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Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is proving to be a promising option for residential energy storage applications. Many studies have indicated that the pressure drop and heat and mass transfer efficiency of the reactor are two key determinants with TCES technologies. In this paper, net-packed method is used to carry out thermal performance enhancement study for a thermochemical reactor. Compared with and the without net packed methods, copper mesh shows better thermal performance. The copper mesh method of zeolite achieved maximum temperature rise of 38.6 °C, which is 4.4 °C and 2.3 °C higher than that of the non-packed and aluminum mesh, respectively. The pressure drop is reduced by 28.1% and higher water adsorption has been realized. In addition, the energy storage density of 784.4 kJ/kg and thermal efficiency of 38.2% are obtained with the copper mesh. These are 1.6 and 2.4 times the results of the non-packed tests respectively.

Loss of physical and emotional health due to spinal cord injury (SCI) has been rapidly increasing worldwide. Effective evaluation of the severity of SCI is crucial to its prognosis. Herein, we constructed rat models of SCI with four different degrees of injury (sham group, light injury group, moderate injury group, and heavy injury group), using the surgical approach. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma, and spinal cord were sampled at the sub-acute spinal cord (72 h post-injury) from each rat. The LC–MS-based metabolic profiling of these samples was performed according to a universal metabolome standard (UMS). The results demonstrated that 130, 104, and 128 metabolites were significantly altered within the CSF, plasma, and spinal cord samples, respectively. Among them, there were four differential metabolites, including uric acid, phosphorycholine, pyridoxine, and guanidoacetic acid, which were commonly identified within the CSF, plasma, and spinal cord samples. Further pathway analysis of these differential metabolites demonstrated a disturbance in the metabolism of glyoxylate and dicarboxylate and glycine, serine, and threonine which were associated with pathophysiologic consequence of spinal cord injury. In particular, phosphorycholine, pyridoxine, and guanidoacetic acid demonstrated a relationship with SCI severity. Thus, they could be utilized as potential metabolite biomarkers for SCI severity assessment.

One attractive aspect of CO2 sequestration in shale formations is the preferential adsorption of CO2 compared to methane, which may provide enhanced methane production as well as sequestration of carbon dioxide. In this work, a comprehensive theoretical model of CO2 migration at the pore scale is developed to study CO2 migration properties in organic-rich shale formations. The proposed model takes into account dynamic competitive adsorption between CO2 and CH4, slip-flow effects due to the nanometer range of pore sizes, and pore-size changes due to adsorption. Because of the high pressure and temperature, the injected CO2 is in supercritical phase. Pore bodies in the shale matrix are irregular in shape, with roughness along pore wall. The structure of pore body affects the amount of surface areas and associated number of adsorption sites, and hence, a shape factor is proposed in this work to consider the irregularity of pore structure in shale matrix. The sorption of CO2 leads to an apparent retardation of the migration of CO2, which is quantified in this work. The developed pore-network model is extended to consider the impacts of different spatial distributions of the organic materials within the shale matrix.

Retromer, a cellular protein trafficking complex, sorts human papillomaviruses (HPVs) into the retrograde pathway for transport of HPV to the nucleus during virus entry. Here, we conducted a protein modulation screen to isolate four artificial transmembrane proteins called traptamers that inhibit different steps of HPV entry. By analyzing cells expressing pairs of traptamers, we ordered the trafficking steps during entry into a coherent pathway. One traptamer stimulates ubiquitination of the L2 capsid protein or associated proteins and diverts incoming virus to the lysosome, whereas the others act downstream by preventing sequential passage of the virus through retrograde compartments. Complex genetic interactions between traptamers revealed that a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) on L2 mediates transient insertion of L2 into the endosome membrane, which is stabilized by retromer-L2 binding. These results define the retrograde entry route taken by HPV and show that retromer can play a role in CPP-mediated membrane insertion.

Solid bitumen in reservoir rocks is an allochthonous organic matter formed from bitumen or liquid hydrocarbons by various alteration processes. In this study, two types of altered solid bitumen have been identified in both the Ediacaran Dengying and Cambrian Longwangmiao formations in the Central Sichuan Basin using petrographic, microthermometric, chemical, and isotopic data. The hydrothermally altered bitumen (type 1) is associated with the pore-filling saddle dolomite and quartz in which homogenization temperatures of some fluid inclusions are more than 10 °C higher than the maximum burial temperature of the Dengying Formation. It has various anisotropic textures with significantly high bireflectance values (Rbmax − Rbmin, %) between 3.89% and 9.21%. Moreover, the hydrothermal alteration led to 13C-enrichment in the type 1 bitumen compared to the normally matured bitumen derived from the same source. On the other hand, the thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR)-altered bitumen (type 2) has S/C atomic ratios of up to approximately 0.06. The δ34S values of type 2 bitumen are close to those of the carbonate-associated sulfate and similar to the TSR-derived H2S in the same reservoirs. A strong negative correlation exists between S/C atomic ratios and δ13C values in the type 2 bitumen in the Dengying Formation, which is interpreted as a result of an increasing incorporation of the 13C-depleted ethanethiol into the bitumen during TSR. This interpretation is consistent with the fact that the remaining ethane became isotopically heavier as TSR proceeded. In addition, the reactive sulfate for TSR was primarily derived from the hydrothermal sulfate, such as barite. This is evidenced by the replacement of hydrothermal barite by the 34S-enriched pyrite and the small differences in δ34S value between the barite and the type 2 bitumen (or the TSR-derived H2S) in the same strata. We suggest that TSR in the Ediacaran and Cambrian hydrocarbon reservoirs was probably initiated by hydrothermal activity.

Four types of sustainable sodium carboxylate-derived materials are investigated as novel electrodes with high performance for lithium-ion batteries. Benefiting from the porous morphology provided by their intermolecular interactions, increasing capacity, excellent cycle stability and superior rate performance are observed for the sodium carboxylate- derived materials. The sodium oxalate (SO) electrodes displayed an increasing discharging capacity at a current density of 50 mA g−1 with with maximum values of 242.9 mA h g−1 for SO-631 and 373.9 mA h g−1 for SO-541 during the 100th cycle. In addition, the SO-541, SC-541 (sodium citrate), ST- 541 (sodium tartrate) and SP-541 (sodium pyromellitate) electrode materials displayed high initial capacities of 619.6, 392.3, 403.7 and 278.1 mA h g−1, respectively, with capacity retentions of 179%, 148%, 173% and 108%, respectively, after 200 cycles at 50 mA g−1 with. Even at a high current density of 2,000 mA g−1 with, the capacities remain 157.6, 131.3, 146.6 and 137.0 mA h g−1, respectively. With these superior electrochemical properties, the sodium carboxylate-derived materials could be considered as promising organic electrode materials for large-scale sustainable lithium-ion batteries.

Organic carbon-coated LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 materials are prepared by mixing 2 or 5% starch or bagasse evenly with the synthesized LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 material and calcining for 10 h at 750 °C. The microstructures and electrochemical performance are investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, carbon/sulfur analysis, transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical testing. The results indicate that the organic carbon coated on the surface of LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 material does not change the surface morphology and crystal structure, but greatly improves the conductivity, rate and cycle performance of the LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 cathode in a Li-ion battery. The initial discharge capacity of the synthesized LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 material is 147.8 mAh g−1, which increases to 152.4 and 153.3 mAh g−1 for 2% starch and bagasse, respectively. After 100 cycles, the capacity retention rates are 70.7% (uncoated), 83.3% (coated with 2% starch), 90.1% (coated with 2% bagasse), 83.1% (coated with 5% starch) and 91.1% (coated with 5% bagasse). The influence of the percentage of coated carbon and its dispersion uniformity on the performance of the battery is analyzed. A small coating capacity and uniform carbon film can achieve better performance. Rational organic carbon coating technology is an effective way to improve the electrochemical performance of LiNi1−x−y Mn x Co y O2-based material.

An anticancer drug delivery system consisting of DNA nanoparticles synthesized by rolling circle amplification (RCA) was developed for prostate cancer membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted cancer therapy. The template of RCA was a DNA oligodeoxynucleotide coded with PSMA-targeted aptamer, drug-loading domain, primer binding site and pH-sensitive spacer. Anticancer drug doxorubicin, as the model drug, was loaded into the drug-loading domain (multiple GC-pair sequences) of the DNA nanoparticles by intercalation. Due to the integrated pH-sensitive spacers in the nanoparticles, in an acidic environment, the cumulative release of doxorubicin was far more than the cumulative release of the drug in the normal physiological environment. In cell uptake experiments, treated with doxorubicin loaded DNA nanoparticles, PSMA-positive C4-2 cells could take up more doxorubicin than PSMA-null PC-3 cells. The prepared DNA nanoparticles showed the potential as drug delivery system for PSMA targeting prostate cancer therapy.

Fragmentation reactions of protonated α-amino acids (AAs) were studied previously using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) of unit mass resolution. Isobaric fragmentation products and minor fragmentation products could have been overlooked or misannotated. In the present study, we examined the fragmentation patterns of 19 AAs using high-resolution electrospray ionization MS/MS (HR-ESI-MS/MS) with collision-induced dissociation (CID). Isobaric fragmentation products from protonated Met and Trp were resolved and identified for the first time. Previously unreported fragmentation products from protonated Met, Cys, Gln, Arg, and Lys were observed. Additionally, the chemical identity of a fragmentation product from protonated Trp that was incorrectly annotated in previous investigations was corrected. All previously unreported fragmentation products and reactions were verified by pseudo MS3 experiments and/or MS/MS analyses of deuterated AAs. Clearer pictures of the fragmentation reactions for Met, Cys, Trp, Gln, Arg and Lys were obtained in the present study.

In order to understand redox variations and organic matter accumulation on the Yangtze carbonate platform during the Late Ediacaran–Early Cambrian, petrological and geochemical studies of several wells were carried out in this work. Our data suggest that depositional environments were dominated by oxidizing bottom water conditions during the late Ediacaran, and evolved to anoxic conditions, triggered by blooms of microbial organisms in surface waters during the earliest Cambrian. Subsequently, massive release of H 2 S derived from both anaerobic recycling of organic matter and, probably, hydrothermal venting promoted a sulfidic ocean. The discovery of a Ni-Mo sulfide ore layer in the basal Cambrian implies that such a sulfidic condition spread onto the Yangtze carbonate platform interior during the late Cambrian Stage 2. Further, transgressive flooding led to widespread black shale deposition and persistently anoxic conditions, as indicated by geochemical proxies. During the late Ediacaran to earliest Cambrian, local and widespread phosphogenesis indicates that organic matter accumulation was intimately associated with microbial (especially cyanobacterial) blooms driven by phosphorus cycling. The organic matter accumulations in early Cambrian black shales, however, were in connection with anoxic bottom water conditions and intermittent replenishment of recycled organic phosphorus to surface waters.

Cystine is an important biomolecule in living systems. Although collision-induced dissociation (CID)-based tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is commonly applied for identification and quantification of cystine in both biomedical and nutritional studies, gas-phase fragmentation reactions of cystine in CID has remained unclear. This may lead to improper assay design, which may in turn result in inaccurate test results. In the present study, gas-phase fragmentation reactions of protonated cystine in CID were characterized using high-resolution MS/MS and pseudo MS3. Fragmentations started from cleavages of disulfide bond (S&ndash, S) and carbon&ndash, sulfur bond (C&ndash, S). When cleaving at the S&ndash, S, protonated cysteine was generated as one of the predominant fragmentation products. Minor fragmentations started from the loss of H2O + CO and the loss of NH3. Our results reveal that the m/z 74 fragment ion, which is commonly used as a product ion of the transition (precursor/product ion pair) in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assay for quantifying cystine, comprises two isobaric fragments originating from different parts of cystine. This indicates the need for careful selection of a stable isotope-labeled cystine molecule as an internal standard for SRM assays. Here, we provide a clear picture of the fragmentation reactions of protonated cystine in CID. It can serve as a useful guidance for designing MS/MS-based assays for cystine testing.

In order to evaluate rare earth elements (REEs) as a potential proxy for solid bitumen classification, we employed traditional correlation approaches, such as carbon isotopes and V/(V + Ni) ratios, to infer the source rocks of Sinian–Cambrian reservoir solid bitumens in the Sichuan Basin and analyse solid bitumens for their REE compositions by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Our data suggested that Sinian–Cambrian reservoir solid bitumens were primarily sourced from the lower Cambrian shales deposited under anoxic–euxinic conditions. REE and their associated parameters seemed to be more sensitive to classify solid bitumens than traditional correlation approaches. REE concentrations played a dominant role and fractionation degree between light and heavy REE and played a secondary role in solid bitumen classification. REE concentration and pattern in solid bitumens might be controlled by two processes, including inheritance from source rocks and water–rock interaction. The major factor controlling REE concentrations in solid bitumens was the type of organic matter of source rocks. Authigenic minerals in solid bitumens formed by water–rock interaction appeared to have little influence on REE compositions of solid bitumens because of their trace contents. Overall, REE could be used as a novel complementary approach to solid bitumen classification in complicated petroleum systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Salvia splendens is a perennial, ornamental herbaceous flower that is widely cultivated as a bedding plant in gardens. The development of novel S. splendens cultivars and investigating the relevant molecular mechanisms are of great significance. In this study, RNA-sequencing and real-time PCR methods were used to analyze the possible molecular mechanism of S. splendens mutant, SX919M. From the wild-type S. splendens 919CK, we firstly selected a natural mutant, SX919M, which displayed multiple branches, clustered spheroids, and radial symmetrical inflorescence with higher numbers of calyces, ovules, stamens, and perianth tubes. Further, the RNA-seq was used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the mutant which included a total of 3568 upregulated and 3290 downregulated unigenes. We further observed that the indole alkaloid biosynthesis pathway showed the highest DEG enrichment, which was supported by a significant increase in the IAA content in mutant SX919M. In addition, we validated three DEGs, namely, CL2200.Contig2_All encoding methyl IAA esterase, CL12462.Contig1_All and CL12462.Contig2_All, which encoded strictosidine synthase, upregulated in mutant SX919M. We selected a novel S. splendens germplasm SX919M with a high ornamental value and determined that the upregulation of IAA biogenesis may be associated with its development.

Preferential flowpaths (PFP) causes highly heterogeneity of soil. In this study a preferential flowpaths generalized model has been established, based on dual-domain model (DDM) which reflects contaminant transport and the dynamic transfer between mobile and immobile domains, quantitatively analyses the contaminant mass transfer in pore scale at three different conditions. Besides, define relative hydraulic conductivity reflect the impact of PFP physical parameters, results show that it can affect the contaminant transport form and the distribution of contaminant concentration.

Highly transparent and conducting fluorine (F) and tin (Sn) co-doped ZnO (FTZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the sol–gel processing. The structure and morphology of the films are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with various F doping concentrations. SEM images showed that the hexagonal ZnO crystals were well-arranged on the glass substrates and the HRTEM images indicated that the individual nanocrystals are highly oriented and exhibited a perfect lattice structure. Owing to its high carrier concentration and mobility, as well as good crystal quality, a minimum resistivity of 1 × 10−3 Ω cm was obtained from the FTZO thin film with 3% F doping, and the average optical transmittance in the entire visible wavelength region was higher than 90%. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study confirmed the substitution of Zn2+ by Sn ions and Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) observed for pure and FTZO thin films suggested the films exhibit a good crystallinity with a very low defect concentration.

The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib is the first oral agent to show activity against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although the clinical application of sorafenib has shown good tolerability in the studied populations, it also causes multiple human dose-limiting toxicities. Thus, there is a strong need to reduce the overall dose of sorafenib. We have reported that the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) expression can decrease the sensitivity of HCC cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, we sought to explore whether EGFRvIII can affect the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib. In this study, we observed that EGFRvIII expression significantly decreased the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib. To enhance the antitumor effect and reduce the overall dose of sorafenib, we evaluated the combined effects of CH12, a monoclonal antibody against EGFRvIII, and sorafenib on the growth of HCC cells expressing EGFRvIII in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that, when CH12 was combined with sorafenib, the tumor growth suppression effect was significantly increased, and the concentration of sorafenib required for growth inhibition was substantially reduced. Mechanistically, the combination could more noticeably downregulate the phosphorylation of constitutively active extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), Akt (Thr308), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) than sorafenib alone. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that CH12 interacts additively with sorafenib to strongly inhibit the tumor growth of HCC xenografts expressing EGFRvIII by enhancing the sorafenib-mediated inhibition of the MEK/ERK, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT, and STAT3 pathways.

Topical microemulsion of capsaicin without surfactant was developed in this study. In these systems, the oil phase was benzyl alcohol, and the cosurfactant was propylene glycol and ethanol. The drop-size of the systems was measured by dynamic light scattering method in order to distinguish true solution from microemulsion. The transdermal performance of the microemulsions was evaluated in vitro by Franz diffusion cells fitted with rat skins. The results showed the drop-size of the microemulsions without surfactant was smaller than that of the systems with Tween 80 and the permeation rate of capsaicin decreased as the content of Tween 80 increased. In the system composed of water, benzyl alcohol and propylene glycol, the permeation rate increased with the enhancement of benzyl alcohol and water. But water content had little effect on the permeation rate in the microemulsions with ethanol as cosurfactant.

Mammalian KIF3AC contains two distinct motor polypeptides and is best known for its role in organelle transport in neurons. Our recent studies showed that KIF3AC is as processive as conventional kinesin-1, suggesting that their ATPase mechanochemistry may be similar. However, the presence of two different motor polypeptides in KIF3AC implies that there must be a cellular advantage for the KIF3AC heterodimer. The hypothesis tested was whether there is an intrinsic bias within KIF3AC such that either KIF3A or KIF3C initiates the processive run. To pursue these experiments, a mechanistic approach was used to compare the pre-steady-state kinetics of KIF3AC to the kinetics of homodimeric KIF3AA and KIF3CC. The results indicate that microtubule collision at 11.4 μM(-1) s(-1) coupled with ADP release at 78 s(-1) are fast steps for homodimeric KIF3AA. In contrast, KIF3CC exhibits much slower microtubule association at 2.1 μM(-1) s(-1) and ADP release at 8 s(-1). For KIF3AC, microtubule association at 6.6 μM(-1) s(-1) and ADP release at 51 s(-1) are intermediate between the constants for KIF3AA and KIF3CC. These results indicate that either KIF3A or KIF3C can initiate the processive run. Surprisingly, the kinetics of the initial event of microtubule collision followed by ADP release for KIF3AC is not equivalent to 1:1 mixtures of KIF3AA plus KIF3CC homodimers at the same motor concentration. These results reveal that the intermolecular communication within the KIF3AC heterodimer modulates entry into the processive run regardless of whether the run is initiated by the KIF3A or KIF3C motor domain.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) non-structural protein 5B (NS5B) encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), a key enzyme which initiates RNA replication by a de novo mechanism without a primer and is a potential target for anti-virus therapy. We expressed the NS5B protein in Escherichia coli. The rGTP can stimulate de novo initiation of RNA synthesis and mutation of the GDD motif to Gly-Asp-Asp (GAA) abolishes the RNA synthesis. To better understand the mechanism of viral RNA synthesis in CSFV, a three-dimensional model was built by homology modeling based on the alignment with several virus RdRps. The model contains 605 residues folded in the characteristic fingers, palm and thumb domains. The fingers domain contains an N-terminal region that plays an important role in conformational change. We propose that the experimentally observed promotion of polymerase efficiency by rGTP is probably due to the conformational changes of the polymerase caused by binding the rGTP. Mutation of the GDD to GAA interferes with the interaction between the residues at the polymerase active site and metal ions, and thus renders the polymerase inactive. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using diphenylisobenzofuran (C20H14O) as a singlet oxygen (1O2) reporter, a comparison method, which can be used to measure the singlet oxygen quantum yield (ΦΔ) of the photosensitizer quantitatively, is presented in this paper. Based on this method, an automatic measuring instrument of singlet oxygen quantum yield is developed. The singlet oxygen quantum yield of the photosensitizer hermimether and aloe-emodin is measured. It is found that the measuring results are identical to the existing ones, which verifies the validity of the measuring instrument.

The presence of preferential flowpaths(PFP) causes highly heterogeneity of soil. The complex contaminant transport through highly heterogeneous soil has become a key point on predicting the pollution soil and groundwater system. In this study a preferential flowpaths generalized model has been established, based on dual-domain model which reflects contaminant transport and the dynamic transfer between two domains, and quantitatively analyses the difference between advection-dispersion model (ADM) and dual-domain mass transfer model (DDM) in pore scale. The preferential ratio and scatter number are proposed to reflect the impact of PFP physical parameters. Results show that contaminant mass flux increases significantly with the increase of preferential ratio, specifically, when preferential ratio is 0.15, the mass flux is 4.5 times that of homogeneous at 150 a; and when the scatter number is 0.22, the solute flux is 8.5 times that of homogeneous at 150 a; Finally, the impact of saturation change for solute flux was also analyzed in the research.

There have been several studies suggesting that cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the high rates of recurrence and resistance to therapies observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has been demonstrated to be a biomarker of CSCs and a potential therapeutic target in HCC. Here, we prepared two anti-EpCAM monoclonal antibodies (1H8 and 2F2) and an anti-EpCAM bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) 1H8/CD3, which was derived from 1H8, and used them to treat HCC in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrated that all of the developed anti-EpCAM antibodies specifically bound to EpCAM. Neither anti-EpCAM monoclonal antibody had obvious anti-HCC activities in vitro or in vivo. However, anti-EpCAM BiTE 1H8/CD3 induced strong peripheral blood mononuclear cell-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells but not EpCAM-negative SK-Hep-1 cells. Notably, 1H8/CD3 completely inhibited the growth of Huh-7 and Hep3B xenografts in vivo. Treatment of the Huh-7 HCC xenografts with 1H8/CD3 significantly suppressed tumor proliferation and reduced the expression of most CSC biomarkers. Intriguingly, galectin-1 (Gal-1) overexpression inhibited 1H8/CD3-induced lymphocytotoxicity in HCCs while knockdown of Gal-1 increased the lymphocytotoxicity. Collectively, these results indicate that anti-EpCAM BiTE 1H8/CD3 is a promising therapeutic agent for HCC treatment. Gal-1 may contribute to the resistance of HCC cells to 1H8/CD3-induced lysis.

In this paper, the microspherical Fe2O3 was successfully obtained by calcining the FeCO3 sphere prepared by a hydrothermal route. The sphere morphology perfectly remained after the calcination of FeCO3 but the diameter of sphere decreased in a certain degree from 70–100 μm to 50–70 μm, which might be due to some loss of quantity during the calcination (FeCO3–Fe2O3). The sphere was solid and highly densified. At the same time, the effects of factors influencing the formation of FeCO3, such as PVP, reaction temperature were investigated. The simple formation process of FeCO3 was also proposed as follows: Fe2+ produced by the reduction of Fe3+ reacted with CO 3 2 - released from the decomposition of urea to form FeCO3 nanoparticle. Then, the formed nanoparticles aggregated together to produce sphere structure via oriented attachment. With the reaction time increasing, the sphere became solidness and densification.