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Objective： This study aimed to resolve the interactions among the material dehydration, temperature and humidity of dry medium, and the energy consumption. Methods: The dehydration characteristics, temperature and humidity evolution of dry medium, and energy consumption of system component had been determined by testing under control parameters of 60 ℃ and 10% RH. Results: Dehydration rate of the materials was relatively fast in the early stage, 96 percent of the moisture was removed from the material after 1.5 hours of drying. At this stage, the relative humidity of drying medium remained above 24 percent, the moisture in drying medium was rapidly condensed and discharged from the surface of the evaporator, and the maximum value of specific moisture extraction ratio was 1.03 kg/kW. Heat pump unit was the main energy consuming part in the drying process, and its power increased with the temperature of the drying medium. The specific moisture extraction ratio decreased rapidly in the later drying stage, and its value was only 0.004 kg/kW after 2 hours. Conclusion: The energy utilization of heat pump drying was closely related to the temperature and humidity of medium and moisture content of material. Drying had a high specific moisture extraction ratio when the moisture content of material was high, and fell off as the relative humidity decrease. The constant temperature and humidity control method was not suitable for the energy saving of the closed heat pump system in the later drying stage.

ABSTRACT “Candidatus Parvarchaeales” microbes, representing a DPANN archaeal group with limited metabolic potential and reliance on hosts for their growth, were initially found in acid mine drainage (AMD). Due to the lack of representatives, however, their ecological roles and adaptation to extreme habitats such as AMD as well as how they diverge across the lineage remain largely unexplored. By applying genome-resolved metagenomics, 28 Parvarchaeales-associated metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) representing two orders and five genera were recovered. Among them, we identified three new genera and proposed the names “Candidatus Jingweiarchaeum,” “Candidatus Haiyanarchaeum,” and “Candidatus Rehaiarchaeum,” with the former two belonging to a new order, “Candidatus Jingweiarchaeales.” Further analyses of the metabolic potentials revealed substantial niche differentiation between Jingweiarchaeales and Parvarchaeales. Jingweiarchaeales may rely on fermentation, salvage pathways, partial glycolysis, and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) for energy conservation reservation, while the metabolic potentials of Parvarchaeales might be more versatile. Comparative genomic analyses suggested that Jingweiarchaeales favor habitats with higher temperatures and that Parvarchaeales are better adapted to acidic environments. We further revealed that the thermal adaptation of these lineages, especially Haiyanarchaeum, might rely on genomic features such as the usage of specific amino acids, genome streamlining, and hyperthermophile featured genes such as rgy. Notably, the adaptation of Parvarchaeales to acidic environments was possibly driven by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The reconstruction of ancestral states demonstrated that both may have originated from thermal and neutral environments and later spread to mesothermal and acidic environments. These evolutionary processes may also be accompanied by adaptation to oxygen-rich environments via HGT. IMPORTANCE “Candidatus Parvarchaeales” microbes may represent a lineage uniquely distributed in extreme environments such as AMD and hot springs. However, little is known about the strategies and processes of how they adapted to these extreme environments. By the discovery of potential new order-level lineages, “Ca. Jingweiarchaeales,” and in-depth comparative genomic analysis, we unveiled the functional differentiation of these lineages. Furthermore, we show that the adaptation of these lineages to high-temperature and acidic environments was driven by different strategies, with the former relying more on genomic characteristics such as genome streamlining and amino acid compositions and the latter relying more on the acquisition of genes associated with acid tolerance. Finally, by the reconstruction of the ancestral states of the optimal growth temperature (OGT) and isoelectric point (pI), we showed the potential evolutionary process of Parvarchaeales-related lineages with regard to the shift from the high-temperature environment of their common ancestors to low-temperature (potentially acidic) environments.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the oat hay feeding method and compound probiotics (CMP) on the growth, health, serum antioxidant and immune indicators, rumen fermentation, and bacteria community of dairy calves from 3 to 5 months of age. Forty-eight female Holstein calves (80 ± 7 days of age, 93.71 ± 5.33 kg BW) were selected and randomly divided into four groups. A 2 × 2 factorial design was adopted for the experiment, with the factors of the oat hay feeding method (fed as free-choice or 16.7% in the diet) and compound probiotics (CMP) inclusion (0.15% or 0%) in the pelleted starter. The results showed that, compared with giving oat hay as free-choice, feeding a diet of 16.7% oat hay increased the pelleted starter intake at 1–84 d (p < 0.05), with an average daily gain (ADG) at 61–84 d (p = 0.02); adding CMP to the pelleted starter did not significantly affect body weight, and reduced the fecal index (p < 0.05). Feeding 16.7% oat hay increased the concentration of IgA, IgG, and IgM (p < 0.01), while adding CMP increased the catalase (p < 0.01) and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (p < 0.01) in serum. Feeding 16.7% oat hay increased the ruminal concentration of propionic acid (p < 0.05) and isobutyric acid (p = 0.08), and decreased the ruminal pH (p = 0.08), the concentration of acetic acid (p < 0.05), and the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid (p < 0.01). Feeding 16.7% oat hay reduced the relative abundance of ruminal Firmicutes, Unidentified-Bacteria, Actinobacteria, Prevotella, NK4A214-group, Olsenella, and Actinobacteriota (p < 0.05); adding CMP increased the relative abundance of ruminal Prevotella, Rikenellaceae-RC9-gut-group, Ruminococcus, NK4A214-group, and Ruminococcus (p < 0.05), and decreased the abundance of Desulfobacterora, Prevotella-7, and Erysipelotricaceae-UCG-002 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, feeding a diet of 16.7% oat hay increased the pelleted starter intake and average daily gain, while slightly reducing the ruminal pH values; adding CMP to the pelleted starter resulted in reduced diarrhea incidence, increased serum antioxidant capacity and immunity, as well as ruminal richness and diversity of microorganisms in dairy calves from 3 to 5 months of age.

The College of Life Sciences (CLS) remains one of the most prestigious-and the oldest-colleges in Zhejiang University. This special issue, which includes 16 reviews contributed by our alumni and faculties, is dedicated to mark the 90th Anniversary of CLS. The reviews provide a glimpse of current progresses in the areas of life sciences such as biochemical processes and their association with diseases (Ding et al., 2019; Hu et al., 2019; Jin et al., 2019; Nie and Yi, 2019), cancer biology (Feng, 2019; Huang et al., 2019; Leonard and Zhang, 2019; Zhu F et al., 2019), plant and environmental microbiology (Li et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2019; Zhu XR et al., 2019), cell cycle (Gao and Liu, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019), RNA biology (Gudenas et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2019), and protein structural biology (Yang and Tang, 2019).

Background: Poor medication adherence can lead to adverse health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Although reasons for medication adherence have been widely studied, less is explored about factors affecting medication adherence for patients in non-Western healthcare setting and from Asian cultures. This study aimed to explore cultural perspectives on factors influencing medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases in a multi-ethnic Asian healthcare setting.Methods: We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with patients with chronic conditions purposively recruited from a community hospital in Singapore until data saturation was achieved. A total of 25 patients participated in this study. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Themes were subsequently mapped into the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework of Medication Adherence.Results: Participants commonly perceived that sides effects (therapy-related dimension), poor understanding of medication (patient-related dimension), limited knowledge of condition (patient-related dimension), forgetfulness (patient-related dimension) and language issues within a multi-ethnic healthcare context (healthcare team and system-related dimension) as the main factors contributing to medication adherence. Importantly, medication adherence was influenced by cultural beliefs such as the notion of modern medicines as harms and fatalistic orientations towards escalation of doses and polypharmacy (patient-related dimension). Participants made various suggestions to foster adherence, including improved patient-physician communication, enhanced care coordination across providers, use of language familiar to patients, patient education and empowerment on the benefits of medication and medication adjustment.Conclusion: A wide range of factors influenced medication adherence, with therapy- and patient-related dimensions more pronounced compared to other dimensions. Findings demonstrated the importance of cultural beliefs that may influence medication adherence. Future efforts to improve medication adherence should consider a person-centered approach to foster more positive health expectations and self-efficacy on medication adherence, supplemented with routine reviews, development of pictograms and cultural competence training for healthcare professionals.

Summary: The biology of Korarchaeia remains elusive due to the lack of genome representatives. Here, we reconstruct 10 closely related metagenome-assembled genomes from hot spring habitats and place them into a single species, proposed herein as Panguiarchaeum symbiosum. Functional investigation suggests that Panguiarchaeum symbiosum is strictly anaerobic and grows exclusively in thermal habitats by fermenting peptides coupled with sulfide and hydrogen production to dispose of electrons. Due to its inability to biosynthesize archaeal membranes, amino acids, and purines, this species likely exists in a symbiotic lifestyle similar to DPANN archaea. Population metagenomics and metatranscriptomic analyses demonstrated that genes associated with amino acid/peptide uptake and cell attachment exhibited positive selection and were highly expressed, supporting the proposed proteolytic catabolism and symbiotic lifestyle. Our study sheds light on the metabolism, evolution, and potential symbiotic lifestyle of Panguiarchaeum symbiosum, which may be a unique host-dependent archaeon within the TACK superphylum.

This study constructs an innovative course for accounting teaching based on a student-centered strategy. The curriculum is designed through the effective teaching module (BOPPPS) to assist students to understand accounting knowledge. A game-based mobile learning environment is created by developing an accounting mobile game and combining it with a mobile learning system (TronClass). The private technology university students had been selected by purposive sampling. A total of 81 accounting majored students, among them, 41 students are in the experimental group, and the rest were in the control group. The quasi-experimental design was to be applied in curriculum development. Meanwhile, quantitative data were collected by questionnaires and the qualitative data were collected through interviews. The result shows that game-based mobile learning can be beneficial to teaching effectiveness. And the regression model supports that information quality and service quality have positive predictive power on use intention. In addition, use intention and user satisfaction impacted learning engagement positively. Further, user satisfaction has a mediating effect. Finally, some suggestions are put forward to provide references for accounting educators and researchers.

We investigate the energy band structure and transport properties of electrons in superlattice structure based on semi-Dirac material with one-dimensional periodic potentials of square barriers. The influence of different parameters on transmission probability in superlattice structure is studied. It is found that two new Dirac points are formed in the superlattice structure by adjusting the gap parameter. The position of the new Dirac points can be regulated by changing the size of the potential barrier, the ratio of well width to barrier width, and the gap parameter. Some forbidden bands appear in the transmission probability, the location and width of the forbidden bands can be regulated by changing the system parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1, 4, 5, 8‐naphthalene diimide (NDI)‐based MOFs, due to their tunable structures and properties, have shown promising applications in photochromism, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photothermal therapy, etc. Herein, using an L‐alanine modified NDI ligand, i.e. N, N′‐bis(L‐alanine)naphthalenediimide (AlaNDI), a novel Cd‐NDI Cd (AlaNDI)(H2O)]·DMF·H2O (complex 1) was constructed under solvothermal conditions, which has an obvious different structure with the previously reported ones. Structural analysis shows that the packing structure of complex 1 consists of two adjacent Cd atoms sharing two AlaNDI ligands, forming a dimetallic building block [Cd2O8]. Each building block connects a total of four AlaNDI ligands, where two Cd atoms are bridged by two ligands. The building blocks are interconnected by ligands to form a two‐dimensional layered structure. Based on the features of the NDI skeleton, it was found that complex 1 possesses multiple stimulus responses involving sensitivity to light: a reversible photochromism property and good photocatalytic degradation activity against various dyes, especially against cationic dyes crystal violet (CV), methyl violet (MV), and Janus green B (JGB). In addition, the stimulus‐response mechanism was investigated by control experiments. It is revealed that the photocatalytic active species may be related to h+ and •OH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacteriota , the sole prokaryotes capable of oxygenic photosynthesis (OxyP), occupy a unique and pivotal role in Earth's history. While the notion that OxyP may have originated from Cyanobacteriota is widely accepted, its early evolution remains elusive. Here, by using both metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, we explore 36 metagenome-assembled genomes from hot spring ecosystems, belonging to two deep-branching cyanobacterial orders: Thermostichales and Gloeomargaritales. Functional investigation reveals that Thermostichales encode the crucial thylakoid membrane biogenesis protein, vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1 (Vipp1). Based on the phylogenetic results, we infer that the evolution of the thylakoid membrane predates the divergence of Thermostichales from other cyanobacterial groups and that Thermostichales may be the most ancient lineage known to date to have inherited this feature from their common ancestor. Apart from OxyP, both lineages are potentially capable of sulfide-driven AnoxyP by linking sulfide oxidation to the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Unexpectedly, this AnoxyP capacity appears to be an acquired feature, as the key gene sqr was horizontally transferred from later-evolved cyanobacterial lineages. The presence of two D1 protein variants in Thermostichales suggests the functional flexibility of photosystems, ensuring their survival in fluctuating redox environments. Furthermore, all MAGs feature streamlined phycobilisomes with a preference for capturing longer-wavelength light, implying a unique evolutionary trajectory. Collectively, these results reveal the photosynthetic flexibility in these early-diverging cyanobacterial lineages, shedding new light on the early evolution of Cyanobacteriota and their photosynthetic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional superconductivity on a honeycomb lattice has received increasing interest since the discovery of graphene primarily due to the similarities between materials with a honeycomb lattice and cuprate superconductors. Many theoretical studies have been conducted on superconductivity on a honeycomb lattice, however, a consistent picture is still lacking. In this paper, we have extended the theory of kinetic-energy-driven superconductivity, which has been developed to investigate unconventional superconductivity in cuprate superconductors, to explore superconductivity on a honeycomb lattice within the t-J model. Our results demonstrate that the charge-carrier pair gap parameter with d x 2 − y 2 + i d x y -wave symmetry exhibits a dome-like shape as a function of doping, with superconductivity emerging at a certain doping concentration and disappearing at high doping levels, similar to what has been observed in cuprate and cobaltate superconductors. Furthermore, the charge-carrier pair gap parameter decreases with increasing the value of J ∕ t (the ratio between the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling constant and the nearest-neighbor hopping integral), and approaches zero when J ∕ t reaches a sufficiently large value. This indicates that the antiferromagnetic order will suppress the superconducting state and a sufficiently strong exchange coupling will completely destroy the superconductivity. Taking into account our present results together with the corresponding results of cuprate and cobaltate superconductors, it appears that the dome-like shape of the doping dependence of the charge-carrier pair gap parameter may be a common feature in doped Mott insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triadica sebifera (T. sebifera) has attracted much attention because of the high oil content in its seeds, but there are few systematic studies on the phenolic compounds of T. sebifera leaves (TSP). In this study, the extraction process of TSP was optimized by response surface methodology. The phenolic components of these extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, the effects of hot air drying (HD), vacuum drying (VD) and freeze drying (FD) on the antioxidant activity and characterization of T. sebifera leaf extract (TSLE) were evaluated. Under the conditions of ethanol concentration 39.8%, liquid–solid ratio (LSR) 52.1, extraction time 20.2 min and extraction temperature 50.6 °C, the maximum TSP yield was 111.46 mg GAE/g dw. The quantitative analysis and correlation analysis of eight compounds in TSP showed that the type and content of phenolic compounds had significant correlations with antioxidant activity, indicating that tannic acid, isoquercitrin and ellagic acid were the main components of antioxidant activities. In addition, through DPPH and ABTS determination, VD-TSLE and FD-TSLE showed strong scavenging ability, with IC50 values of 138.2 μg/mL and 135.5 μg/mL and 73.5 μg/mL and 74.3 μg/mL, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) infrared spectroscopy revealed small differences in the extracts of the three drying methods. This study lays a foundation for the effective extraction process and drying methods of phenolic antioxidants from T. sebifera leaves, and is of great significance for the utilization of T. sebifera leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced packaging technology has become more and more important in the semiconductor industry because of the benefits of higher I/O density compared to conventional soldering technology. In advanced packaging technology, copper–copper (Cu-Cu) bonding has become the preferred choice due to its excellent electrical and thermal properties. However, one of the major challenges of Cu-Cu bonding is the high thermal budget of the bonding process caused by Cu oxidation, which can result in wafer warpage and other back-end-of-line process issues in some cases. Thus, for specific applications, reducing the thermal budget and preventing Cu oxidation are important considerations in low-temperature hybrid bonding processes. This paper first reviews the advancements in low-temperature Cu-based bonding technologies for advanced packaging. Various low-temperature Cu-Cu bonding techniques such as surface pretreatment, surface activation, structure modification, and orientation control have been proposed and investigated. To overcome coplanarity issues of Cu pillars and insufficient gaps for filling, low-temperature Cu-Cu bonding used, but it is still challenging in fine-pitch applications. Therefore, low-temperature Cu/SiO2, Cu/SiCN, and Cu/polymer hybrid bonding have been developed for advanced packaging applications. Furthermore, we present a novel hybrid bonding scheme for metal/polymer interfaces that achieves good flatness and an excellent bonding interface without the need for the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process.

Microbes of the phylum Aigarchaeota are widely distributed in geothermal environments, but their physiological and ecological roles are poorly understood. Here we analyze six Aigarchaeota metagenomic bins from two circumneutral hot springs in Tengchong, China, to reveal that they are either strict or facultative anaerobes, and most are chemolithotrophs that can perform sulfide oxidation. Applying comparative genomics to the Thaumarchaeota and Aigarchaeota, we find that they both originated from thermal habitats, sharing 1154 genes with their common ancestor. Horizontal gene transfer played a crucial role in shaping genetic diversity of Aigarchaeota and led to functional partitioning and ecological divergence among sympatric microbes, as several key functional innovations were endowed by Bacteria, including dissimilatory sulfite reduction and possibly carbon monoxide oxidation. Our study expands our knowledge of the possible ecological roles of the Aigarchaeota and clarifies their evolutionary relationship to their sister lineage Thaumarchaeota.