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Due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment and humans, chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are a major environmental and public health concern. CPs are known to persist, bioaccumulate and potentially threaten human health, but reports on their internal exposure in the adult general population are still scarce. In this study, serum samples collected from adults living in Hangzhou, China, were quantified for SCCPs and MCCPs using GC-NCI-MS methods. A total of 150 samples were collected and subjected to analysis. ∑SCCPs were detected in 98% of the samples with a median concentration of 721 ng/g lw. MCCPs were found in all serum samples with a median concentration of 2210 ng/g lw, indicating that MCCPs were the dominant homologous group. For SCCPs and MCCPs, ∑C10 and ∑C14 were found to be the dominant carbon chain length homologues. Our results showed that age, BMI and lifestyle were not found to be significantly associated with internal exposure to CPs for the samples in this study. Based on PCA analysis, an age-specific distribution of CP homologues was observed. This suggests that internal exposure to CPs in the general population is related to exposure scenarios and history. The results of this study may contribute to a better understanding of the internal exposure to CPs in the general population and may provide a direction for the investigation of the source of exposure to CPs in the environment and daily life.

As a highly active photocatalyst, g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunction nanocomposites were in situ synthesized by hydro-thermal method and calcination using melamine as precursors. The morphology and chemical structure of the prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM, UV-vis, and photoluminescence analysis (PLA). At last, the photocatalytic activities of g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposites to remove fluoride under simulated visible light were evaluated. Results showed that the fluoride removal rate of the prepared g-C3N4/TiO2 was about three times than pure g-C3N4 due to the rapid charge transfer and the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in heterojunctions between g-C3N4 and TiO2. Heterojunction g-C3N4/TiO2 display the excellent fluoride removal rate due to the rapid charge transfer and efficient separation of electron-hole pairs.

The nanoscale zero-valent nickel (nano-Ni0) was prepared by liquid-phase reduction method and characterized by BET, XPS, FT-IR and XRD and be used to remove U(VI) from aqueous solution. The data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The kinetic data were analyzed by pseudo-first-order kinetic and pseudo-second-order models. The results showed that the nano-Ni0 had a good removal efficient on U(VI), after reaction, the peaks of Ni2+ and U4+ appeared in XPS spectra, which revealed that the U(VI) was reduced to U(IV) and Ni0 was oxidated to Ni2+ and Ni3+. The kinetics and isothermal models showed that the adsorption process was surface monolayer adsorption and was controlled by chemical adsorption rate.

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal in the natural environment that can cause multiple organ damage to the bodies of animals and humans. Selenium yeast (SeY) is a kind of organic selenium (Se) that has a very strong function against Cd-induced injury to tissues or organs. The aim of the current study was to investigate the roles of inflammatory factors and heat shock proteins (HSPs) in inflammatory injury triggered by Cd and to analyze the protective effects of SeY on Cd-induced damnification in the livers of chickens. Two hundred 120-day-old layers were randomly divided into four groups and raised on a conventional diet, or with Se (0.5 mg/kg SeY), Cd (150 mg/kg CdCl2), or Se + Cd (0.5 mg/kg SeY and 150 mg/kg CdCl2) in their basic diets for 120 days. Then, the liver histopathology, production of nitric oxide (NO), activity of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors (iNOS, NF-κB, TNF-α, and PTGE) and heat shock proteins (HSPs 27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) were examined. The results showed that exposure to Cd obviously increased Cd accumulation, NO production, iNOS activity, inflammatory factor, and HSP mRNA and protein expression levels and further caused an inflammatory response. Supplementation with SeY had an antagonistic effect on Cd-induced inflammatory injury in chicken livers. Thus, the present study suggests that SeY can be taken as a potential therapeutic for Cd-induced liver inflammatory injury in chickens.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) is the main pathogen that causes enzootic pneumonia, a disease that has a significant impact on the pig industry worldwide. The pathogenesis of enzootic pneumonia, especially possible virulence factors of Mhp, has still not been fully elucidated. The transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of different Mhp strains reported in the literature have revealed differences in virulence, and differences in RNA transcription levels between high- and low-virulence strains initially indicated that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent flavin oxidoreductase (NFOR) was related to Mhp pathogenicity. Prokaryotic expression and purification of the NFOR protein from Mhp were performed, a rabbit-derived polyclonal antibody against NFOR was prepared, and multiple sequence alignment and evolutionary analyses of Mhp NFOR were performed. For the first time, it was found that the NFOR protein was conserved among all Mhp strains, and NFOR was localized to the cell surface and could adhere to immortalized porcine bronchial epithelial cells (hTERT-PBECs). Adhesion to hTERT-PBECs could be specifically inhibited by an anti-NFOR polyclonal antibody, and the rates of adhesion to both high- and low-virulence strains, 168 and 168L, significantly decreased by more than 40%. Moreover, Mhp NFOR not only recognized and interacted with host fibronectin and plasminogen but also induced cellular oxidative stress and apoptosis in hTERT-PBECs. The release of lactate dehydrogenase by hTERT-PBECs incubated with Mhp NFOR was significantly positively correlated with the virulence of Mhp. Overall, in addition to being a metabolic enzyme related to oxidative stress, NFOR may also function as a potential novel virulence factor of Mhp, thus contributing to the pathogenesis of Mhp; these findings provide new ideas and theoretical support for studying the pathogenic mechanisms of other mycoplasmas.

CD8+ T cell responses play a critical regulatory role in protection against mycoplasma infection-related respiratory diseases. Nanovesicles derived from cell membranes have been shown to induce CD8+ T cell responses. Moreover, the short residence time of mycoplasma membrane-related vaccines in local lymph nodes limits the efficacy of current mycoplasma vaccines. Here, a long-residence pneumonia vaccine is developed using nanovesicles prepared by cell membrane fusion of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and interferon-γ (IFN-γ )-primed macrophages, which are grafted with polyethylene glycol to increase residence time in the lymph nodes. Upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on the membrane of IFN-γ-primed macrophages increases the targeting of the hybrid nanovesicle vaccine to the local lymph nodes, with increased CD8+ T cell activation. A mechanistic study reveals that CD8+ T cell activation is achieved via a pathway involving upregulation of C-C motif chemokine ligand 2/3 expression by E26 transformation-specific sequences, followed by increased immune-stimulatory activity of dendritic cells. In vivo, prophylactic testing reveals that the hybrid nanovesicle vaccine triggers a long-term immune response, as evidenced by a memory CD8+ T cell response against mycoplasma infection. The current study provides a new design strategy for mycoplasma vaccines that involves a hybrid method using biological sources and artificial modification.

In this work, melamine sponge (MS) reinforced methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS)-based silica aerogels were fabricated via a sol–gel method followed by fast microwave drying. The aerogel composites with large size (20 × 20 × 2 cm) can be dried within 30 min. The MS/MTMS-based silica aerogel composites exhibit macro-pore structure, low density (95–178 kg m−3), excellent integrity and bending flexibility, together with high mechanical strength (Young’s modulus up to 4.787 MPa). Moreover, the superhydrophobicity with a contact angle as high as 164° and a low thermal conductivity of 0.033 W m−1 K−1 are demonstrated. Our work offers an effective method to fabricate high-quality aerogel composites as promising candidates for energy-saving applications.

Background Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum L. consist a classic formula in traditional Chinese Hui medicine and are widely used in treatment of stroke. To examine the therapeutic effect of neuron injury after apoplexy, we used a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion model in rats to investigate the effects of dichloromethane fraction (DF) of Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum L. Materials and Methods After subjecting the rats to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion, DF (100 and 200 mg/kg) were administered for 14 days. Neurological deficits and the degree of cerebral tissue injury was detected by 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride Staining Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Nissl staining. Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95), synapsin-I (syn-I), and α-synuclein (α-syn) were stained by immunohistochemistry. PSD-95, Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II), phosphorylated CaMK II (p-CaMK II), CaM, N-methyl D-aspartate receptor subtype 2B (NR2B) expression were detected by Western blot. Meanwhile, phytochemical profile of DF was determined through ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). Results DF alleviated neurological deficits and markedly prevented ischemia-induced cellular damage. Immunohistochemical micrographs revealed that PSD-95 and syn-I proteins increased, and α-syn presented reduced expression in brain samples from the sham group. Western blot analyses revealed that the model group exhibited a noticeable reduction in PSD-95, p-CaMK II, CaM, and NR2B. The DF-treated model group exhibited increased PSD-95, p-CaMK II, CaM, and NR2B. UPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis revealed eight main components of DF, of which piperine accounted for the largest proportion.

The engineering of pharmaceutical cocrystals has been effectively utilized to improve the physicochemical properties such as stability and solubility, and thus it could optimize the solid formation...

Objective to find the Calycosin glycoside (CG) potential anti-inflammatory effect. The anti-inflammatory activity of CG was evaluated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells, and the IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and PGE2 level were measured by ELISA; NO levels in the culture media were determined using the Griess reaction. The iNOS and COX-2 mRNA expressions were measured by qRT-PCR and the phosphorylation of IκBα, p65, ERK, JNK, and p38 was determined by western blotting. The CG could markedly inhibit the productions of NO and PGE2 and markedly inhibit the productions of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. CG could suppress mRNA expression of iNOS, COX-2 and protein phosphorylation of IκBα, p65, ERK, JNK, and p38 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. These findings indicate that CG exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity through the NF-κB and MAPK signal pathway, and as a potential therapeutic agent against inflammatory diseases.

Vinegar is consumed worldwide as a food condiment, especially in the Chinese diet. The present study optimized the addition of A. niger biofortified-bran Qu (0.3%, 0.45%, and 0.6%) as additional starter to improve total acid content and starch utilization rate in industrial-scale Baoning vinegar production. In addition, this novel study determined the quality and microbial community changes of Baoning vinegar during three-round biofortification in industrial scale. Our results indicated that A. niger biofortified-bran Qu added at 0.6% resulted in higher total acid content and starch utilization rate of vinegar Pei. Biofortification imposed minor changes in the microbial community during three-round biofortification, and more variation was observed in fungal community than that in bacterial community. Most importantly, the quality of Baoning vinegar remained relatively stable. This information further confirmed the feasibility of multiple rounds of A. niger biofortification, and can be used to provide theoretical basis for industrial-scale production.

Copper (Cu) is a common environmental pollutant in nature. Cu-poisoning can cause liver damage and erythrocytes hemolysis. To evaluate the effect of CuSO4 poisoning on the morphological and functional characteristics of goat red blood cells. Five 10-14-month-old goats were selected for jugular vein blood sampling to obtain erythrocytes, and then the erythrocytes were processed with different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 μmol/L) of CuSO4 for 48 h, and 40 μmol/L doses CuSO4 incubated for different time (12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 h) to process erythrocytes. We observed the changes in erythrocyte morphology through scanning electron microscopy, and detected the antioxidant function and activities of three ATPases. Additionally, biological properties were examined from the perspectives of phospholipids and membrane protein components, permeability fragility, and fluidity in erythrocytes. We found that after CuSO4 treatment, the antioxidant capacity of erythrocytes decreased, which was manifested as increased MDA content and decreased CuZn-SOD and GSH-Px activities (p < 0.05). In addition, we also found that erythrocyte fluidity decreased, osmotic fragility increased, membrane phospholipid percentage and protein composition changes abnormally, and Na+/K+-ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase activities decreased (p < 0.05). From the results, it can be concluded that CuSO4 exposure causes hemolysis of goat erythrocytes through oxidative stress to the structure and function of erythrocytes, showing a dose-time effect.

The aim of the study was to investigate the protective effects of selenium yeast (SeY) against necroptosis triggered by Cd via inhibition of oxidative stress and MAPK pathway in the liver of chicken. Two hundred 120-day-old layers were randomly divided into four groups and raised for 120 days. The histopathological examination showed that necrosis characteristics were observed in Cd-exposed chicken livers. The exposure of Cd significantly reduced the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT while improving MDA level in both serum and liver of chickens (P 0.05), and induced oxidative stress. The MLKL, Rip1, RIP3, ERK, JNK and P38 mRNA expression of Cd group were significantly higher than other three groups (P ＜ 0.01), and those in the Se + Cd group were significantly higher than control group and Se group (P ＜ 0.01). However, the mRNA expression level of caspase8 of Cd was significantly lower than other three groups (P ＜ 0.01), and that in the Se + Cd group was significantly higher than control group and Se group (P ＜ 0.01), so the supplement of SeY could improve these situations. Similar results were also detected at the protein level. The results of the present study indicated that Cd could induce oxidative stress, activate MAPK pathway and evoke necroptosis damage in chicken livers, whereas SeY had protective effects in preventing this kind of Cd-induced injury by inhibition of oxidative stress and down-regulation MAPK pathway.

In the friction stir welding (FSW) of ultra-thin dissimilar metal sheets, different physical material properties, the reduction of plastic metal in the weld zone, and insufficient plastic metal flow lead to poor weld seam shapes and joint qualities. Therefore, it is necessary to study the flow behavior during the FSW of ultrathin sheets. In this study, micro friction stir welding (&mu, FSW) was conducted and analyzed for the butt welding of 0.6-mm-thick ultrathin brass (H62-H) and pure copper (T2-Y) sheets. By analyzing the electric signals of the temperature and force during the welding process, testing the mechanical properties, and analyzing the metallography of the joint, the influences of the process parameters on the metal flow behavior during &mu, FSW were studied. In the proper process conditions, the material preferentially migrated and concentric vortex flow occurred in the vicinity of the shoulder and tool pin action areas. The copper was pushed from the retreating side (RS) to the advancing side (AS) of the weld, allowing it to flow more fully. A mixture of both materials formed at the bottom of the weld nugget, and less migration occurred in the heat-affected zone of the AS at this time. The highest tensile strength can reach 194 MPa, accounting for 82.6% of the copper. The presence of brittle phases Cu5Zn8, AgZn3 and AgZn caused the hardness to fluctuate slightly.

Treatment of fetal rat and embryonic chicken with exogenous glucocorticoids induces premature differentiation of growth hormone (GH) secreting cells. The effect of corticosterone (CORT) on somatotroph differentiation was mostly studied in pituitary cells in vitro. Currently, there is no evidence for glucocorticoid-mediated induction of somatotroph differentiation during pituitary development in bird species other than chicken. In this study, we sought to find out if in ovo injection of corticosterone into developing goose embryos could induce premature increase of GH in somatotrophs. On embryonic day (e) 15, the albumen of fertile goose eggs was injected with 300 μl of 0.9% saline, 300 μl 5 × 10-8M CORT, or 300 μl 5 × 10-6 M CORT. Embryos were allowed to develop until e20 and e28 and isolated pituitaries were subjected to quantitative real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry to detect GH mRNA and protein, respectively. At e20 and e28, blood from chorioallantoic vessels was subjected to radioimmunoassay for analysis of plasma GH protein. In ovo administration of exogenous corticosterone brought about a 2.5-fold increase in the expression of GH mRNA and increased the in situ expression of GH protein in goose pituitary cells, and enhanced plasma GH levels compared to that of the respective controls at e20. These findings prove that administration of glucocorticoid could stimulate the expression of GH in somatotrophs during goose embryonic development. Our results suggest the probable involvement of membrane glucocorticoid receptor in the corticosterone mediated expression of GH. Together with previously published data, our results suggest that corticosterone mediated induction of GH expression during embryonic development is relatively conserved among different vertebrates.

The present study was designed to elucidate whether the mechanism by which osthole decreases collagenⅠ/ Ⅲ contents and their ratio is regulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway in TGF-β1-overexpressed mouse cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). These CFs were cultured and treated with different concentrations of osthole. Our results showed that the TGF-β1 expression in the CFs transfected with that the recombinant expression plasmids pcDNA3.1(+)-TGF-β1 was significantly enhanced. After the CFs were treated with 1.25-5 μg·mL-1 of osthole for 24 h, the mRNA and protein expression levels of collagensⅠand Ⅲ were reduced. The collagen Ⅰ/Ⅲ ratio was also reduced. The mRNA and protein expression levels of TGF-β1, TβRⅠ, Smad2/3, P-Smad2/3, Smad4, and α-SMA were decreased, whereas the expression level of Smad7 was increased. These effects suggested that osthole could inhibit collagen Ⅰ and Ⅲ expression and reduce their ratio via the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway in TGF-β1 overexpressed CFs. These effects of osthole may play beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of myocardial fibrosis.

Mechanical alloying was used to prepare an Ag-Cu-Sn brazing alloy with the low amounts of intermetallic compounds. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were carried out to investigate the phase transformation of the as-milled samples. It seemed that the intermetallic compounds experienced the stage of synthesis-decomposition-resynthesis in the ball milling process. By controlling the ball milling time and tin contents, the solid solution phases of Ag (Cu, Sn) and Ag (Cu) were achieved in the 60Ag30Cu10Sn sample after milling for 40 h. Although the intermetallic compound will be generated during the brazing process, the improvement of their distributed morphology is beneficial for the good bonding interface of the joint with stainless steel substrate.

Highly dispersed Pt sub-nanoclusters are anchored on SmMn2O5 mullites via atomic layer deposition, and show excellent low-temperature CO oxidation activity., CO oxidation is a widely used model system for understanding fundamental aspects of heterogeneous catalysis. While platinum (Pt) continues to be a reference material for CO oxidation catalysis, poisoning of Pt catalysts presents a critical issue that blocks reaction sites and impedes subsequent reaction steps. Fabrication of CO poison-free Pt catalysts remains a great challenge due to its CO-philic nature. Herein, we report a Pt based catalyst to effectively tackle CO poisoning by tightly anchoring Pt sub-nanoclusters onto Mn-mullite oxide (SmMn2O5) via atomic layer deposition. Superior CO oxidation activity has been observed with a significantly lowered light-off temperature and apparent activation energy. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy analysis, oxygen isotope experiments and density functional theory calculations confirm that the low-temperature activity originates from active oxygen atom sources at the bifunctional interface structure.

Context Electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) L5 is a naturally occurring, atherogenic entity found at elevated levels in the plasma of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the absence of elevated plasma LDL levels. Objective To investigate the role of L5 in the mechanism of adipose tissue inflammation associated with MetS. Patients/Setting Plasma LDL isolated from patients with MetS (n = 29) and controls (n = 29) with similar plasma LDL levels was separated into five subfractions, L1 to L5, with increasing electronegativity. Design We examined the invivo effects of L5 on adipose tissue in mice and the in vitro effects of L5 on adipocytokine signaling and monocytes. Results Tail-vein injection of human L5 but not L1 into C57BL/6 mice induced the accumulation of F4/80+ and CD11c+ M1 macrophages. The effects of L5 were attenuated in mice deficient for L5's receptor, lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor 1 (LOX-1). L5 but not L1 induced human adipocytes to release inflammatory adipocytokines. Incubating human THP-1 monocytes with LDL-free culture media from L5-treated adipocytes enhanced the migration of monocytes by 300-fold (P < 0.001 vs L1-treated adipocyte media)-effects that were attenuated by LOX-1 neutralizing antibody. Migrated cells were positive for mature macrophage marker PM-2K, indicating the transformation of monocytes into macrophages. The infiltration of M1 macrophages in adipose tissue was also observed in a previously established hamster model of endogenously elevated L5. Conclusions L5 induces adipose inflammation through LOX-1 by promoting macrophage maturation and infiltration into adipose tissue. Elevated plasma L5 levels may be a novel etiology of adipose tissue inflammation in patients with MetS.

Pepper species (Capsicum spp.) are widely used as food, spice, decoration, and medicine. Despite the recent old-world culinary impact, more than 50 commercially recognized pod types have been recorded worldwide from three taxonomic complexes (A, B, and P). The current study aimed to apply a pan-plastome approach to resolve the plastomic boundaries among those complexes and identify effective loci for the taxonomical resolution and molecular identification of the studied species/varieties. High-resolution pan-plastomes of five species and two varieties were assembled and compared from 321 accessions. Phyloplastomic and network analyses clarified the taxonomic position of the studied species/varieties and revealed a pronounced number of accessions to be the rare and endemic species, C. galapagoense, that were mistakenly labeled as C. annuum var. glabriusculum among others. Similarly, some NCBI-deposited plastomes were clustered differently from their labels. The rpl23-trnI intergenic spacer contained a 44 bp tandem repeat that, in addition to other InDels, was capable of discriminating the investigated Capsicum species/varieties. The rps16-trnQ/rbcL-accD/ycf3-trnS gene set was determined to be sufficiently polymorphic to retrieve the complete phyloplastomic signal among the studied Capsicum spp. The pan-plastome approach was shown to be useful in resolving the taxonomical complexes, settling the incomplete lineage sorting conflict and developing a molecular marker set for Capsicum spp. identification.

A novel NiS nanocatalyst is synthesized by using simple coordination complex as precursors through an economic and straightforward sulfidation method, resulting in a high-performance catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The NiS nanocatalyst possess dispersed catalytic nanoparticles, high porosity and good electroactivity, leading to provide facile pathways for electron transfer. The as-prepared NiS nannocatalyst exhibits unusual catalytic activity according to fast apparent rate constant (kapp) of 1.413 min−1 and turn over frequency (TOF) of 2.5 × 10−3 mol·g−1·min−1. As expected, these structural features bring good catalytic properties to methyl orange (MO) reduction. It is expected this work will presents a practical experiment for using simple coordination complex as sacrificial templates to synthesize nanoparticles for wide applications.

The melon aphid, Aphis gossypii, is an important pest of vegetables. Insecticide resistance in A. gossypii has increased due to the frequent use of insecticides. We studied the levels and mechanisms of A. gossypii resistance to imidacloprid, acetamiprid and lambda-cyhalothrin here. The resistance levels of the three insecticides in 20 populations of A. gossypii varied. When compared to the susceptible strain (Lab-SS), there were two moderate resistance (MR) populations and nine low resistance (LR) populations to imidacloprid, respectively, two MR populations and two LR populations to acetamiprid, respectively, and, five MR populations and two LR populations to λ-cyhalothrin, respectively. Gene mutation detection in the MR level populations showed arginine to threonine substitution (R81T) in three populations and lysine to glutamine substitution (K264E) in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) β1 subunit in one population, respectively. No valine to isoleucine substitution (V62I) was found in the nAChR β1 subunit in any of the tested populations. The leucine to phenylalanine substitution (L1014F) in sodium channel α subunit was found in five MR populations. The relative expression of the CYP6CY13 gene was significantly upregulated in the Daiyue and Shenxian populations. The CYP6CY14 gene was significantly upregulated in Daiyue, Dongchangfu, Shenxian, Mengyin and Anqiu populations. The CYP6CY19 gene was significantly upregulated in the Dongchangfu and Mengyin populations. The relative expressions of the esterase E4 or FE4 genes were significantly upregulated in most of the MR populations. These results provide insight into the current insecticide resistance of A. gossypii and may contribute to more effective resistance management strategies.

Superhydrophobic surfaces based on chemically reduce graphene oxide (rGO) and titania (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles on micro-structured K9 glass were facilely fabricated. Graphene oxide (GO) sheets were assembled on micro-structured K9 glass substrates by electrostatic self-assembly techniques. A positively charged rGO surface was achieved via reduction of GO by aniline vapors. Negative TiO 2 nanoparticles were assembled on rGO, and followed by surface modification with trichlorosilane. The resultant surfaces exhibited excellent superhydrophobic characteristics. A contact angle as high as 153.5° was achieved. The method is simple yet versatile, and the resultant structures are very useful because of the superhydrophobicity as well as light catalytic effects of rGO–TiO 2 hybrids, which make these as-tailored structures ideal candidates for self-cleaning applications.

In this paper, periodic nanostructures were fabricated on GaAs wafers by four-beam UV pulsed laser interference patterning. Significant different results were observed on epi-ready and homo-epitaxial GaAs substrate surfaces, which suggests GaAs oxide layer has an important effect on pulsed laser irradiation process. In the case of two-pulse patterning, a noticeable morphology transformation induced by the second pulse was observed on homo-epitaxial GaAs substrate. Based on photo-thermal mode, temperature distribution on sample surface as a function of time and position was calculated by solving the heat diffusion equations.

In recent years, pure electric ship research has become a hot spot in the field of ship research, and lithium battery packs are a major difficulty in the research of pure power ships. Especially the life and safety problems of lithium battery packs seriously affect the future practical application of ships. Therefore, the energy storage system is designed as two sets of lithium battery packs. While increasing the energy of the energy storage system, the power supply of the battery pack is ensured, which not only ensures the safety of the pure electric ship, but also reduces the aging reaction rate of the lithium battery pack. Through the multi-energy ship modeling, specifically related to the control and safe operation of lithium battery packs, a lithium battery pack energy management strategy is provided. The specific scheme is: the model of ship sailing mileage and SOC is established by the theory of energy conservation, the lithium battery aging model is obtained by the lithium battery data of the actual pure electric ship navigation, and the lithium battery pack energy switching based on the mileage aging battery model is proposed. The strategy uses a logic threshold optimization algorithm to reduce the aging rate of the lithium battery pack. Finally, the experimental results show that the lithium battery pack with energy management strategy can perform 400 more navigations when the capacity loss reaches 15% in the same environment. It shows that this strategy is beneficial to improve the cycle life of lithium battery packs.

The present study was conducted to establish a sandwich ELISA for the determination of prolactin (PRL) concentrations in the plasma of domestic fowls. The assay uses a recombinant goose PRL as the reference standard, expressed in a eukaryotic system, and as the antigen for raising a polyclonal antibody in rabbit. This rabbit anti-goose PRL polyclonal antibody was used for coating the wells of the ELISA plate, and its biotinylated form served as the detection antibody. An avidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase was used to bind the detection antibody and to catalyze the chromogenic reaction using 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine as the substrate. The assay showed a linear relationship between the optical density and concentration of the standard PRL in the 0 to 12.5 ng/mL range, and the assay was sensitive to a concentration as low as 0.39 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-assay CVs were7% and 11%, respectively. The response curves of the serially diluted plasma samples from goose, duck, and chicken exhibited similar parallel relationships to that observed for the reference standards. Consistent with previous findings, the assay effectively detected differences in PRL concentration in plasma samples from chicken, duck, and goose at various reproductive stages.

At present domestic drillability prediction is mainly aimed at sandy mudstone formation, The aim is to study less carbonate strata. With the increase of carbonate exploration reserves, the development of carbonate is the main task facing oil companies. This paper has passed the indoor core test, combined with site logging data, research and analysis of mathematical statistics. The relationship between the rock drillability, compressive strength and acoustic jet lag, plasticity coefficient and poisson ratio, and the difference between the surface acoustic jet lag and the time difference between the wave jet and the wave jet were also found. A prediction model is established for predicting the parameters of drilling resistance in carbonate rocks using well logging data. In this paper, the anti-drilling characteristics of carbonate rocks in Yingxi block of Qinghai oilfield are analyzed, Provide reasonable basis for the selection of bit type in the area.

Radix Astragali (RA) is one of the most widely used Chinese herbs prescribed in many Chinese formulas to reinforce 'Qi' and treat vital energy deficiency. This study combined fingerprinting with quantitative analysis multi-components by a single marker (QAMS) to improve the quality control standard for RA on the basis of existing quality control methods of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS technique was used to evaluate the quality of RA by fingerprinting and QAMS. Using the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and anti-anoxic activities to screen characteristic components of RA, the calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside (CG), ononin, astragaloside IV, astragaloside II, calycosin and astrageloside I significantly inhibited ear edema in mice, the calycosin and CG had good antioxidant activity and the astragaloside I had a significant anti-hypoxia activity. Astragaloside I, astragaloside II, astragaloside IV, ononin, calycosin and CG had significant pharmacological actions. These components were comprehensively used as the indicative components for the quality control of RA. Astragaloside I was used as the internal standard of the relative correction factors of CG (13.45), ononin (0.51), calycosin (12.08), astragaloside IV (0.73) and astragaloside II (0.81). Astragaloside I and CG were used as internal standards of the relative correction factors of the flavonoids and saponins of ononin (1.11), calycosin (0.04), astragaloside IV (0.73) and astragaloside II (0.81). The study combined fingerprinting with QAMS to improve the quality control standard for RA.

The compound 4-vinylguaiacol, which is produced by the decarboxylation of ferulic acid in certain yeasts, is an important flavour compound in the brewing industry. This decarboxylation ability varies significantly in different beer yeasts and most strains possessing this ability are classified as ale yeasts. In this study, both lager and ale strains were used for fermentation tests and the decarboxylation ability was quantified. Two lager and three ale strains were identified with high ferulic acid decarboxylation activity. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of PAD1 and FDC1 was conducted by gene sequencing and alignment. In addition, transcription analysis of the two genes was also performed with a GeXP genetic analysis system. A positive relationship between SNPs and ferulic acid decarboxylation activity was determined, and the premature termination codon introduced by base substitution and insertion resulted in the loss of this ability in beer yeasts, whereas other SNPs had a relatively limited influence on it. The GeXP results revealed that genes containing nonsense mutations exhibited low transcription levels, which could be explained by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. These findings will further the understanding of the relationship between SNPs and biological traits, and will hopefully provide a promising strain selection method for industrial yeasts based on SNP markers. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

We designed and successfully fabricated a ZnS/CdS 3D mesoporous heterostructure with a mediating Zn1–xCdxS interface., We designed and successfully fabricated a ZnS/CdS 3D mesoporous heterostructure with a mediating Zn1–xCdxS interface that serves as a charge carrier transport channel for the first time. The H2-production rate and the stability of the heterostructure involving two sulfides were dramatically and simultaneously improved by the careful modification of the interface state via a simple post-annealing method. The sample prepared with the optimal parameters exhibited an excellent H2-production rate of 106.5 mmol h–1 g–1 under visible light, which was 152 and 966 times higher than CdS prepared using ethylenediamine and deionized water as the solvent, respectively. This excellent H2-production rate corresponded to the highest value among the CdS-based photocatalysts. Moreover, this heterostructure showed excellent photocatalytic stability over 60 h.

Aluminum honeycomb is a good energy-absorption material because of its high strength and low density. To estimate the buffering and energy absorbing capacity of aluminum honeycomb, we designed and tested a cylindrical cushioning structure with two types of aluminum honeycomb. In the experiments, the out-of-plane crushing behavior of aluminum honeycombs was investigated on three types of samples including single honeycomb sample, stacked samples with two honeycombs, and three honeycombs at a fixed quasi-static loading condition. The results show that the energy-absorbing capacity of combined honeycomb sample is slightly better than that of the single honeycomb sample with the same total thickness in the concerned range. However, the collapse stress will significantly increase when two specimens with approximately the same thickness insert into each other completely, which should be avoided in the cushioning design. The design of combined honeycomb consisted of three stacked honeycombs can obtain a relatively smooth stress state, which is beneficial to protect the cylinder. As a result, one can draw a conclusion that combined honeycomb buffer consisted of multi-layered honeycomb samples should be given priority in the optimization design of aluminum honeycomb buffer.

Porous electrospun nanofibers, as new materials for solid-phase extraction, were synthesized by electrospinning and coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to determine sulfonamide residues in environmental water. Aligned porous polystyrene electrospun nanofibers were fabricated under the mechanism of phase separation. The high-specific surface of these nanofibers (70 m(2)/g) could improve recoveries of the target sulfonamides 4-10 times compared with that of polystyrene nonporous material (3.8 m(2)/g). Under the optimized conditions, 13 sulfonamide residues showed an excellent linear relationship in the range of 0.125-12.5 ng/mL with a linear correlation coefficient (r(2)) greater than 0.99, and the detection limits of sulfonamides were as low as 0.80-5.0 ng/L. Compared to the commercial C18 and HLB columns, the homemade porous nanofibers columns had some merits including simple fabrication and extraction process, short process time and environmental friendliness. The optimized method was applied to eight water samples collected from different livestock farms (Xuzhou, China). The results showed that polystyrene porous nanofibers were promising to preconcentrate sulfonamides of different polarities in the waste water.

Berberine (BBR) has shown neuroprotective properties. The present study aims to investigate the effects of BBR on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and SphK1/S1P signaling, which plays a key role in MS. EAE was induced in mice, followed by treatment with BBR at 50, 100, or 300 mg/kg/d. Neurophysiological function was evaluated daily; inflammation, cell infiltration, and the severity of demyelination were also examined. The SphK1, SphK2, and S1P levels in the animals and primary astrocyte culture were measured. We found that treatment with BBR reduced the loss of neurophysiological function and the degree of demyelination. Moreover, BBR was associated with a decrease in SphK1 and S1P levels both in the animals and in culture. These results indicated that BBR suppresses demyelination and loss of neurophysiological function by inhibiting the SphK1/S1P signaling pathway. The use of BBR as a treatment of MS warrant further exploration.

We have investigated the influence of heat treatment on the morphologies of copper nanoparticles based films on glass slides by a spin coating method. The experiments show that heat treatment can modify the sizes and morphologies of copper nanoparticles based films on glass slides. We suggest that through changing the parameters of heat treatment process may be helpful to vary the scattering and absorbing intensity of copper nanoparticles when used in energy harvesting/conversion and optical devices.

The most significant factors influencing beer quality are the variety of aroma flavours that stem from a complex system of interactions between many hundreds of compounds. With increasing demand for flavour control and enhanced productivity, the presence of consistent and balanced amounts of higher alcohols and esters are critical aspects of process control. Extensive research has focused on the formation of flavour compounds by the brewing yeast and the factors that influence their synthesis. Fermenting wort is a complex medium from which the brewing yeast utilizes nutrients for living and growth and to where it places its metabolic by-products. Thus, changes in wort composition will greatly influence final beer aroma. The current paper reviews up-to-date knowledge on the contribution of wort composition to the flavour quality of the final product, in particular higher alcohols and esters. Different wort constituents involved in the biosynthesis of these aromatic substances, and which therefore require control during brewery fermentations, are reviewed. Copyright © 2014 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

The welding tool is the key of micro friction stir welding (&mu, FSW), which affects the heat input and the plastic forming of weld metal. In this paper, 0.8-mm-thick ultra-thin 1060-H24 aluminum sheets &mu, FSW butt joints were used to compare and analyze the influence of the conventional tool and shoulderless tool on weld shaping, microstructure and mechanical properties. Besides, by measuring the axial force, transverse force and weld temperature in &mu, FSW process, the influence of these two different tools on the heat input and metal flow mechanism of the weld were analyzed. The results show that the weld generated by the shoulderless tool has narrower width, less heat input and metal involved in plastic forming resulting in smaller HAZ (heat affected zone). The hardness of NZ (nugget zone) is obviously increased compared with that of the base metal. The highest tensile strength can reach 108.6 MPa, accounting for 78.6% of the base metal and 117.3% of the joint by the conventional tool. But the welding defects have to be overcome for industrial application of the shoulderless tool.

In this work, we demonstrate excellent gas sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)-polypyrrole (PPy) networks for the detection of ammonia (NH3) gas. The SWNTs networks were deposited on oxidized silicon surface functionalized with 3-aminopropytrimethysilane. The Fe3+ions were easily adsorbed on the surface of SWNTs by ion exchange process. After deposition of PPy molecules on the surface of SWNTs by chemical vapor polymerization process in a sealed container with pyrrole vapors, SWNTs-PPy networks were formed. By the combination of traditional silicon processes, SWNTs-PPy networks-based gas sensors were fabricated at a wafer scale. The sensitive properties of the resultant gas sensors for the detection of NH3gas were investigated at room temperature. And the results suggested that the gas sensors based on SWNTs-PPy networks exhibited excellent sensitivity to NH3gas. This new method is very simple, which holds great potential in the wide spread practical production.

A rapid, sensitive, precise and specific method for determination of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME), a novel photodynamic therapy (PDT) drug, was developed and validated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. HMME was isolated from the plasma by a single-step liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The analyte and internal standard fluorescein were baseline separated on a Diamonsil C(18) analytical column (4.6 x 150 mm, 5 microm) and analyzed using a fluorescence detector with the excitation and emission wavelengths set at 395 and 613 nm, respectively. The method was linear in the concentration range 0.025-5 microg/mL with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 10 ng/mL. The inter- and intra-day accuracies and precisions were all within 10% and the mean recoveries of HMME and fluorescein were 95 +/- 3.7 and 90 +/- 2.3%, respectively. The analyte was stable during all sample storage, preparation and analysis periods. This method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after a single-dose intravenous administration of HMME (5 mg/kg) to beagle dogs. This method was reproducible and sensitive enough for the pharmacokinetic study of HMME. Based on the results of the pharmacokinetic study, we suggest that a rather long light-avoiding time is essential for patients under HMME therapy.

The use of acid electrolysed water (AcEW) is a relatively new sanitizing technique for brewery equipment. Experiments showed that a 30% AcEW (a free chlorine concentration of above 17 mg/L) was a sufficient and effective alternative to conventional sanitizers such as peracetic acid (2%). On the basis of the results of industrial-scale clean-in-place tests, an effective AcEW-based clean-in-place procedure, which requires only 10 min of cleaning and does not require final water rinsing after sanitation, was established for the bright beer tank. Copyright © 2013 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

Quantitative analysis for biological single molecules in Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus and identification method by chemometrics was established by using high-performance liquid chromatography. Amino acids, nucleosides, and nucleobases were quantitatively analyzed, and 11 peaks were selected for species identification. A Common pattern was established for chemometrics, and then similarity analysis, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis heatmap were applied, and the results indicated that species were ideally identified from the adulterants as Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus. This evaluation method was valuable for further quality control to select the characteristic components.

This study aimed to rapidly determine 13 representative sulfonamide (SA) residues in pork by using a surface-modified hydrophilic polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) electrospun nanofibrous membrane as the solid-phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment sorbent, followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis. The highly hydrophilic nature of PSSA nanofibrous membrane created by vacuum plasma treatment was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), water contact angle, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. In the pretreatment procedures, 13 SA standards, which were spiked in the fatty pork samples, were extracted, enriched, and purified by the SPE procedure based on the principle of ion exchange with the sulfonic groups on the PSSA chains. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves of 13 SA compounds showed good linearities with correlation coefficients (r) of more than 0.99 in the range of 50.0-200 μg kg(-1). The mean recoveries of 13 SAs at the spiked concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 μg kg(-1) were in the range of 70.3-92.5 % with average RSDs (n = 6) of less than 15 % (except for sulfacetamide, 56.9-61.6 %). Compared with other pretreatment methods reported previously, less organic solvent (especially without degreasing the extract with n-hexane) was used in this time-saving SPE procedure, which avoids the possibility of emulsification and therefore enhances the recoveries. The developed and validated analysis method was sensitive, accurate, rapid, convenient, environmentally friendly, and was successfully applied for the detection of 13 SA residues in commercially available pork samples.