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A series of anion exchange membranes was prepared from the copolymer of 1-vinyl imidazole and N-vinyl carbazole for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The structure of the membranes was studied using 1 H NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The thermal stability of the membranes was characterized by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The ion conductivity, methanol permeability, ionic exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, swelling ratio, and alkaline stability of the membranes were investigated. It is found that the ion conductivity of the membranes varied from 9.34×10 −2 to 20.28×10 −2 S cm −1 in deionized (DI) water and the methanol permeability varied from 4.5×10 −8 to 12.3×10 −8 cm 2 s −1 at 30 °C. All the as-prepared membranes are stable in a 1.0 M KOH solution at 60 °C for 1400 h due to the polyolefin backbone. A methanol/O 2 single cell evaluation exhibited an open circuit voltage of 0.93 V and peak power density of 125.8 mW cm −2 . Therefore, the as-prepared membranes have great potential for application in alkaline fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crevices of artificial joints can become occluded and are prone to severe corrosion. Different crevice width was controlled to reveal its effect to corrosion for two commonly used alloys (316L stainless steel and CoCrMo alloy). The results show that 316L stainless steel with the narrowest (0.05 mm) width corrodes more easily and more severely. There is no typical crevice corrosion for CoCrMo alloy, and the exterior of the crevice has different degrees of corrosion due to the mass transfer effect caused by the crevice with different widths. The corrosion rate reaches the lowest value when the width is 0.1 mm. [Display omitted] • 316L suffers serious corrosion under crevice width between 0.05 mm and 0.1 mm. • Corrosion occurs outside crevice region for CoCrMo due to mass transfer. • Outside crevice for CoCrMo, corrosion shows a gradient behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brass fiber brushes with various packing fractions were prepared by the method of filling and dissolving aluminum fibers. The compression tests of brass fiber brushes and brass block were conducted. The tribological behavior of the selected brass fiber brush of 23% packing fraction sliding against the copper, brass, coin-silver and steel discs was investigated. The microstructure, worn surface and wear debris of the brush and counterface materials were observed and analyzed to investigate the involved wear mechanisms. The compressibility of brass fiber brushes increases with the increase of packing fraction, and is much higher than the brass block. The brush against the four discs exhibits significantly high friction coefficient values range from 0.8 to 1.0 but the curves are fairly smooth. The brass fiber brush sliding against copper and brass discs experiences severe adhesive wear and gives a high wear rate compared with that against coin-silver and steel discs. The wear behavior of the brass fiber brush strongly depends on the counterface materials under dry sliding condition. The differences of the friction and wear mechanisms between fiber brushes and solid brushes were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We have investigated the effect of solvent-polymer interaction on the morphology, crystallinity, and device performance of poly-(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly{2,7-(9,9-didodecyl-fluorene)-alt-5,5-[4′,7′- bis(2-thienyl)-2′,1′,3′-benzothia-diaole]} (PF12TBT) blend system. 3-Hexylthiophene (3-HT), which had the similar structural units with both donor and acceptor materials, was chosen as the solvent additive to be added into the main solvent chlorobenzene (CB), to adjust the solvent-polymer interaction. With the 3-HT percentage increasing from 5 to 30% in CB solution, the solvent-polymer interaction between polymer and solvent molecules decreased slightly according to the calculated solubility parameters ( δ) and interaction parameters ( χ12). As a result, nanoscale phase-separated and interconnected morphology with decreased domain size of both donor and acceptor was formed. Meanwhile, the order of P3HT molecule was enhanced which resulted from the extended film drying time and increased molecular planarity after incorporation of 3-HT. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) had a gradual improvement to 1.08% as the 3-HT percentage reached 10%, which can be attributed to the enhanced short-circuit current ( Jsc) and fill factor (FF). However, when the 3-HT percentage exceeded 20%, the decreased Jsc and FF ultimately decreased the PCE. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015, 53, 288-296 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear estimation problems, such as range-only and bearing-only target tracking, are often addressed using linearized estimators, e.g., the extended Kalman filter (EKF). These estimators generally suffer from linearization errors as well as the inability to track multimodal probability density functions. In this paper, we propose a bank of batch maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimators as a general estimation framework that provides relinearization of the entire state trajectory, multihypothesis tracking, and an efficient hypothesis generation scheme. Each estimator in the bank is initialized using a locally optimal state estimate for the current time step. Every time a new measurement becomes available, we relax the original batch-MAP problem and solve it incrementally. More specifically, we convert the relaxed one-step-ahead cost function into polynomial or rational form and compute all the local minima analytically. These local minima generate highly probable hypotheses for the target's trajectory and hence greatly improve the quality of the overall MAP estimate. Additionally, pruning of least probable hypotheses and marginalization of old states are employed to control the computational cost. Monte Carlo simulation and real-world experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly outperforms the standard EKF, the batch-MAP estimator, and the particle filter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Riata Decision Analysis Introduction Riata and Riata ST implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads (St. Jude Medical, Sylmar, CA, USA) can develop conductor cable externalization and/or electrical failure. Optimal management of these leads remains unknown. Methods and Results A Markov model compared 4 lead management strategies: (1) routine device interrogation for electrical failure, (2) systematic yearly fluoroscopic screening and routine device interrogation, (3) implantation of new ICD lead with capping of the in situ lead, and (4) implantation of new ICD lead with extraction of the in situ lead. The base case was a 64-year-old primary prevention ICD patient. Modeling demonstrated average life expectancies as follows: capping with new lead implanted at 134.5 months, extraction with new lead implanted at 134.0 months, fluoroscopy with routine interrogation at 133.9 months, and routine interrogation at 133.5 months. One-way sensitivity analyses identified capping as the preferred strategy with only one parameter having a threshold value: when risk of nonarrhythmic death associated with lead abandonment is greater than 0.05% per year, lead extraction is preferred over capping. A second-order Monte Carlo simulation ( n = 10,000), as a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, found that lead revision was favored with 100% certainty (extraction 76% and capping 24%). Conclusions Overall there were minimal differences in survival with monitoring versus active lead management approaches. There is no evidence to support fluoroscopic screening for externalization of Riata or Riata ST leads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, it is accepted that thermal barrier coating (TBC) with good CMAS (CaO–MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 ) corrosion resistance has long lifetime. A columnar Al film was firstly deposited in this work at the top of 7 wt.% yttria-stabilized zirconia (7YSZ) TBC by magnetron sputtering. Then a vacuum treatment of Al-deposited TBC was carried out at 700 °C for 1 h and 900 °C for 5 h. An α-Al 2 O 3 layer was in situ synthesized at the top of 7YSZ TBC through the reaction of Al and ZrO 2 after vacuum heat treatment. The CMAS corrosion resistance of as-sprayed TBC and treated TBC was compared after isothermal test of 1200 °C for 24 h. The results indicated that the Al-deposited TBC after vacuum heat treatment has better CMAS corrosion resistance than the as-sprayed TBC. Two mechanisms are considered to contribute to the protective effect of in situ synthesized α-Al 2 O 3 layer: the first is α-Al 2 O 3 partially filling existed open pores and cracks in the top 7YSZ coating to hinder the penetration of molten CMAS; and the second is α-Al 2 O 3 reacted with CMAS forming CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 and MgAl 2 O 4 that play the role in inhibiting further infiltration of CMAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swt1 is an RNA endonuclease that plays an important role in quality control of nuclear messenger ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs) in eukaryotes; however, its structural details remain to be elucidated. Here, we report the crystal structure of the C-terminal (CT) domain of Swt1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae , which shares common characteristics of higher eukaryotes and prokaryotes nucleotide binding (HEPN) domain superfamily. To study in detail the full-length protein structure, we analyzed the low-resolution architecture of Swt1 in solution using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) method. Both the CT domain and middle domain exhibited a good fit upon superimposing onto the molecular envelope of Swt1. Our study provides the necessary structural information for detailed analysis of the functional role of Swt1, and its importance in the process of nuclear mRNP surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some recent studies use a convolutional neural network (CNN) or long short-term memory (LSTM) to extract gait features, but the methods based on the CNN and LSTM have a high loss rate of time-series and spatial information, respectively. Since gait has obvious time-series characteristics, while CNN only collects waveform characteristics, and only uses CNN for gait recognition, this leads to a certain lack of time-series characteristics. LSTM can collect time-series characteristics, but LSTM results in performance degradation when processing long sequences. However, using CNN can compress the length of feature vectors. In this paper, a sequential convolution LSTM network for gait recognition using multimodal wearable inertial sensors is proposed, which is called SConvLSTM. Based on 1D-CNN and a bidirectional LSTM network, the method can automatically extract features from the raw acceleration and gyroscope signals without a manual feature design. 1D-CNN is first used to extract the high-dimensional features of the inertial sensor signals. While retaining the time-series features of the data, the dimension of the features is expanded, and the length of the feature vectors is compressed. Then, the bidirectional LSTM network is used to extract the time-series features of the data. The proposed method uses fixed-length data frames as the input and does not require gait cycle detection, which avoids the impact of cycle detection errors on the recognition accuracy. We performed experiments on three public benchmark datasets: UCI-HAR, HuGaDB, and WISDM. The results show that SConvLSTM performs better than most of those reporting the best performance methods, at present, on the three datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Porous carbon and metal heteroatom are implanted into MIL-101 framework. • The 20%Mg@MIL-101/PC has an acetone capture capacity up to 1309 mg g−1 at 288 K. • Porous carbon effectively improves the surface dispersion force of the MIL-101. • Mg replaces the Cr atom to format Mg–O bond in the crystal core. • Adsorption mechanism between acetone and Mg@MIL-101 is elucidated by DFT. The development of highly active and stable adsorbents for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) capture is an efficient solution to address global problems in atmospheric pollution and environmental health. Herein, a metal–organic framework derived adsorbent consisting of metal heteroatom (Mg, Cu and Co) and porous carbon supported on MIL-101 framework is designed to enable high affinity for adsorbing acetone. The doped metal heteroatoms are homogeneously dispersed in the MIL-101/PC octahedron. The modification of doped metal heteroatoms improves the acetone adsorption capacity of the MIL-101/PC composite at low relative pressure. Importantly, the optimized 20%Mg@MIL-101/PC composite not only shows higher surface area (3838 m2 g−1) and pore volume (2.24 mL g−1) than MIL-101/PC, but also creates stronger active adsorption sites for acetone. As a consequence, the acetone adsorption capacity of 20%Mg@MIL-101/PC reaches 1309 mg g−1 at 288 K and 18 bar, and the saturated adsorption capacity decreases by only 12% over 10 adsorption–desorption consecutive cycles. Consequently, quantum chemistry calculation method is performed to better understand the microscopic adsorption behavior of acetone. The results of density functional theory (DFT) calculation show that the introduction of Mg can significantly improve the dipole moment of MIL-101 core and reduce its gap band energy, thus enhancing the electrostatic interaction with acetone molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charging operation is one of the four major blast-furnace (BF) smelting systems. A method for determining the burden flow distribution area is proposed, and the coordinate transformation method is adopted to study the influence of charging parameters on the burden flow velocity and distribution at the end of the chute. [Extracted from the article]

A series of novel quaternized fluorene-containing poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (APESs) were synthesized. Bromination rather than chloromethylation was used for the conversion of –CH3 to reactive –CH2Br. N,N,N׳,N׳-tetramethyl-1,6-diaminohexane (TMHDA) dissolved in isopropanol (IPA) was used as a quaternization reagent for the preparation of target anion exchange membranes (AEMs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), 1H NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to characterize the as-synthesized copolymers. The ratio of hydrophilic to hydrophobic monomers was varied to study the structure property of the AEMs. The obtained AEMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Water uptake (WU), swelling ratio, ionic exchange capacity (IEC), ionic conductivity, methanol permeability and alkaline stability were also studied. These AEMs have good properties as polymer electrolyte materials with high ionic conductivity (under hydrated conditions) in the range 2.89–8.85×10−2 Scm−1 and 5.60–15.64×10−2 Scm−1 at 30 and 80°C, respectively. The methanol permeability of the AEMs in the range 5.99–14.51×10−8 cms−1 is lower than that of Nafion® 117 (1.82×10−6 cms−1). The AEMs show excellent alkaline stability in 1M KOH solution at 60°C for a long time. Single cell testing using APES-0.8 showed an open circuit voltage of 0.89V. A maximum power density of 146mWcm−2 at a current density of 423mAcm−2 can be achieved at 60°C. In summary the AEMs are good candidates for evaluation in fuel cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As a new type of filler for mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have received increasing attention. As a kind of MOFs, [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n is successfully synthesized in this work and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and adsorption isotherms. [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n is found to preferentially adsorb methanol (MeOH) over methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). For this reason, the [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n is incorporated into sulfonated polyarylethersulfone with cardo (SPES-C) to form [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n/SPES-C MMMs for the separation of MeOH/MTBE mixtures. Both the sorption selectivity and the diffusion selectivity are found to increase with the addition of [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n leading to an increase in the separation factor. With increasing [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n loading from 5 to 20wt%, the flux increased up to 0.288kgm−2 h−1 at 20wt% loading. A threshold of [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n loading is approximately 20wt% where the flux remains almost constant regardless of further increasing the [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n content. This work demonstrates an improved performance of the [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n/SPES-C MMMs for the separation of MeOH/MTBE mixtures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we consider the ( L, 1) state-dependent reflecting random walk (RW) on the half line, which is an RW allowing jumps to the left at a maximal size L. For this model, we provide an explicit criterion for (positive) recurrence and an explicit expression for the stationary distribution. As an application, we prove the geometric tail asymptotic behavior of the stationary distribution under certain conditions. The main tool employed in the paper is the intrinsic branching structure within the ( L, 1)-random walk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The spiral ganglion, which is primarily composed of spiral ganglion neurons and satellite glial cells, transmits auditory information from sensory hair cells to the central nervous system. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), acting through specific receptors, is a regulatory peptide required for a variety of cardiac, neuronal and glial functions. Although previous studies have provided direct evidence for the presence of ANP and its functional receptors (NPR-A and NPR-C) in the inner ear, their presence within the cochlear spiral ganglion and their regulatory roles during auditory neurotransmission and development is not known. Here we investigated the expression patterns and levels of ANP and its receptors within the cochlear spiral ganglion of the postnatal rat using immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy techniques, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. We have demonstrated that ANP and its receptors colocalize in both subtypes of spiral ganglion neurons and in perineuronal satellite glial cells. Furthermore, we have analyzed differential expression levels associated with both mRNA and protein of ANP and its receptors within the rat spiral ganglion during postnatal development. Collectively, our research provides direct evidence for the presence and synthesis of ANP and its receptors in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells within the cochlear spiral ganglion, suggesting possible roles for ANP in modulating neuronal and glial functions, as well as neuron–satellite glial cell communication, within the spiral ganglion during auditory neurotransmission and development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evaluation metric is an essential and integral part of a ranking system. In the past, several evaluation metrics have been proposed in information retrieval and web search, among them Discounted Cumulative Gain (DCG) has emerged as one that is widely adopted for evaluating the performance of ranking functions used in web search. However, the two sets of parameters, the gain values and discount factors, used in DCG are usually determined in a rather ad-hoc way, and their impacts have not been carefully analyzed. In this paper, we first show that DCG is generally not coherent, i.e., comparing the performance of ranking functions using DCG very much depends on the particular gain values and discount factors used. We then propose a novel methodology that can learn the gain values and discount factors from user preferences over rankings, modeled as a special case of learning linear utility functions. We also discuss how to extend our methods to handle tied preference pairs and how to explore active learning to reduce preference labeling. Numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods. Moreover, experiments are also conducted over a side-by-side comparison data set from a commercial search engine to validate the proposed methods on real-world data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We measured impacts of land use and insecticides on ladybeetles in cotton. [•] First empirical evidence on landscape effects in a developing country context. [•] Insecticide sprays significantly affected ladybeetle density in cotton. [•] Ladybeetle density was higher in landscapes with more maize. [•] Land use diversity was negatively associated with ladybeetle density. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and cellulose acetate (CA) are widely used as membrane materials. Here PVA/CA blended membranes were prepared over a range of 0–100wt% CA loading, and applied to separate water–ethanol and methanol–methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) mixtures by pervaporation. They were characterized by tensile strength testing, contact angle metering and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). Phase separation was observed from the membrane cross-section. As the CA loading increases, the radius of free volume cavity and fractional free volume of the blended membranes increase simultaneously. The as-prepared blended membranes exhibit good separation performance in pervaporation of water (15wt%)–ethanol and methanol (15wt%)–MTBE mixtures. Blending has improved permeability of the PVA membrane and selectivity of the CA membrane. The total flux greatly increases whereas separation factor falls with increasing CA loading. The permeances of water and methanol are higher than 8000gpu and continually increase with CA loading. The results will provide guidance and reference for designing high efficient polymer blended membranes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 -BaFe 12 O 19 nanocomposite film was deposited on Al 2 O 3 substrate. • High exchange spring coupling was observed between the two films. • The nanocomposite film has a high remanence ratio of 0.65. Preparation of a high remanence ratio of M-type barium ferrite film is highly desirable in self-biased microwave devices. In this letter, Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 -BaFe 12 O 19 nanocomposite film with a high remanence ratio was deposited on the Al 2 O 3 substrate. Multiple crystal structure characterizations confirm that the Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 film was grown on the orientation BaFe 12 O 19 film surface with high crystallinity and low roughness. The magnetism measurement displays that the nanocomposite film has a high remanence ratio of 0.65 for its high exchange spring coupling. Consequently, this work gives an approach to preparing ferrite film with a high remanence ratio which is applied in self-biased devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecure attachment is regarded as a risk factor for depressive symptoms. However, insecure attachment can be divided into attachment avoidance and anxiety, so a better understanding of the relationship between attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and depressive symptoms is needed. The current study applied a structural equation model to verify our hypothesis that different facets of affective empathy mediate the relationship between attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The participants of this study included four hundred and sixty-four undergraduate students who completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The results indicated that the correlation between attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms was mediated by empathic concern, while the correlation between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms was mediated by personal distress. These results implied that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety work on depressive symptoms through different pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Vaccination against COVID-19 was a major weapon against current epidemics. In a multicenter cohort study conducted in cancer patients (CP) and health care workers (HCW) we demonstrated that: (i) vaccination was well accepted in both cohorts; (ii) the seropositivity rate was high after the first and second injections among HCW and among CP this was only after the second injection; (iii) similar patterns in antibody response followed the second dose; in both groups, antibody levels waned 3 months after the second dose. Overall, two-dose COVID-19 vaccination was effective in both populations studied, but could not totally prevent a few vaccine breakthrough infections, owing to the continuously emerging novel variants. In this prospective, real-life cohort study, we followed 523 cancer patients (CP) and 579 healthcare workers (HCW) from two cancer centers to evaluate the biological and clinical results of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Seventy percent of the CP and 90% of the HCW received an mRNA vaccine or the AZD1222 vaccine. Seropositivity was high after the first vaccine among HCW and poor among CP. The second dose resulted in almost 100% seropositivity in both cohorts. Antibody response was higher after the second injection than the first in both populations. Despite at least two doses, 8 CP (1.5%) and 14 HCW (2.4%) were infected, corresponding either to a weak level of antibody or a new strain of virus (particularly the Omicron variant of concern). Sixteen CP and three HCW were hospitalized but none of them died from COVID-19. To conclude, this study showed that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines were crucially necessary to attain sufficient seropositivity. However, the post-vaccination antibody level declines in individuals from the two cohorts and could not totally prevent new SARS-CoV-2 infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) uniquely distinguishes the brain from other organs, and various brain pathologies, including cancer, can disrupt or breach the BBB. The specific implications of BBB alterations in glioma have not been sufficiently clarified. Methods: In this study, statistical analysis of the TCGA pan-glioma dataset and four other validation cohorts was used to investigate the infiltration of BBB constituent cells (endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes) in the glioma tumor microenvironment (TME). Results: We found that the infiltration proportions of the three BBB constituent cell types were highly collinear, which implied alteration of the BBB. Hence, we developed an index, the BBB score, which is calculated based on the infiltration proportion of BBB constituent cells. Furthermore, we observed that patients with higher BBB scores were more likely to be diagnosed with more malignant entities in the TCGA database according to significant molecular features, such as IDH mutation status and 1p/19q deletion. The BBB score was also strikingly positively correlated with WHO grade in other cohorts. More importantly, a higher BBB score correlated with shorter survival time and unfavorable prognosis in glioma patients. Finally, we showed that TME-related pathways may regulate BBB alterations and that coinhibitory immune checkpoints were enriched in samples with higher BBB scores. Conclusions: We showed that TME-related pathways may regulate BBB alterations and that coinhibitory immune checkpoints were enriched in samples with higher BBB scores. Assessing BBB alterations may help elucidate the complex role of the glioma TME and suggest new combination treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] ANP co-localized with its receptors (NPR-A and NPR-C) in rat SGNs. [•] The mRNA and protein products of ANP and receptors were detected in rat modiolus. [•] ANP may modulate the neuronal functions of SGNs via its receptors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A combination of microscopic, molecular and biogeochemical methods was used to study the structure, phylogenetics and vertical distribution of spherical multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes ( MMPs) of intertidal sediments in the Yellow Sea. These MMPs were 5.5 μm in diameter and composed of approximately 15-30 cells. They synthesized bullet-shaped magnetites in chains or clusters. Phylogenetic analysis of 16 S rRNA gene sequences suggested that these MMPs represent a novel species affiliated to the Deltaproteobacteria. To study their vertical distribution and the relationship to geochemical parameters, sediment cores were collected after the redox potential was measured in situ. The sediments were composed of yellow, grey and black layers from the surface to depth. The spherical MMPs were concentrated near the grey-black layer transition at a depth of 8-12 cm, while coccoid-shaped magnetotactic bacteria near the yellow-grey layer transition at a depth of 3-5 cm. The intertidal MMPs showed a deeper distribution at more reduced environments than coccoid-shaped magnetotactic bacteria, and MMPs in lagoon sediments. Additionally the MMPs were concentrated significantly in layers with high proportion of fine sand and total organic carbon, rich in leachable iron but poor in nitrate. These results show an adaptation of spherical MMPs to the peculiar intertidal sediment habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The WC–9Ni–2Cr cemented carbides were prepared by ball milling method and low pressure sintering. The microstructure and properties of the cemented carbides were then investigated using scanning electron microscopy, mechanical property tester and immersion corrosion tests. The results showed that the adding method of Cr significantly influenced the microstructure and properties of the WC–9Ni–2Cr cemented carbides. Cemented carbides with Cr added in the form of chromium carbide (Cr3C2) were characterized by carburizing and showed a relative lower density, while the addition of metallic chromium and nichrome (Ni–18Cr) resulted in the formation of (W,Cr)C phase and a decrease in the bending strength. However, no defects were found in the microstructure of the cemented carbides in which Cr was added via Cr–Cr3C2 composite powder. Furthermore, cemented carbides prepared with nichrome powder and metallic Cr powder exhibited a higher immersion corrosion resistance in neutral tap water after soaking six times according to BS:6920:2000. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa) are two of the most agriculturally important cereal crop plants. Rice is known to produce numerous diterpenoid natural products that serve as phytoalexins and/or allelochemicals. Specifically, these are labdane-related diterpenoids, derived from a characteristic labdadienyl/copalyl diphosphate (CPP), whose biosynthetic relationship to gibberellin biosynthesis is evident from the relevant expanded and functionally diverse family of ent-kaurene synthase-like (KSL) genes found in rice the (OsKSLs). Herein reported is the biochemical characterization of a similarly expansive family of KSL from wheat (the TaKSLs). In particular, beyond ent-kaurene synthases (KS), wheat also contains several biochemically diversified KSLs. These react either with the ent-CPP intermediate common to gibberellin biosynthesis or with the normal stereoisomer of CPP that also is found in wheat (as demonstrated by the accompanying paper describing the wheat CPP synthases). Comparison with a barley (Hordeum vulgare) KS indicates conservation of monocot KS, with early and continued expansion and functional diversification of KSLs in at least the small grain cereals. In addition, some of the TaKSLs that utilize normal CPP also will react with syn-CPP, echoing previous findings with the OsKSL family, with such enzymatic promiscuity/elasticity providing insight into the continuing evolution of diterpenoid metabolism in the cereal crop plant family, as well as more generally, which is discussed here. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two of the most agriculturally important cereal crop plants are wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa). Rice has been shown to produce a number of diterpenoid natural products as phytoalexins and/or allelochemicals – specifically, labdane-related diterpenoids, whose biosynthesis proceeds via formation of an eponymous labdadienyl/copalyl diphosphate (CPP) intermediate (e.g., the ent-CPP of gibberellin phytohormone biosynthesis). Similar to rice, wheat encodes a number of CPP synthases (CPS), and the three CPS characterized to date (TaCPS1–3) all have been suggested to produce ent-CPP. However, several of the downstream diterpene synthases will only react with CPP intermediate of normal or syn, but not ent, stereochemistry, as described in the accompanying report. Investigation of additional CPS did not resolve this issue, as the only other functional synthase (TaCPS4) also produced ent-CPP. Chiral product characterization of all the TaCPS then established that TaCPS2 uniquely produces normal, rather than ent-, CPP, thus, providing a suitable substrate source for the downstream diterpene synthases. Notably, TaCPS2 is most homologous to the similarly stereochemically differentiated syn-CPP synthase from rice (OsCPS4), while the non-inducible TaCPS3 and TaCPS4 cluster with the rice OsCPS1 required for gibberellin phytohormone biosynthesis, as well as with a barley (Hordeum vulgare) CPS (HvCPS1) that also is characterized here as similarly producing ent-CPP. These results suggest that diversification of labdane-related diterpenoid metabolism beyond the ancestral gibberellins occurred early in cereal evolution, and included the type of stereochemical variation demonstrated here. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The correlations between the structural and electronic properties of the monolayer clusters M (where M = Ni, Pd, Pt) and the sandwich complexes M(CR) (where M = Ni, Pd, Pt; R = H, F) were studied by performing quantum-chemical calculations. All of the sandwich complexes are strongly donating and backdonating metal-ligand bonding structures. The influence of the ligand as well as significant variations in the M-C, M-M, and C-C bond lengths and binding energies were examined to obtain a qualitative and quantitative picture of the intramolecular interactions in CR-M. Our theoretical investigations show that the binding energies of these sandwich complexes gradually decrease from Ni to Pt as well as from H to F, which can be explained via the frontier orbitals of the clusters M and CR. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes (MMPs) are a group of magnetotactic microorganisms composed of 10-40 Gram-negative cells. Currently, all the identified MMPs show a spherical morphology and synthesize mainly iron sulfide magnetosomes. In this study, we report a novel genus of MMPs with peculiar ellipsoidal morphology and iron oxide magnetosomes, which were discovered in intertidal sediment of the Yellow Sea in China. Optical and fluorescence microscopy revealed that this organism was ∼10 × 8 µm in size and composed of ∼40 cells enveloped by an outer layer. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the cells were arranged in 4-6 interlaced circles. Bullet-shaped magnetite magnetosomes were organized in chains roughly parallel to the long axis of the ellipsoidal MMPs when analysed by transmission electron microscopy. These MMPs displayed special escape motility, i.e. swimming rapidly from the edge to the centre of the droplet and then slowly back to the edge. In addition, they exhibited negative phototaxis. Light microscopy observations showed that the ellipsoidal MMPs reproduced by division along the body long axis. Both analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence and fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed the ellipsoidal MMPs as a new genus of the Deltaproteobacteria. In summary, this novel genus of MMPs exhibit unique morphology, peculiar division process and distinct phylogenetic affiliation compared with the other MMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalized type of spiral Bessel beam has been demonstrated by using a spatially displaced helical axicon (HA). The topological charge of the spiraling Bessel beams is determined by the order of the input Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam and the topological charge of the HA. The obtained spiraling Bessel beams have an LG type of modulation along their propagation direction and exhibit annihilation-reconstruction properties. Theoretical analysis is presented, including that of the stability, propagation distance, topological charge, and spiraling dynamic characteristics. The mathematical and numerical results show that the propagation distance and helical revolution of the spiraling Bessel beams can be controlled through choosing appropriate radius of the HA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Natural biological conduits containing seed cells have been widely used as an alternative strategy for nerve gap reconstruction to replace traditional nerve autograft techniques. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a decellularized allogeneic artery conduit containing autologous transdifferentiated adipose-derived stem cells (dADSCs) on an 8-mm facial nerve branch lesion in a rat model. After 8 weeks, functional evaluation of vibrissae movements and electrophysiological assessment, retrograde labeling of facial motoneurons and morphological analysis of regenerated nerves were performed to assess nerve regeneration. The transected nerves reconstructed with dADSC-seeded artery conduits achieved satisfying regenerative outcomes associated with morphological and functional improvements which approached those achieved with Schwann cell (SC)-seeded artery conduits, and superior to those achieved with artery conduits alone or ADSC-seeded artery conduits, but inferior to those achieved with nerve autografts. Besides, numerous transplanted PKH26-labeled dADSCs maintained their acquired SC-phenotype and myelin sheath-forming capacity inside decellularized artery conduits and were involved in the process of axonal regeneration and remyelination. Collectively, our combined use of decellularized allogeneic artery conduits with autologous dADSCs certainly showed beneficial effects on nerve regeneration and functional restoration, and thus represents an alternative approach for the reconstruction of peripheral facial nerve defects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we study the problem of optimal trajectory generation for a team of heterogeneous robots moving in a plane and tracking a moving target by processing relative observations, i.e., distance and/or bearing. Contrary to previous approaches, we explicitly consider limits on the robots’ speed and impose constraints on the minimum distance at which the robots are allowed to approach the target. We first address the case of a single tracking sensor and seek the next sensing location in order to minimize the uncertainty about the target’s position. We show that although the corresponding optimization problem involves a nonconvex objective function and a nonconvex constraint, its global optimal solution can be determined analytically. We then extend the approach to the case of multiple sensors and propose an iterative algorithm, i.e., the Gauss–Seidel relaxation (GSR), to determine the next best sensing location for each sensor. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the GSR algorithm, whose computational complexity is linear in the number of sensors, achieves higher tracking accuracy than gradient descent methods and has performance that is indistinguishable from that of a grid-based exhaustive search, whose cost is exponential in the number of sensors. Finally, through experiments, we demonstrate that the proposed GSR algorithm is robust and applicable to real systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a decellularized artery allograft containing autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) on an 8-mm facial nerve branch lesion in a rat model. At 8 weeks postoperatively, functional evaluation of unilateral vibrissae movements, morphological analysis of regenerated nerve segments and retrograde labeling of facial motoneurons were all analyzed. Better regenerative outcomes associated with functional improvement, great axonal growth, and improved target reinnervation were achieved in the artery-ADSCs group (2), whereas the cut nerves sutured with artery conduits alone (group 1) achieved inferior restoration. Furthermore, transected nerves repaired with nerve autografts (group 3) resulted in significant recovery of whisking, maturation of myelinated fibers and increased number of labeled facial neurons, and the latter two parameters were significantly different from those of group 2. Collectively, though our combined use of a decellularized artery allograft with autologous ADSCs achieved regenerative outcomes inferior to a nerve autograft, it certainly showed a beneficial effect on promoting nerve regeneration and thus represents an alternative approach for the reconstruction of peripheral facial nerve defects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes (MMPs) are a group of aggregates composed of 7-45 gram-negative cells synthesizing intracellular magnetic crystals. Although they are thought to be globally distributed, MMPs have been observed only in marine environments in America and Europe. Most MMPs share a rosette-like morphology and biomineralize iron sulfide crystals. In the present study, abundant MMPs were observed, with a density of 26 ind./cm, in the sediments of a coastal lagoon, Lake Yuehu, in the Yellow Sea. Optical microscopy showed that all of them were rosette shaped with a diameter of 5.5±0.8 μm. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that these MMPs were composed of 10-16 ovoid cells and flagellated peritrichously. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis indicated that they biomineralized bullet-shaped magnetite crystals in highly organized parallel chains within which the magnetosomes were oriented in the same direction. This is the first report of MMPs from Asia and demonstrates the ubiquitous distribution of MMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control of particulate matter (PM) emissions from coal combustion becomes an urgent work due to their adverse effects on human health. Coal blending is a promising option for submicron particulate (PM1) reduction. This study addressed the effects of coal blending on the formation and properties of particulate matter in combustion process. Coal blends from lignite and bituminous coal, with different blend ratios (9:1, 7:3, 5:5, 3:7 and 1:9), were combusted in a drop tube furnace. The mass size distribution, concentration, elemental composition and morphology of the particulate matter generated under O2/N2 and O2/CO2 conditions were characterized. Particulate matter was collected by a low pressure impactor (LPI), which aerodynamically segregated particulates into thirteen fractions with sizes ranging from 0.03 to 9.8 µm. The results showed that coal blending reduced PM1 generation, compared with the calculated average values from the combustion of constituent coals. This indicated that the mineral interactions had a great effect on PM1 reduction. The blend ratio also played an important role in the suppression of PM1 generation. In this experimental study, PM1 generation suffered a maximum suppression at the blend ratio of 7:3. The O2/CO2 atmosphere affected the formation and properties of the PM1 during coal blends combustion. Compared with the O2/N2 combustion, the interaction of minerals was weakened under O2/CO2 combustion, thus the suppression of PM1 generation decreased after coal blending. Compared with the calculated values, the concentrations and percentages of Ca, Fe in PM1 decreased, but the concentrations of Ca, Fe, Si and Al in coarse particulates (PM10+) increased after coal blends combustion. The interactions between the aluminosilicates in the bituminous coal and volatile elements Ca, Fe in the lignite were thought to contribute to the suppression of PM1 generation during the combustion of coal blends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of hydroxy-containing phthalonitrile model compounds (HPNM) with 1:1 molar ratio of hydroxy group to phthalonitrile unit were successfully synthesized. The molecular structures were identified by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques. The model compounds can be thermally polymerized by duration at 225°C for various times, even in the absence of curing additives. The thermal properties of the cured products were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis. Char yields (800°C) of the final cured products were in the range 50–73%. The 5% and 10% weight loss ranged from 320 to 420°C and 360–490°C, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry and FTIR were used to monitor the cure reaction. The results reveal that cure behaviors of the HPNM are closely correlated to their molecular structures, although each HPNM has a 1:1 molar ratio of hydroxy group to phthalonitrile unit. Therefore, the thermal properties of the final cured products depend mainly on the molecular structures of the corresponding HPNM, where differences in HPNM acidities should be considered and may contribute to their different cure behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Terpene synthases (TPS) require divalent metal ion co-factors, typically magnesium, that are bound by a canonical DDXXD motif, as well as a putative second, seemingly less well conserved and understood (N/D)DXX(S/T)XXXE motif. Given the role of the Ser/Thr side chain hydroxyl group in ligating one of the three catalytically requisite divalent metal ions and the loss of catalytic activity upon substitution with Ala, it is surprising that Gly is frequently found in this ‘middle’ position of the putative second divalent metal binding motif in plant TPS. Herein we report mutational investigation of this discrepancy in a model plant diterpene cyclase, abietadiene synthase from Abies grandis (AgAS). Substitution of the corresponding Thr in AgAS with Ser or Gly decreased catalytic activity much less than substitution with Ala. We speculate that the ability of Gly to partially restore activity relative to Ala substitution for Ser/Thr stems from the associated reduction in steric volume enabling a water molecule to substitute for the hydroxyl group from Ser/Thr, potentially in a divalent metal ion coordination sphere. In any case, our results are consistent with the observed conservation pattern for this putative second divalent metal ion binding motif in plant TPS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this article, calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) and disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4) are used as calcium and phosphorous sources to prepare hydroxyapatite nanoparticles by the hydrothermal method. Plate-like nanocrystals of hydroxyapatite are synthesized with the aid of sodium tripolyphosphate. The results show that sodium tripolyphosphate increases the diameters of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticles during the hydrothermal process. When the concentration of sodium tripolyphosphate reaches 0.015M, the average aspect ratio of those nanoparticles is close to 1. The strong surface adsorption caused by sodium tripolyphosphate may answer for the morphological change of hydroxyapatite crystal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The GABA system is highly involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders such as depression. Altered GABAergic function is evident in depressed patients and animal models of depression. Currently, the most widely used antidepressants are selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine. However, the effects of fluoxetine on GABAergic synaptic neurotransmission remain poorly investigated. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from cultured rat hippocampal neurons were therefore conducted to investigate the effects of fluoxetine on GABAergic neurotransmission. The spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic current (sIPSC) was completely blocked by 10μM bicuculline and reversibly potentiated by 30μM fluoxetine. The fluoxetine potentiation on either amplitude or frequency of sIPSCs was dose-dependent, with the EC50 values of 10.96 and 14.26μM, respectively. This potentiation was also TTX-insensitive, suggesting independence of presynaptic action potentials. The ritanserin (5μM), a selective 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, did not alter the fluoxetine potentiation on miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Taken together, our data suggest that fluoxetine can potentiate GABAergic neurotransmission without depending on presynaptic firing of action potentials and its elevating of 5-HT receptor activities. This potentiation by fluoxetine may normalize the hippocampal GABA deficit during depression and in part exert its antidepressant activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A novel truss model is developed to predict shear strength and deformation of SCBs. • The truss model predicts the shear strength of 37 SCBs with a high accuracy. • The truss model well predicts the skeleton curves of 27 SCBs. • A simplified model is proposed based on the refined truss model. • A standardized design method is developed for practical shear design. In this paper, a mechanics based analytical truss model is proposed to predict the shear strength and deformation of conventionally reinforced coupling beams with span-to-height ratios less than 1.75 (referred to as short coupling beams). The model considers the yield of only parts of stirrups, and its load path is composed of a direct main strut connecting the compression zones at both ends of the beam and secondary struts balancing with stirrups. By satisfying the compatibility condition at the intersection node of the struts, the assignment of the applied shear load in the main and secondary struts, as well as the shear load-transverse displacement relationship of the beam, are determined. The shear strength predictions by the truss model are compared with test results of 37 conventional reinforced short coupling beams, which shows that it can accurately predict the shear strength with a coefficient of variation (COV) of 0.052, while the predictions provided by ACI 318-19 and GB 50010-2010 are relatively inaccurate (the COVs are 0.19 and 0.21, respectively). In addition, the skeleton curves of 27 short coupling beams are calculated by the truss model, and the results show that the predictions are in good agreement with the test results. In order to simplify the calculation, a simplified model is proposed based on the refined truss model. Although the accuracy of the simplified model is slightly reduced (the COV is 0.071), it is still significantly higher than those of the design codes. Based on the simplified model, a standardized design method, which indirectly considers the beam deformation capacity, is provided for practical shear design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: COVID-19 has some clinical manifestations that are similar to the side effects of cancer treatments such that cancer patients may fail to distinguish COVID-19 symptoms from those of their treatments. The PAPESCO-19 study investigated 13 COVID-19 symptoms and confirmed that in combination with anorexia, fever, headache, and rhinorrhea, anosmia has a strong association with COVID-19 for cancer patients while dysgeusia/ageusia does not. Background: Cancer patients may fail to distinguish COVID-19 symptoms such as anosmia, dysgeusia/ageusia, anorexia, headache, and fatigue, which are frequent after cancer treatments. We aimed to identify symptoms associated with COVID-19 and to assess the strength of their association in cancer and cancer-free populations. Methods: The multicenter cohort study PAPESCO-19 included 878 cancer patients and 940 healthcare workers (HCWs). At baseline and quarterly thereafter, they reported the presence or absence of 13 COVID-19 symptoms observed over 3 months and the results of routine screening RT-PCR, and they were systematically tested for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. We identified the symptom combinations significantly associated with COVID-19. Results: Eight percent of cancer patients were COVID-19 positive, and 32% were symptomatic. Among the HCWs, these proportions were 9.5 and 52%, respectively. Anosmia, anorexia, fever, headache, and rhinorrhea together accurately discriminated (c-statistic = 0.7027) COVID-19 cases from cancer patients. Anosmia, dysgeusia/ageusia, muscle pain, intense fatigue, headache, and chest pain better discriminated (c-statistic = 0.8830) COVID-19 cases among the HCWs. Anosmia had the strongest association in both the cancer patients (OR = 7.48, 95% CI: 2.96–18.89) and HCWs (OR = 5.71, 95% CI: 2.21–14.75). Conclusions: COVID-19 symptoms and their diagnostic performance differ in the cancer patients and HCWs. Anosmia is associated with COVID-19 in cancer patients, while dysgeusia/ageusia is not. Cancer patients deserve tailored preventive measures due to their particular COVID-19 symptom pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has recently been attaching increasing importance to the application of effective legal tools to tackle land degradation (LD) issues. Based on the concept of sustainable development, China began developing and reaping the benefits of environmental and natural resources legislation including LD control regulations in the 1990s. In the past three years, some central-western provinces in China have been implementing a “ People's Republic of China/Global Environment Facility (PRC/GEF ) Partnership on LD Control of Dryland Ecosystems”, which is based on an integrated ecosystem management (IEM) approach. IEM is designed to achieve a balanced, scientific and participatory approach to natural resources management, which creates the potential to improve the quality of Chinese environmental law and policy procedures. The paper studies the existing Chinese national laws and regulations pertinent to LD control within 9 areas covering land, desertification, soil erosion, grassland, forest, water, agriculture, wild animals and plants, and environment protection in detail, against IEM principles and basic legal elements. The main objective is to identify problems and provide feasible solutions and recommendations for the improvement of the existing laws and regulations. The authors conclude that the development of an improved national legislative framework is essential if LD control is to be successfully achieved. The paper is partly based on Component 1 — Improving Policies, Laws and Regulations for Land Degradation Control under PRC/GEF Partnership on Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems (TA 4357). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The nematode C. elegans provides a powerful model system for exploring the molecular basis of synaptogenesis and neurotransmission. However, the lack of direct functional assays of release processes has largely prevented an in depth understanding of the mechanism of vesicular exocytosis and endocytosis in C. elegans. We address this technical limitation by developing direct electrophysiological assays, including membrane capacitance and amperometry measurements, in primary cultured C. elegans neurons. In addition, we have succeeded in monitoring the docking and fusion of single dense core vesicles (DCVs) employing total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. With these approaches and mutant perturbation analysis, we provide direct evidence that UNC-31 is required for the docking of DCVs at the plasma membrane. Interestingly, the defect in DCV docking caused by UNC-31 mutation can be fully rescued by PKA activation. We also demonstrate that UNC-31 is required for UNC-13-mediated augmentation of DCV exocytosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Synaptotagmin I (Syt I) is a Ca2+ sensor for triggering fast synchronized release of neurotransmitters. However, controversy remains whether Syt I is also obligatory for the exocytosis and endocytosis of larger dense core vesicles (LDCVs) in endocrine cells. In this study, we used a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to silence the expression of Syt I and investigated the roles of Syt I on exocytosis and endocytosis in INS-1 cells. Our results demonstrated that expression of Syt I is remarkably reduced by the Syt I gene targeting shRNA. Using high-time resolution capacitance measurement, we found that the silence of Syt I decreased the calcium sensitivity of fusion of insulin granules and therefore reduced the exocytotic burst triggered by step-like [Ca2+] i elevation. In addition, the occurrence frequency and amplitude of fast endocytosis were remarkably reduced in the silenced cells. We conclude that Syt I not only participates in the Ca2+-sensing of LDCV fusion with plasmalemma, but also plays a crucial role in fast endocytosis in INS-1 cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, an empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method is applied to image processing in pulsed infrared thermographic testing. Through analysis of the Mode Function of an image EMD, characterisations of noise and uneven heating are given. Using the EMD method, noise and uneven heating are reduced at the same time and the contrast of the thermal image is improved. Finally, the result of pulsed infrared thermographic testing is given. Compared with other methods such as neighbourhood averaging, homomorphic filtering and background subtraction, this method is simple and effective to overcome noise and uneven heating in thermography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of oxygen-deficient perovskite-supported palladium catalysts were prepared by the "solid phase crystallization" (spc) method and investigated with XRD, TPR, TPD, TEM, XPS, BET analysis and CO oxidation. It was found that Pd/perovskite catalysts synthesized by the spc method were more active for CO oxidation than the calcined LaCo_{0.95} Pd_{0.05}O_3, where Pd dispersed in the solid solution. H_2-reducing treatment in the spc method could yield not only high-dispersed fine Pd particles on the perovskite surface but also oxygen-deficient structure. In these perovskite-supported Pd catalysts, oxygen vacancies adsorbed, activated and supplied oxygen to the active Pd sites, where the oxidation occurred with adsorbed CO. The high activities were due to the cooperative action of Pd and oxygen vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taurine (Tau) is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the mammalian central nervous system. Whether the neurotransmission of the central auditory system is regulated or modulated by Tau is not clear. In the present study, we investigated the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of Tau-activated currents in acutely dissociated neurons of the rat inferior colliculus (IC) using whole cell patch clamp recordings. At a holding potential of −60 mV and under a condition of chloride equilibrium potential near 0 mV, Tau activated an inward current and its half-maximal activation concentration was equal to 0.37 mM. The measured reversal potential of Tau-activated currents was close to theoretical chloride equilibrium potential. The currents evoked by Tau at both low (1 mM) and high (10 mM) concentrations were almost completely inhibited by strychnine, a glycine receptor antagonist. The Tau-activated current, however, was not affected by bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist. Tau at increased concentrations progressively reduced the current response to subsequent glycine application. At saturated concentrations, Tau-activated current and glycine-activated current were mutually cross-desensitized by each other. These findings indicate that Tau activates glycine receptors in neurons of the rat IC and thus may have a functional role in regulating or modulating the neurotransmission of the central auditory system in mammals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effects of reactant composition and steam on propane combustion over Pd/LaFe[sub0.8] Co[sub0.2] O[sub3] catalyst were investigated. Propane conversion and the oxidation state of palladium were strongly affected by the redox ratio of reactants. Higher propane conversion could be obtained under rich conditions and explained as a complex balance between oxidation and steam reforming. Water produced in the oxidation could promote the propane conversion by steam reforming. However, the presence of excess steam would bring about inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aligned molecular packing structure is vital to the anisotropic charge transport in conjugated polymer and small molecule thin films. However, how this molecular packing motif influences the photoelectric conversion process at the donor/acceptor heterojunction is still mysterious. Herein, we employed a PM6/Y6 bilayer model to investigate the long-range alignment of molecular packing induced photoelectric conversion process. Both PM6 and Y6 layers were properly controlled to exhibit the uniaxially oriented molecular packing compared to their as-cast counterparts, as revealed by the polarized absorption spectra and transmission electron microscopy. After analyzing the photovoltaic performance of bilayer devices, the smaller energy loss, lower energetic disorder, and longer charge carrier lifetime can be observed in the bilayer devices with aligned Y6 molecules, which contribute to a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) than the as-cast devices. While the molecular packing structure of PM6 layer exhibited negligible influence on the device performance, probably resulting from the intrinsic semicrystalline nature of PM6 molecules. Our results indicate that the alignment of small molecular acceptor at the donor/acceptor interfaces should be a powerful strategy to facilitate the photoelectric conversion process, which will definitely pave the way to highly efficient bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]