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Background Multidrug-resistant bacteria continue to emerge owing to the abuse of antibiotics and have a considerable negative impact on people and the environment. Bacteria can easily form biofilms to improve their survival, which reduces the efficacy of antibacterial drugs. Proteins such as endolysins and holins have been shown to have good antibacterial activity and effectively removal bacterial biofilms and reduce the production of drug-resistant bacteria. Recently, phages and their encoded lytic proteins have attracted attention as potential alternative antimicrobial agents. The aim of the present study was to investigate the sterilising efficacy of phages (SSE1, SGF2, and SGF3) and their encoded lytic proteins (lysozyme and holin), and to further explore their potential in combination with antibiotics. To the ultimate aim is to reduce or replace the use of antibiotics and provide more materials and options for sterilisation. Results Phages and their encoded lytic proteins were confirmed to have great advantages in sterilisation, and all exhibited significant potential for reducing bacterial resistance. Previous studies on the host spectrum demonstrated the bactericidal efficacy of three Shigella phages (SSE1, SGF2, and SGF3) and two lytic proteins (LysSSE1 and HolSSE1). In this study, we investigated the bactericidal effects on planktonic bacteria and bacterial biofilms. A combined sterilisation application of antibiotics, phages, and lytic proteins was performed. The results showed that phages and lytic proteins had better sterilisation effects than antibiotics with 1/2 minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and their effect was further improved when used together with antibiotics. The best synergy was shown when combined with β- lactam antibiotics, which might be related to their mechanism of sterilising action. This approach ensures a bactericidal effect at low antibiotic concentrations. Conclusions This study strengthens the idea that phages and lytic proteins can significantly sterilise bacteria in vitro and achieve synergistic sterilisation effects with specific antibiotics. Therefore, a suitable combination strategy may decrease the risk of drug resistance.

The structural parameters of multibell underreamed anchors play a crucial role in anchoring performance. The parameters of multibell underreamed anchor investigations are helpful when exploring optimized anchor structures. Based on the results of small-scale physical modelling tests, two types of multibell underreamed anchors were adopted under vertical uplifting loads. Numerical investigations were employed to study the effect of bell spacing, underream structure and bell dimension on the ultimate uplift bearing capacity. After an analysis of the anchorage mechanism, the anchoring efficiency was evaluated by the anchoring force provided by the unit concrete usage of the anchor, and the structural parameter λ equal to the surface area ratios of the expanded bell cone to the straight shaft between bells was defined. Then, the anchoring efficiency optimized structural parameters were presented. An analysis of model tests and simulation results showed that compared to concave bell surfaces, the convex shape could enhance the ultimate bearing capacity of a multibell underreamed anchor. There is an optimal value for the spacing of neighbouring bells, and there are three models of mechanisms for multibell anchors pulling out. When λ ∈ [1, 1.8], the multibell anchors can perform most efficiently to achieve their structural advantages.

Direct sewage discharge could cause copious numbers of serious and irreversible harm to the environment. This study investigated the impacts of treated and raw sewage on the river ecosystem. Through our analysis, sewage carried various nutrients into the river, leading to changes in the microbial community in the river and reducing the diversity and richness of bacteria. The relative abundances of Hydrogenophaga, Thauera, Planctomyces, Zoogloea, and Pseudomonas boosted from 0.25, 0.01, 0.00, 0.05, and 0.08% to 3.33, 3.43, 0.02, 6.28, and 2.69%, before and after raw sewage discharge, respectively. The gene abundance of pathogenic bacteria significantly increased after raw sewage discharge. For instance, the gene abundance of Vibrio, Helicobacter, Tuberculosis, and Staphylococcus augmented from 4055, 3797, 13,545, 33 reads at Site-1 to 23,556, 13,163, 19,887, 734 reads at Site-2, respectively. In addition, according to the redundancy analysis (RDA), the infectious pathogens were positively related to the environmental parameters, in which COD showed the highest positive correlation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Additionally, river self-purification may contribute to improving water quality and reducing pathogenicity. The outcomes of this study showed that direct discharge brought pathogens and changed microbial community structure of the river.

Rapid developments in the electric industry have promoted an increasing demand for lithium resources. Lithium in salt lake brines has emerged as the main source for industrial lithium extraction, owing to its low cost and extensive reserves. The effective separation of Mg2+ and Li+ is critical to achieving high recovery efficiency and purity of the final lithium product. This paper summarizes Mg2+/Li+ separation materials and methods in the field of lithium recovery from salt lake brines. The review begins with an introduction to the global distribution and demand for lithium resources, followed by a description of the materials used in various separation techniques, including precipitation, adsorption, solvent extraction, nanofiltration membrane, electrodialysis, and electrochemical methods. A comparison, analysis, and outlook of such methods are comprehensively discussed in terms of principles, mechanisms, synthesis/operation, development, and industrial applications. We conclude with a presentation of challenges and insights into the future directions of lithium extraction from salt lake brines. A combination of the advantages of various materials is the most logical step toward developing novel methods for extracting lithium from brines with high separation selectivity, stability, low cost, and environmentally friendly characteristics.

Micro-nano structure regulation of polyaniline and impedance-matching design of its composites are two crucial but challenging works in microwave absorption. In this study, an in situ sacrificial templates polymerization is applied to regulate the porous structures of polyaniline decorated on vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF). By manipulating porous polyaniline structures, heterogeneous interfaces, polarization centers, and geometric structures are introduced into porous VGCF@polyaniline nanohybrids. Porous VGCF@polyaniline demonstrated robust microwave absorption ability with a minimum reflection loss of − 55.9 dB at 10.3 GHz with a filler loading of 18 wt% and a thinner thickness of 1.33 mm. The investigation of the novel porous polyaniline structures and composition relationship suggest that the microwave absorption ability of porous VGCF@polyaniline is originated from the optimal impedance-matching ratio, enhanced dielectric loss, and synergistic effect, which is enhanced by conductive loss and interfacial polarization. A universal approach was proposed to address the critical issue of hybridizing porous VGCF@polyaniline with flexible polyurethane sponge as practical electromagnetic absorption structures. The hybrids exhibited interesting dual absorption properties with minimum reflection loss of − 28.8 and − 35.5 dB at frequencies of 8.5 and 8.7 GHz, respectively. This study provides a new approach for designing lightweight and practical microwave absorbers.

The Shanghai High repetition rate XFEL and Extreme Light Facility (SHINE), an advanced XFEL project, is now being built at Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI), Chinese Academy of Sciences. It includes a hard X-ray free electron laser and a 100 pW intense laser facilities with overall length of 3.1 km. The XFEL part including an 8 GeV LINAC and 3 undulator lines is cooled with forced superfluid and supercritical helium at 2 K/4 K. The cryogenic system of SHINE consists of test facility cryogenic system (TFCS), accelerator cryogenic system (ACCS), and undulator cryogenic system (UNCS). A dedicated control system based on Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) will be built to automate the cryogenic system with process control, PID control loops, real-time data acquisition and storage, alarm handler and human machine interface. It is capable of automatic recovery as well. This paper describes details of control system structure, interfaces, controllers and the integration under EPICS framework.

This paper presents a series of small-scale physical model tests, using transparent soil and particle image velocimetry technique. The soil displacements, anchor load and displacement responses were measured directly from the tests. Based on the results, the anchor’s ultimate uplift load, impact area within the surrounding soil and failure mechanism of the anchor system were studied. Furthermore, numerical investigation was also carried out to study the effect of shoulder sizes on the ultimate uplift bearing capacity. It was observed that the fracture surface formed at the shoulder was convex and bullet-shaped. The analysis of results showed that the ultimate uplift bearing capacity of end bearing anchors was affected by enlargement diameter (D), shaft diameter (d) and enlargement segment length (L), especially with the enlargement shoulder dimension (D − d). The model tests and numerical simulation results were compared with equations from the British and Chinese standards. When (D − d)/L ≥ 0.2, Chinese standard was more suitable, and when (D − d)/L

The present study aimed to explore the association between parent-children relationship and internet addiction with the mediating effect of self-concept among Chinese adolescents. The Chinese Parent-Children Relationship Diagnostic Test, the Chinese revised edition of Tennessee Self-concept Scale, and the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale were administered to 300 junior and high school students aged 13–18 years (in grades 7–12). Results indicated that parent-children relationship was positively related to self-concept and was negatively related to internet addiction, while self-concept was negatively related to internet addiction among adolescents. Moreover, the association between parent-children relationship and internet addiction was partially mediated by self-concept. Findings of the present study suggested that parent-children relationship exerted not only direct effect but also indirect effect on internet addiction through self-concept. Limitations of the study are considered and implications of the findings for reducing adolescents’ internet addiction are discussed.

Three-dimensional aerogel has been expected to be a promising candidate for lightweight absorber. Here, polypyrrole (PPy) aerogels with elasticity characteristic have been obtained via facile oxidative polymerization and freeze-drying techniques. The low density (54 − 61 mg/cm3) and mechanical strength (15.4 − 18.7 kPa at 50% strain) of the PPy aerogels can be achieved by adjusting the FeCl3/Py molar ratios from 1:1.5 to 1.5:1. And as a microwave absorber for the PPy aerogel (FeCl3/Py = 1:1.5, 10 wt% mixed with paraffin), at the thickness of 2 mm, the minimum reflection loss (RL) could reach − 55 dB at 14 GHz and the efficient bandwidth (RL ≤ − 10 dB, 90% absorption) is 5.5 GHz. Increasing the FeCl3/Py molar ratio to 1:1, the efficient bandwidth of the prepared PPy aerogel expands to 5.6 GHz. The high-performance microwave absorption properties and well mechanical capacities of the PPy aerogels highlight their potential application in the microwave absorbing systems.

Herein we present our research on synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on cellulose nanofibers (CN) by a facile procedure using dopamine hydrochloride (Dopa), as reducing agent. The CN were produced by deacetylation of electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers. The CN were then treated with 2 mg/mL of Dopa in 1 M Tris HCl buffer (pH 8.5) followed by soaking in 150 mM AgNO3 solution for generation of AgNPs. The samples were characterized with SEM, XRD, FESEM, EDX, XPS, TEM, FTIR analysis and antibacterial assays. Synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed by XRD, XPS and TEM analysis. The TEM images demonstrated CNAgNP samples well decorated with AgNPs. Sizes of the spherical AgNPs, calculated by Debye–Scherrer method, were 20 nm. Antibacterial test results confirmed excellent bacterial growth inhibition properties of CNAgNP on agar plates and in liquid medium against E. coli and S. aureus strains. The relative cell viability (CFU/mL) test results demonstrated excellent bactericidal potential of the CNAgNP samples against the tested strains. The CNAgNP prepared by an environmentally benign process would thus be a promising nano-biocomposite for antibacterial applications.

The effects of FeS on nitrogen removal performance and microbial community of anammox process were studied. During the start-up period, the removal efficiencies of nitrite and total nitrogen were significantly improved by FeS. The addition of FeS increased the content of iron ions in the reactor and promoted the synthesis of heme c, which was involved in the formation of various enzymes. Compared with the control, the abundance of anammox bacteria in the FeS reactor was increased by 29%, and the expression level of the nirS gene (encoding cd1 type nitrite reductase containing heme) was nearly doubled. The content of nitrite reductase (ammonia-forming) in the community was increased by 26.4%. The difference in functional bacteria and enzyme contents in the microbial community resulted in a difference in nitrogen removal rate (NRR) between the two reactors. High-throughput results indicated that FeS increased the richness and diversity of microbial community and enhanced the metabolic function of the microbial community. The addition of FeS did not change the dominant position of Ca. Kuenenia in both reactors. But the relative abundance of heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria was reduced with FeS, which may be related to the inhibition effect of S2− produced by FeS.

Let $$X= \{X(t) \in \mathbb{R}^d, t\in \mathbb{R}^N\}$$ be a centered space-anisotropic Gaussian random field whose components satisfy some mild conditions. By introducing a new anisotropic metric in ℝd, we obtain the Hausdorff and packing dimension in the new metric for the image of X. Moreover, the Hausdorff dimension in the new metric for the image of X has a uniform version.

Herein, we first time present our research on ultrasonic dyeing of polyurethane (PU) nanofibers. The PU nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning process and were subsequently dyed following exhaust method using sonication. The two disperse dyes selected were a low-energy disperse dye (CI Disperse Blue 56) and a high-energy disperse dye (CI Disperse Red 167:1). The ultrasonic energy was used to achieve higher color build-up on PU nanofibers. The temperature/time (T/T) diagram of proposed dyeing process has been suggested; dyeing time and dyeing temperature were optimized. Color build-up properties (measured in terms of K/S values), dye fixation (%), and color fastness properties were studied in detail. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and mechanical strength measurements. The results show 70 °C and 40 min as optimum dyeing temperature and time, respectively. The SEM, FTIR, and XRD results did not show any significant effect of ultrasonic dyeing on morphology, chemical, and crystallographic structure of PU nanofibers. Color fastness results revealed excellent light fastness, very good washing, and hot pressing fastness of both dyes.

The development of biocompatible nanocomposites for biomedical applications such as drug release has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In this work, electrospun membranes composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and shellac were fabricated because PCL has favorable mechanical and biological properties, such as high biocompatibility and biodegradability. Meanwhile, shellac is biocompatible and non-toxic; as a result, the fabricated membranes are attractive for controlled drug delivery. Here, PCL/shellac/PCL nanofiber membranes were treated by ethanol vapor to improve their properties for use in drug delivery applications. Salicylic acid was loaded in the drug delivery system as a model drug, and three PCL/shellac/PCL membrane configurations were investigated. Ethanol vapor treatment increased the tensile strength, flexibility, and transparency of the membranes. Both the tensile strength and drug release properties of the membranes strongly depended on the ratio of PCL to shellac.

Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 (x = 0.2–0.8) ferrite samples were successfully prepared by the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction study reveals that single cubic spinel phase was formed in Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 samples. The SEM micrographs revealed that the microstructures change significantly with different Zn2+ doping concentration and sintering temperature while the grain size grow up to 9.48 μm for Mn0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 sample sintered at 1100 °C. Further, the dielectric and magnetic measurements indicated that both Zn2+ doping and sintering temperature could affect both electrical and magnetic parameters such as dielectric constant and saturation magnetization in a great manner. The Mn0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 sample sintered at 1100 °C for 8 h is found to show the largest Ms value (77.30 emu/g) in this work. These results indicate that Zn2+ doping or sintering temperature can adjust the microstructures, dielectric and magnetic properties of Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 ferrites.

Ultrathin cells have gained increasing attention due to their potential for reduced weight, reduced cost and increased flexibility. However, the light absorption in ultrathin cells is usually very weak compared to the corresponding bulk cells. To achieve enhanced photon absorption in ultrathin thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells, this work proposed a film-coupled metamaterial structure made of nanometer-thick gallium antimonide (GaSb) layer sandwiched by a top one-dimensional (1D) metallic grating and a bottom metal film. The spectral normal absorptance of the proposed structure was calculated using the rigorous coupled-wave algorithm (RCWA) and the absorption enhancement was elucidated to be attributed to the excitations of magnetic polariton (MP), surface plasmon polariton (SPP), and Fabry-Perot (FP) resonance. The mechanisms of MP, SPP, and FP were further confirmed by an inductor-capacitor circuit model, dispersion relation, and phase shift, respectively. Effects of grating period, width, spacer thickness, as well as incidence angle were discussed. Moreover, short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, output electric power, and conversion efficiency were evaluated for the ultrathin GaSb TPV cell with a film-coupled metamaterial structure. This work will facilitate the development of nextgeneration low-cost ultrathin infrared TPV cells.

It is known that scaffold is a key factor in bone tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to improve the design of scaffold in order to achieve an effect of precisely matching the irregular boundaries of bone defects as well as facilitate clinical application. In this study, controllable three-dimensional porous shape memory polyurethane/nano-hydroxyapatite composite scaffolds were successfully fabricated. Detailed studies were performed to evaluate its structure, porosities, and mechanical properties, emphasizing the effect of different apertures of scaffolds on shape recovery behaviors and biological performance in vitro. Results showed its compression recovery ratios and shape recovery ratios of all scaffolds could reach more than 99 and 90%, respectively, which could let it more accurately match the irregular boundaries of bone defects. And also its cell proliferation ability was improved with the increase in the apertures. Thus, these scaffolds have potential applications for the bone tissue engineering.

In this work, an efficient and hydrophobic bamboo pulp cellulose-graft-sodium silicate–polyacrylamide (BPC-g-Si–PAM) flocculant was designed and synthesized to improve its flocculation performance as well as the dewatering efficiency of coagulation sludge. The optimal synthesis process of BPC-g-Si–PAM and its optimal flocculation conditions on wastewater treatment were investigated in detail. Compared with unmodified BPC-g-PAM and commercial PAM, hydrophobic BPC-g-Si–PAM flocculant exhibited better flocculation performance with SV30 of 5.8%. Moreover, TSS, COD and turbidity reduction for machining wastewater reached upto 98.1, 86.8 and 97.6%, respectively. Compared with commercial PAM, removal rate increased by 2.69, 7.68 and 2.68%, respectively. And also BPC-g-Si–PAM exhibited higher removal efficiency for ammonia nitrogen (77.7%), total iron (99.3%), total phosphorus (93.6%) and total zinc (96.7%) than PAM. All the results demonstrated that hydrophobic BPC-g-Si–PAM has a potential application prospect in industrial wastewater treatment.

Limited information is available regarding the correlations between mammographic calcifications and the epidemiological features of patients with breast cancer living different lifestyles in Western China. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between mammographic calcifications and the epidemiological characteristics of female patients with breast cancer in Western China. This was a hospital-based, retrospective, multi-center epidemiological study of patients with breast cancer. Using the Western China Clinical Cooperation Group (WCCCG) database, we obtained the records of 7317 patients (with mammographic data) diagnosed with breast cancer between March 2011 and June 2016. These patients were divided into Groups I (mass alone) and II (mass combined with calcification), and their clinical and pathological data were compared. A total of 4211 patients were enrolled in Group I, and 3106 patients were enrolled in Group II. The tumors in Group II were more likely to be larger (P

A new design of cathode current-collecting element (CCCE) based on Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3, which contains gas channels and an array of truncated-pyramid-shaped contact tips, is synthesized through die pressing followed by a conventional solid-state reaction for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). This configuration could not only maintain the high electronic conductivity of the material to ensure the efficiency of current collecting, but also improve the gas diffusion rate at the cathode side. The height h of the channel tips on the CCCEs reaches approximately 60, 120, and 240 μm, respectively, which results in the variation in polarization resistance (R P) more significantly than the contact area of the tips does. The experiments show that the R P of the symmetric cells decreased from 0.267 to 0.060 Ω cm2 at 800 °C after employing the CCCE with modified parameters. In addition, the measured peak power density of the individual cell is enhanced from 111 to 145 mW cm−2 at 800 °C. The results show that the cathode current-collecting elements may be potentially useful for applications in IT-SOFCs.

ZnFe2O4/SnO2 semiconductor nanocomposites with various mole ratios were prepared by a simple chemical synthesis process that based on sol–gel method. The structural properties were determined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope technique. The XRD study reveals that no impurity phase, such as ZnO, Fe2O3, existed in all the samples. The average grain size was found to be about 39.51 nm when the mole ratio of ZnFe2O4/SnO2 is 2:1 (Z2S1), which is benefit for improving gas sensing property. The Z2S1 sample showed a relatively higher response (11.46) at a lower working temperature (176 °C) to acetone compared with other composites, and the response/recovery time were both very short. The improving gas sensing properties may be due to the fine grain and the formation of the ZnFe2O4/SnO2 heterojunction structure.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a high-fat, high-energy (HFHE) diet on the hepatic expression of CYP3A in low-birthweight developing female rats.Pregnant rats were divided into nourished and undernourished groups. The offspring of the nourished rats were defined as the normal-birth-weight (NBW) group, and those of undernourished rats were defined as the low-birth-weight (LBW) group. According to their birth weights and diets, the rats were subdivided into the following four groups: NBW-normal diet (NN) group; NBW-HFHE (NH) group; LBW-normal diet (LN) group; and LBW-HFHE (LH) group. Liver samples were isolated on days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 56 and 84 after birth.The CYP3A1 mRNA levels in the LH group on days 3, 56 and 84 were significantly higher than those of the NN group (P0.05). CYP3A1 expression was significantly higher in the LH group than that in the NH group on days 21, 28 and 84 (P0.05). CYP3A1 mRNA expression was higher in the LH group than that in the LN group on days 3 and 21 (P0.05). No zonal CYP3A1 expression pattern was observed in the LH developmental group. The LH group had significantly higher mean activity than the LN group on days 7, 14, 28 and 56.Our results indicated that an HFHE diet can result in alterations of CYP3A expression in a developmental LBW rat model.

When ultrasonic waves propagate in composite materials, the propagation behaviors result from the combination effects of various factors, such as material anisotropy and viscoelastic property, internal microstructure and defects, incident wave characteristics and interface condition between composite components. It is essential to make it clear how these factors affect the ultrasonic wave propagation and attenuation characteristics, and how they mutually interact on each other. In the present paper, based on a newly developed time-domain finite element analysis code, PZflex, a unique approach for clarifying the detailed influence mechanism of aforementioned factors is proposed, in which each attenuation component can be extracted from the overall attenuation and analyzed respectively. By taking into consideration the interrelation between each individual attenuation component, the variation behaviors of each component and internal dynamic stress distribution against material anisotropy and matrix viscosity are separately and quantitatively evaluated. From the detailed analysis results of each attenuation component, the energy dissipation at interface is a major component in ultrasonic wave attenuation characteristics, which can provide a maximum contribution rate of 68.2 % to the overall attenuation, and each attenuation component is closely related to the material anisotropy and viscoelasticity. The results clarify the correlation between ultrasonic wave propagation characteristics and material viscoelastic properties, which will be useful in the further development of ultrasonic technology in defect detection.

Understanding the Zn diffusion behavior in GaSb is very important to accurately control the distribution of Zn during the fabrication of photoelectric devices. The surface concentration and effective surface diffusivity are two key parameters for modeling the Zn profile in GaSb. The experimental results indicated that when the diffusion temperature and time are kept unchanged, the diffusion profiles with pure Zn, Zn–Sb, and Zn–Ga sources differ in the surface concentration and effective surface diffusivity. To quantitatively explain the effects of source composition on the two parameters, the relationship between the two parameters and the vapor pressure surrounding the GaSb wafer in the diffusion process was deduced based on a surface-equilibrium assumption and the substitutional-interstitial mechanism. The Ga/Sb/Zn ternary phase diagram was calculated and discussed for determining the vapor pressures in different source cases. The ratio of surface concentrations and that of effective surface diffusivities between different sources were obtained to quantitatively explain the experiment results. The theoretical and experimental results both indicated that adding Sb to pure Zn source keeps the surface concentration unchanged while slightly decreases the effective surface diffusivity, and that adding Ga to pure Zn source significantly decreases both the surface concentration and effective surface diffusivity.

Aims Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) is a typical native invasive plant imposing serious threats on ecosystem processes and functions. A primary concern is alterations of litter and soil N mineralization in evergreen broadleaved forests coupled with bamboo population expansion.

(Li1+, Al3+) co-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics (CaCu3−2xLixAlxTi4O12, x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) were prepared by a sol–gel method and were sintered at 1020–1080 °C for 8 h to improve the geometric microstructure, dielectric and nonlinear I–V electrical properties. Notably, very high dielectric constant of 1 × 105 with good dielectric-frequency as well as dielectric-temperature stability can be achieved in CaCu2.8Li0.1Al0.1Ti4O12 ceramic sintered at 1060 °C. The average grain sizes, resistivity and the non-Ohmic properties are also improved compared to pure CaCu3Ti4O12. These results indicate that (Li1+, Al3+) co-doping at the Cu2+ site can improve the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12, supporting the internal barrier layer capacitance effect of Schottky barriers at grain boundaries.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanomaterials with extremely favorable mass sensor properties. In this paper, we propose that CNTs under clamped boundary condition and an axial tensile load are considered as CNT-based resonators. Moreover, the resonant frequencies and frequency shifts of the CNTs with attached nanomass are investigated based on vibration analysis, which used the nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli beam model. Using the present methods, we analyze and discuss the effects of the aspect ratio, the concentrated mass and the axial force on the resonant frequency of the CNTs. The results indicate that the CNT beam under the axial tensile loads could provide higher sensitivity as nanomechanical mass sensor.

Poly(aryleneethynylene)s containing BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) (P1) were prepared by palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira polymerization of 2,6-diiodo-functionalized BODIPY monomer (M1) with 1,4-diethynyl-2,5-didodecyl-oxybenzene monomer (M2). The structures of the monomer (M1) and copolymer (P1) were confirmed by 1H-NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies; their optical properties were characterized by UV-Vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and the Z-scan technique. Both UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence emission of copolymer P1 red-shifted to longer wavelengths (λabs: from 502 nm to 542 nm; λem: from 511 nm to 631 nm) relative to those of the monomer M1 due to the π-conjugation extension of the copolymer. The third-order nonlinear optical coefficient (χ(3)) of copolymer P1 was 1.94 × 10−10 esu, which is almost two or three orders of magnitude greater than that of common conjugated polymers without BODPIY moiety.

The long start-up time of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process hinders the widespread application of anammox technology in practical wastewater treatment when anammox seed sludge is not available. Meanwhile, the production of nitrate cannot meet the increasingly more strict discharge standards. To combine the chemical nitrate reduction to ammonium with biological nitrogen removal, two anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors packed with different types of zero-valent iron (ZVI), microscale ZVI (mZVI) and nanoscale ZVI (nZVI), were developed to accelerate the start-up of anammox process. The results revealed that anammox start-up time shortened from 126 to 105 and 84 days with the addition of mZVI and nZVI. The nitrogen removal performance was also improved remarkably by adding ZVI, especially in the start-up stage. The value of dissolved oxygen showed that ZVI could be regarded as a useful deoxidant to create anaerobic condition for the proliferation of anammox bacteria. ZVI was favorable for the secretion of EPS, which would represent the activity of anammox bacteria. The result of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) further confirmed that the proliferation of anammox bacteria was enhanced by ZVI.

We fabricated an actuator that was made from polyurethane (PU) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the filler. To improve the dispersion of the CNTs, a mild hydrothermal treatment was carried out. Carboxyl and hydroxyl groups were introduced to the surface of the CNTs, and they were found to be highly dispersed in polar solvents such as dimethylformamide. To evaluate these films, we mainly focused on electrical properties, such as dielectric spectroscopy, space charge measurements, and actuator behavior. We found that the PU/CNTs film bents toward the cathode when an electric field was applied, and it reverted to its original position when the electric field was removed. Upon the inclusion of the CNTs as the filler for the polymer, the electrical properties of the films improved significantly. The highly polarized films had a high relative permittivity, and this produced a higher Maxwell pressure, which assisted the actuation. A high accumulated charge density was observed from space charge measurements in some of the films, and this explains the bending direction and the actuation mechanism.

Radial buckling stresses of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) need to be studied in high-pressure resonance Raman scattering spectrum. In this work, the closed-form expression of the critical buckling stress of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under hydrostatic pressure is derived that can be conveniently employed. Using the derived formulae, the critical buckling stresses of single-walled carbon nanotubes and double-walled carbon nanotubes with different diameters are calculated. The results are in good agreement with other reported literatures. In addition, the critical buckling stresses of each layer of a quintuple-walled CNT in different buckling modes are predicted, showing that the buckling instability can occur not only in the outermost rolled layer, but also in other rolled layer of MWCNTs by considering different diameters and buckling modes.

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles fabricated by chemical reduction process were grafted onto the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to prepare hybrid nanocomposites. The Ag/CNT hybrid nanomaterials were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The Ag/CNT hybrid nanomaterials were then loaded in paraffin wax, and pressed into toroidal shape with thickness of 1 mm to evaluate their complex permittivity and complex permeability by scattering parameters measurement method in reflection mode using vector network analyzer. The reflection loss of the samples was calculated according to the transmission line theory using their measured complex permittivity and permeability. The minimum reflection loss of the Ag/CNT hybrid nanocomposite sample with a thickness of 1 mm reached 21.9 dB (over 99 % absorption) at 12.9 GHz, and also exhibited a wide response bandwidth where the frequency bandwidth of the reflection loss of less than −10 dB (over 90 % absorption) was from 11.7 to 14.0 GHz. The Ag/CNT hybrid nanocomposite with thickness of 6 mm showed a minimum reflection loss of ~−32.1 dB (over 99.9 % absorption) at 3.0 GHz and was the best absorber when compared with the other samples of different thickness. The reflection loss shifted to lower frequency as the thickness of the samples increased. The capability to modulate the absorption band of these samples to suit various applications in different frequency bands simply by manipulating their thickness indicates that these hybrid nanocomposites could be a promising microwave absorber.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanomaterials with many potential applications due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties. In this paper, we proposed that CNTs with clamped boundary condition under axial tensile loads were considered as CNT-based resonators. Moreover, the resonant frequencies and frequency shifts of the CNTs with attached mass were investigated based on two theoretical methods, which are Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and Rayleigh’s energy method. Using the present methods, we analyzed and discussed the effects of the aspect ratio, the concentrated mass and the axial force on the resonant frequency of the CNTs. The results indicate that the length of CNTs could be easily changed and could provide higher sensitivity as nanomechanical mass sensor. Moreover, the resonant frequency shifts of the CNT resonator increase significantly with increasing tensile load acting on the CNTs.

Double-layer graphene sheets (DLGSs) have potential applications as nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) resonators due to their specific carrier spectrum of electrons. In this study, analysis of the vibration modes of NEMS resonators using simply supported circular DLGSs has been undertaken based on nonlocal thin plate theory. Considering the properties of DLGSs, the vibration mode of circular DLGSs can be divided into an in-phase mode (IPM) and an anti-phase mode (APM). The range of resonance frequencies in the IPM is much larger than in the APM because of the influence of van der Waals forces. Nonlocal effects significantly influence the resonance frequency of circular DLGSs in higher vibration modes and at lower aspect ratios.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of "Three-Typed Syndrome Differentiation" (TTSD) in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.A systematic review and meta-analysis was done based on the clinical diabetes treatment literature of the "TTSD". Overseas databases like the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, and China databases like China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM), Chinese national Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, and VIP database, without limitation on language, were included with the time limitation from Jan 1982 to Dec 2012 by retrieval of relative original clinical research articles.Nineteen articles where contains 1,840 diabetes patients were obtained, in which no adverse reactions were reported. Of these, 14 literatures involved the effect of fasting blood glucose (FBG), 10 involved that of postprandial 2-h blood glucose (P2hBG), and 19 involved the overall efficacy based on the national Chinese medicine (CM) diagnosis and treatment standard of diabetes. All the meta-analysis results prefer to the "TTSD" groups (CM+Western medicine Based on TTSD). The results show that, beside the efficacy of Western medicine, the concentrations of FBG and P2hBG in "TTSD" groups continue to drop with statistical significance. For "TTSD" groups, the FBG subsequently dropped 1.03 mmol/L, 95%CI [1.24,0.82] P0.00001), the P2hBG subsequently dropped 1.09 mmol/L, 95% CI [1.61, 0.57] (P0.0001), and the overall efficacies benefit 3.46 times those of Western medicine alone, 95% CI [2.67,4.48] (P0.00001).The CM by the diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes based on TTSD might be safe and effective, and could better improve both blood glucose and the overall status of patients, including symptoms.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) appear to be ideal tip materials of atomic force microscopy (AFM) due to their small diameter and high stiffness. In this study, double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) structures with different lengths of inner and outer layers are proposed as AFM tips. Both the vibration response and mode shapes of the tipped nanotubes under axial compression are studied by a theoretical nanobeam model. The results show that the natural frequencies of DWCNTs are significantly affected by the compressive loads and the length difference between the inner and outer nanotubes. The natural frequency associated with certain vibrational modes decreases with increasing compressive loads. This research may provide a useful reference for practical design for AFM tips with CNTs.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the main causes of renal end-stage disease. The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy is complex. The current treatment is only for a particular cause without multi-target therapeutic drugs. Chinese medicine is a great treasure with multi-component complex drugs interacting with multiple targets and functions. This paper reviewed the protective effect of Chinese medicine for treating diabetic nephropathy in clinical studies, in vivo studies, and in vitro studies. The possible mechanisms, the major compounds and active crude drugs were also summarized. It was shown that Chinese medicine could not only relieve several symptoms and improve the quality of life, but also reduce the levels of proteinuria and kidney damage, and further improve renal function via multiple pathways based on the whole human system. Moreover, there were no reports of severe adverse reactions during the treatment.

Objective To study the protective effect of the Mixture of Shengmai Powder and Danshen Decoction (生脉散丹参饮合剂, abbreviated as the Mixture) in the rat model with type 2 diabetic cardiomyopathy in the rat model with type 2 diabetic cardiomyopathy, abbreviated as the Mixture) in the rat model with type 2 diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM).

The geometries of the complexes of Li+, Na+, K+, Be2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ metal cations with different possible 2,6-dithiopurine anions (DTP) were studied. The complexes were optimized at the B3LYP level and the 6-311++G(d, p) basis set. The interactions of the metal cations at different nucleophilic sites of various possible 2,6-dithiopurine anions were considered. It was revealed that metal cations would interact with 2,6-dithiopurine anions in a bicoordinate manner. In the gas phase, the most preferred position for the interaction of Li+, Na+, and K+ cations is between the N3 and S2 sites, while all divalent cations Be2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ prefer binding between the N7 and S6 sites of the corresponding 2,6-dithiopurine. The influence of aqueous solvent on the relative stability of different complexes has been examined using the Tomasi’s polarized continuum model. The basis set superposition error (BSSE) corrected interaction energy was also computed for complexes. The AIM theory has been applied to analyze the properties of the bond critical points (electron densities and their Laplacians) involved in the coordination between 2,6-dithiopurine anions and the metal cations. It was revealed that aqueous solution would have significant effect on the relative stability of complexes obtained by the interaction of 2,6-dithiopurine anions with Mg2+ and Ca2+ cations. The effect of metal cations on different NH and CS stretching vibrational modes of 2,6-dithiopurine has also been discussed.

The B3LYP method with 6-31G*, 6-311+G* and aug-cc-pvdz basis sets was used to predict the geometries of aromatic hydrocarbon (benzene, toluene, benzonitrile) and sulfolane interaction systems. Nine stable conformers were obtained with no imaginary frequencies. The interaction energies of these binary mixtures have been obtained at the B3LYP/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-311+G* and B3LYP/aug-cc-pvdz levels. The natural bond orbital (NBO) and the atoms in molecules theory (AIM) were used to analyze the nature of the interactions at these levels. The results show that hydrogen bonds are present in these systems. Of all levels, the interaction of the sulfolane-benzonitrile system at B3LYP/6-311+G* is the strongest with an interaction energy of −21.84 kJ⋅mol−1 (BSSE corrected), and the intensity order of the interactions is A(2) > A(3) > A(1), B(2) > B(3) > B(1), C(2) > C(3) > C(1), and C(2) > B(2) > A(2).