsP MQW opens new opportunities for innovative applications with optimized integration in next-generation diode lasers field.

Biochar can significantly enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) and crop yield, and it is therefore the preferred material for soil improvement in medium-low yield fields. In this study, a field experiment was designed to explore the impacts of biochar application on SOC content and fraction composition. Results indicated that incorporation of biochar into soil increased the SOC content by 26.9%–65.3% in the surface layer (0–10 cm) and 30.3%–63.0% in the subsurface layer (10–20 cm) of soil, while water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) of the two layers was increased by 2.2–40.0% and 2.3–39.8%, respectively. Microbial biomass carbon decreased under conventional nitrogen treatments and increased with biochar addition under increased nitrogen application. The C:N value increased with biochar application, while the water-soluble C:N value of soil applied with 30 t ha−1 biochar was lower than that of soil applied with 15 t ha−1 biochar, both in the two tested soil layers. Wheat yield is evidently correlated with SOC, with the correlation coefficients of 0.919 and 0.952 in the surface and subsurface soil layers (P

A graphene-based film acted as thermal dissipation channel is introduced to design the package of high-power single-emitter laser diodes. Here we show that heat conduction of high-power laser diodes can be greatly improved via introduction of additional transverse heat dissipation channel with graphene-based film through thermal management. The finite element analysis method is employed to analyse the heat dissipation performance of laser diodes. The epi-up package coupled with graphene is proposed to reduce the thermal stress of laser diodes. In order to increase the thermal dissipation while reducing thermal stress, the effect of the temperature of the active region on account of the thickness of graphene-based film of the package of high-power single-emitter laser diodes is discussed, and the relationship between the output power of semiconductor laser and the heat dissipation effect of graphene-based film is analyzed. The results show that the junction temperature of the active region of graphene-induced package structure is reduced by 9.1 K and the thermal resistance is reduced by 1.52 K/W by using bidirectional conduction graphene-based film compared with the non-graphene-based structure.

A Pd(II)-catalyzed acetoxylation of 2H-indazoles with phenyliodine (III) diacetate (PIDA) has been successfully developed. Notably, pharmacophore 2H-indazole was utilized as an inherent directing group to access ortho-acetoxylated arylindazoles in moderate to high yields. The representative acetoxylated indazole could further undergo hydrolysis to afford the corresponding hydroxylated product.

Cyflumetofen (CYF) is a novel chiral acaricide widely used in commercial crops to control mites. The environmental risks exposed by CYF in the soil, especially at the enantiomer level, remain unclear. We found that the (+)-CYF enantiomer was preferentially degraded in acid-soil, resulting in (-)-CYF enrichment. 16S rRNA and qPCR analysis indicated that decreased bacterial abundance by 12.79-61.80% and 2.52-52.48% in (-)-CYF treatment and (+)-CYF treatment, respectively. Diversity was also decreased with (-)-CYF treatment. Interestingly, several beneficial bacteria, for instance, Alphaproteobacteria (class), Sphingomonadaceae (family), and Arthrobacter (specise) were more enriched following (-)-CYF. The abundance of N2-fixing bacteria showed a sustained reduction with time, and the decrease was 3.24-72.94% with (-)-CYF and 25.37-73.11% with (+)-CYF treatment. Compared with the (+)-CYF treatment could positively promote nitrification, while the treatment (-)-CYF significantly reduced the abundance of amoA gene; namely it significantly negatively affected the nitrification in the nitrogen cycle. Through our further research, we found that Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Lysobacter; Sphingomonas, Patescibacteria, Saccharimonadia, and Saccharimonadales showed synergistic effects with the nitrogen cycling-related genes nifH and amoA. These results contribute to a comprehensive environmental risk assessment of CYF in acid-soil at the enantiomer level.

A comparative study on the dynamic properties of dam and sieved concrete was conducted based on dynamic biaxial tensile-compressive tests. Specimens were designed to be prismatic shape with a size of 250 × 250 × 400 mm for dam concrete and 150 × 150 × 300 mm for sieved concrete, respectively. Each specimen was biaxially loaded by constant tensile-compressive (T-C) stress ratios (0:−1, 0.05:−1, 0.1:−1, 0.25:−1, 0.5:−1, and ∞) at the strain rate of 10 −5 s −1 , 10 −4 s −1 , 10 −3 s −1 , and 10 −2 s −1 by a servo-hydraulic multi-axial testing machine. The failure modes of specimens have been compared under various biaxial T-C loading conditions at each strain rate, thus the fracture surface of sieved concrete specimen is smoother than dam concrete. The dynamic strength of dam concrete is lower than sieved concrete under the same loading condition, and the ratio of them is insensitive to strain rate. The growth rates of dynamic strength for dam concrete is consistent with sieved concrete, whereas much larger than ordinary concrete. By regression of the test results, the dynamic T-C failure criterions for dam and sieved concrete were proposed after considering the combined effects of strain rate and stress ratio.

Numerical techniques in time domain are widespread in seismic and acoustic modeling. In some applications, however, frequency-domain techniques can be advantageous over the time-domain approach when narrow band results are desired, especially if multiple sources can be handled more conveniently in the frequency domain. Moreover, the medium attenuation effects can be more accurately and conveniently modeled in the frequency domain. In this paper, we present a spectral-element method (SEM) in frequency domain to simulate elastic and acoustic waves in anisotropic, heterogeneous, and lossy media. The SEM is based upon the finite-element framework and has exponential convergence because of the use of GLL basis functions. The anisotropic perfectly matched layer is employed to truncate the boundary for unbounded problems. Compared with the conventional finite-element method, the number of unknowns in the SEM is significantly reduced, and higher order accuracy is obtained due to its spectral accuracy. To account for the acoustic-solid interaction, the domain decomposition method (DDM) based upon the discontinuous Galerkin spectral-element method is proposed. Numerical experiments show the proposed method can be an efficient alternative for accurate calculation of elastic and acoustic waves in frequency domain.

This study reports photodetectors based on Cr doped CuGaO2 nanoplates. Through the Cr doped, Cr doped CuGaO2 nanoplates expressed broad-band absorption band from the ultraviolet region to the near-infrared region. The Cr doped CuGaO2 nanoplates photodetector fabricated on a rigid SiO2/Si substrate are capable of conducting broadband detection under the illumination of 365 nm, 620 nm, and 940 nm. The ZnO nanowires and Ag nanoparticles were further introduced into the Cr doped CuGaO2 nanoplates to enhance the detection performance, preparation of detection devices on quartz substrates and the responsivity value reaches 30.96 mA/W under ultraviolet light. This work provides a cost-effective pathway to develop detectors with more comprehensive and superior performance.

As is known to all, the alkyl chain is a perfect tool to regulate the microstructure of ionic liquid(IL) microemulsion directly. However, it is still a great challenge to design a new type of temperature-responsive IL with different alkyl chain length to construct the stimulus microemulsion. In this study, a new class of temperature-responsive IL microemulsions was built for the first time, which is composed by [P444,n]Br (n = 8,10,12,14,16,18), [C12mim]Br and H2O. The phase diagram and dynamic light scattering analysis revealed that the size of IL microemulsion droplets can be effective regulated by the alkyl chain length of temperature-responsive IL, so as to gain a series of organized structures. The molecular dynamic(MD) simulations were performed by a series of [P444,n]Br/[C12mim]Br/H2O mixture systems to illustrate this unique aggregation behavior of droplet. Simulation results are presented and discussed via the data of interaction energies, aggregation numbers, radial distribution functions (RDFs) and coordination numbers. The results indicate that the aggregation sizes of [C12mim]+ become smaller with the increase of alkyl chain length of tetrabutylphosphonium cation, which agrees well with experimental results. This is because that the weakened interaction of temperature-responsive IL and water molecules by the long alkyl chain could reduce the electrostatic repulsion of the polarity groups of the surfactants, which may decrease the size of the aggregate. These finding can help in further understanding the structure variation law of temperature-responsive IL microemulsions and thereby improve microemulsion theory.

Surface emitting distributed feedback (SE-DFB) semiconductor laser has become one of study hotspots due to its narrow linewidth and high power. Herein, a SE-DFB semiconductor laser is proposed based on second-order Bragg grating for feedback and out-coupling. The grating is fabricated on the confinement layer, which can realize the laser emission from the substrate and avoid the secondary epitaxial growth. The asymmetric waveguide structure is introduced into the device to increase the probability of photon and grating interaction while reducing the threshold current. The results show that when the current is 3A, the output laser power from the substrate achieves 1.22 W. In the meantime, the threshold current, voltage and slope efficiency are 300 mA, 1.73 V and 0.45 W/A, respectively. The center wavelength is 980.1 nm and the linewidth is 0.84 nm. This work has important implications for low threshold current narrow linewidth SE-DFB semiconductor lasers.

This paper investigates the distributed circumnavigation problem by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) team to enclose a target. When the AUVs do not have a global coordinate system or a common reference direction, moreover when some vehicles cannot detect the target, this circumnavigation problem becomes challenging. The above situation is common in underwater environments and is taken into account in this paper. Considering the kinematic and dynamic models of vehicles, this paper proposes a cascade-based distributed control law. The proposed control law via local relative position measurement can realize a desired circumnavigation formation around the target. Furthermore, we show that with a radius determinant mechanism, this control law enables the vehicles which do not detect the target to keep a specified pattern without exchanging the target position information. Finally, simulations are provided to illustrate the result.

Cancer nanomedicines that integrate multimodal therapies have been remarkably successful in numerous preclinical models, yet have achieved variable levels of success in the clinic because of tedious and complex manufacturing schemes. Here, we present a facile and versatile strategy to construct photoactivatable self-assembling prodrug cocktail (PSPC) nanoparticles for specific drug activation and cancer chemo-photodynamic therapy. Our strategy involves the PUFAylation of a cytotoxic agent using a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) via a self-immolation thioketal linkage and a photosensitizer via noncleavable linker. Both PUFAylated prodrugs self-assemble into PSPC therapeutic nanoassemblies without any exogenous excipients. Upon near-infrared (NIR) photoirradiation, the neighboring photosensitizer generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which spontaneously degrades the thioketal bond to activate the cytotoxic drug cabazitaxel. Consequently, light illumination produces phototoxicity in synchrony with a tumor-specific cascade reaction to accelerate the release of cabazitaxel for potentiating therapeutic synergistic effects on cancer. In multiple mouse models of melanoma xenografts, one of which is a patient-derived xenograft, PSPC nanoassemblies exert a synergistic effect to effectively eradicate tumors. More importantly, the tumor-selective nanotherapy exhibits substantially low systemic toxicity in animals. We propose that the PSPC nanotherapies created using self-assembling small-molecule prodrugs have great therapeutic potential because they enable the spatiotemporal activation of drugs in tumors while alleviating systemic drug exposure and associated toxicities.

Protein-based nanoparticles (NPs), especially albumin NPs, are effective and safe drug carriers. Non-covalently assembled albumin NPs prepared by the nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) technology possess higher tumor targeting efficiency compared to crosslinked albumin NPs. However, the production process of protein NPs by the nab technology is rather complicated and involves toxic chemicals. Moreover, the mechanisms behind the assembly of albumin induced by the nab technology are far from elucidated. We hypothesized that hydroxyl radical may facilitate the formation of protein NPs prepared by the nab technology. Based on that, a novel and green method was developed to produce protein NPs by controlled hydroxyl radical oxidation via Fenton reaction through one-step mixing. The resulted bovine serum albumin (BSA) NPs were revealed as a non-covalent assembly of BSA molecules with hydrophobic interaction as the driven force for the NPs formation. The Fenton method of BSA NPs production was facile to produce the lipophilic drug paclitaxel (PTX) loaded BSA NPs (PTX@BSA NPs), which exhibited promising antitumor efficacy, pharmacokinetic and safety profiles. Besides BSA, the Fenton method was applicable to other proteins including casein, beta-lactoglobulin and keratin. Thus, the one-step Fenton methodology offers a unique green solution to produce non-crosslinking protein NPs as effective drug carriers for biomedical applications.

It is known that traditional microemulsions are thermodynamically stable mixtures which are extensively applied in many fields. However, how to control emulsification and demulsification of microemulsions more flexibly in practical applications is still a challenge. In the present study, a new type of temperature-sensitive ionic liquid (IL) microemulsion [P4444][CF3COO]/[C12mim]Br/H2O, composed of two ILs and water molecules, was designed. Compared with traditional microemulsions, this IL microemulsion was more sensitive to the small range of temperature. Thus, the reversible emulsification and demulsification process can easily be switched by using temperature as a trigger. To elucidate the demulsification mechanism of this temperature-sensitive IL microemulsion, a series of molecular simulations were performed at different temperatures. The simulation results indicate that the interaction between [CF3COO]− and H2O is the driving force of demulsification process. In addition, the effect of [P4444][CF3COO] and [C12mim]Br concentration on the microstructure of microemulsion was investigated rigorously. The results demonstrate that contents of both the [P4444][CF3COO] and [C12mim]Br have an important influence on the demulsification behavior of IL microemulsion.

We demonstrate metal oxides CuCrO2 exhibit considerable nonlinear saturable absorption property in the near-infrared region, and fabricate typical saturable absorber (SA) by wrapping the CuCrO2 nanoparticles(NPs) into a sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) film or polyimide (PI) film separately. These SA films could keep stable exposed to air condition for several months. In the CuCrO2-NaCMC (CuCrO2-PI) Q-switched fiber laser, the pulse repetition rate increases from 10.6 kHz (48.5 kHz) to 24.6 kHz (88.7 kHz) and the pulse duration decreases from 19. 08 μ s (3. 85 μ s ) to 3. 91 μ s (1. 18 μ s ) by adjusting the pump power from 53 mW (82.6 mW) to 188.6 mW (184.6 mW). The results suggest that CuCrO2 could be a promising SA for ultrafast lasers generation.

The hadal zone (from 6 to 11 km depth) is one of the least explored habitats on Earth, and the knowledge about trophic ecology of hadal organisms is limited. Here, we analyzed fatty acid biomarker and stable isotope ratios of the amphipod species (Alicella gigantean) collected in the New Britain Trench (8225 m depth) in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A total of 50 samples were divided into five developmental stages according to body length (1–129 cm): Stages I (juvenile), II (sub-adult) and III/IV/V (adult). Stages III, IV and V were further divided according to sex. Mean total fatty acid content for stage I (237.7 ± 105.6 mg g-1) was significantly lower than that for stages II to V (476.4 ± 49.0 mg g-1). The δ15N (14.7–18.4‰) positively correlated with the body length, whereas the EPA/DHA (C20:5ω3/C22:6ω3) ratio (0.09–0.51) negatively correlated with the body length. These results suggested an increase of trophic level with growth. Principal component analysis (PCA) separated major fatty acids into three clusters: (1) C18:1ω9, C16:1ω7, C14:1ω5 (indicative of carrion-based diet); (2) C14:0, C15:0, isoC15:0, C16:0, C17:0, isoC17:0, anteisoC17:0, C18:1ω7, C18:0, C20:1ω9, and C22:1ω9 (bacteria/zooplankton-based diet); and (3) C20:4ω6, C20:5ω3, C22:6ω3 and C22:5ω6 (benthic fauna/algae-based diet). The PCA result revealed that stage I-individuals consumed more bacteria/zooplankton debris, stages II to IV-individuals primarily preyed on carrion, while stage V-individuals had more diverse diet (benthic fauna/algae and carrion). Female amphipods had higher proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids, lower proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and higher δ15N compared to male amphipods, suggesting that female individuals rely more on carrion from higher trophic organisms. This sex-related difference, however, diminished from stage III to V. Overall, our fatty acid and stable isotope data suggest an ontogenetic diet shift for hadal amphipods that may contribute to their success in the deepest ocean.

In this study, Cr doped hexagonal CuGaO2 (CGO) nanoplates (NPs) are fabricated successfully. It is worth noting that an emission band located at approximately 700 nm has been found in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of CuGa 1−x Cr x O2 NPs, which can be ascribed to the deep levels emission caused by the Cr 3d and 4s states. Moreover, six resonance peaks also appear in the PL spectrum, which prove that resonance is formed in CGO NPs cavity. The resonant process and resonance mode were investigated in experiment and theory. As the consequence, mode spacing is approximately 8.5 nm and the mode numbers are 60, 59, 58, 57, 56 and 55 corresponding to the peaks of 691 nm, 699 nm, 707 nm, 715 nm, 723 nm and 731 nm in the PL spectrum. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) solution is also used to study resonance mechanism of CGO NPs. These results reveal that the mode calculations and FDTD simulations well agree with the experimental data. The present work further improves the potential applications of CuGa 1−x Cr x O2 NPs in the field of optoelectronic devices.

Most plant polysaccharides cannot be digested and utilized by host enzymes, and must be subjected to microbial fermentation before being assimilated by the host. MDG-1, a water-soluble β-d-fructan extracted from the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus, has potent anti-obesity and hypoglycemic effects. Interestingly, we found that MDG-1 is hardly absorbed into the blood. We presumed that MDG-1 might exhibit its potent efficacy via regulating the gut microbiota of the host. However, the overall microbiota structure variation of obese mice treated with MDG-1 and the direct metabolic consequences of MDG-1 on specific microbiota phyla remain poorly understood. Here, obese male C57BL/6 mice induced by a high-fat diet were given either vehicle or MDG-1 at a dose of 300mg/kg for 12 weeks and the overall fecal gut microbiota structure change was analyzed via pyrosequencing. On this basis, we further separated and identified the dominant bacteria of the feces from the MDG-1 treated mice. These bacteria were then cultured with MDG-1 in vitro and their metabolic profiles were analyzed via a metabonomic approach. The results showed that MDG-1 could decrease the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, adjust the abnormal gut microbiota to the normal state and alter their metabolic profiles. In addition, we identified that the indigestible MDG-1 could be degraded and utilized by gut microbiota that could, in turn, be assimilated and used by the host, where it exerted weight loss effects, energy metabolism promotion and boosted the immune system effectiveness.

Dynamic multiaxial strength experiments on both dam and wet-screened concretes were carried out by using a large static and dynamic triaxial electro-hydraulic servo testing machine. The dynamic strength under uniaxial compression (C), uniaxial tension (T), biaxial compression–compression (C–C), biaxial compression–tension (C–T), triaxial compression–compression–tension (C–C–T) and triaxial compression–compression–compression (C–C–C) are presented in the paper. The influence of strain rate (ranging from 10−5/s to 10−2/s) and stress ratio on the failure modes and dynamic strength of dam and wet-screened concretes is analyzed. It is found that the failure modes of both dam and wet-screened concretes were mainly dependent on the stress ratio, but independent of the strain rate. The ultimate strengths of dam and wet-screened concretes are found to increase with the increase of strain rate. Particularly, the dynamic increasing factor (DIF) increases obviously when the tensile stress is included. It is noted that the maximum DIF existed in the triaxial C–C–T stress state and the minimum DIF corresponded to the triaxial C–C–C state. The octahedral normal and shear stresses are increased but the similar angle is kept constant with the increase of strain rate in the octahedral stress space. The dynamic failure criterion is developed after analyzing the effect of octahedral normal stress and similar angle on the dynamic strength.