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At present, in thermal power plants, generally in the small diameter of the pipeline through the installation of electromagnetic flowmeter to measure the amount of gypsum slurry injection. However, there is no gypsum grout meter on the market for large pipe diameter of more than 1 meter. According to the above characteristics, this paper aims to develop a large tube runoff measurement instrument. Proposed in this paper by using time difference method of flow measurement principle of ultrasonic sensor array, and the temperature characteristic of ultrasonic sensor and frequency characteristic was tested, finally using the sensor array of gypsum slurry was tested. Test results show that the sensor array based on ultrasonic technology to the measurement precision can reach 5%, the amount of gypsum slurry can satisfy the demands of field measurement.

The Reflections series takes a look back on historical articles from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America that have had a significant impact on the science and practice of acoustics.

Bayesian analysis has been increasingly applied in many acoustical applications. In these applications, prediction models are often involved to better understand the process under investigation by purposely learning from the experimental observations. When involving the model-based data analysis within a Bayesian framework, issues related to incorporating the experimental data and assigning probabilities into the inferential learning procedure need fundamental consideration. This paper introduces Bayesian probability theory on a tutorial level, including fundamental rules for manipulating the probabilities, and the principle of maximum entropy for assignment of necessary probabilities prior to the data analysis. This paper also employs a number of examples recently published in this journal to explain detailed steps on how to apply the model-based Bayesian inference to solving acoustical problems.

Iron deficiency is a common nutritional disorder worldwide. Iron fortification of food is an effective strategy to control iron deficiency anemia (IDA), however, traditional iron fortificants usually provoke undesirable organoleptic changes or have limited colloid stability. In this research, we investigated iron reducibility of soy protein amyloid fibrils made from soy protein isolates (SPI), soy β-conglycinin (7S) and soy glycinin (11S), and explored their applications in iron fortification. All three protein fibrils showed iron reducibility. The reducibility was utilized to generate fibril-iron nanoparticle composites. The iron reducibility was affected by fibril concentration, degree of fibrillation and reducing amino acid composition. We identified 11S had the most significant effect on reducing Fe (III) to more bioavailable Fe (II) state, whereas 7S showed the optimal result for generation of iron nanoparticle on fibrils in situ. The resulted fibril-iron nanoparticle hybrids showed high dispersibility in various liquid foods, without distinct color change.

In an extraordinarily willing and swift fashion, the top leader of Shanxi Province in China, Tao Lujia [陶鲁笳, (1917–2011)], gave permission to the Red Flag Canal project in 1960. Why was he so willing and swift to greenlight a project that would divert water from his home province to benefit the people in a neighbor province? We explored this question through a bipartite investigation. First, we dug into the empirical literature, the literature based on experience and/or observation, in search of his motivations for the action. Second, for a more systematic, deeper understanding, we examined the instance via a lens of compassion practice, an eclectic collection of theoretical constructs on compassion practice through which one can examine an individual’s behavior and performance for new insights. This article reports the first part of our research. Its sequel Why was Tao Lujia so willing and swift to greenlight the Red Flag Canal Project in 1960? New insights via a lens of compassion practice reports the second part and is also published in this journal. Both articles are part of the SEPR mini-series on the Red Flag Canal, one of the best kept secrets in the world history of socio-ecological practice.

To evaluate the preliminary clinical effective of open decompression, microwave ablation combined with open vertebroplasty and pedicle screw rod system in the treatment of spine metastases.The clinical data of 12 patients with spine metastases were retrospectively analyzed, they were treated with open decompression, microwave ablation combined with open vertebroplasty and pedicle screw rod system between January 2014 and January 2016. Six males and 6 females were included, aged from 30 to 75 years old with an average of 55.6 years. There were 5 cases with spine metastases from lung cancer, 2 from breast cancer, 2 from thyroid cancer, 2 from renal cancer and 1 from liver cancer. Sevencases were thoracic metastases and 5 cases were lumbar metastases. Tomita score were mainly arranging from 3 to 6 points. According to ASIA neurologic grading system, 3 patients were grade C, 1 was grade D, 8 were grade E. Preoperative VAS score was 8.3±0.4. VAS was used to evaluate the clinical effect at 1, 3, 6 months after operation and final follow-up.All operations were successful and the amount of blood loss during surgery was 500 to 2 050 ml (average of 850 ml), operation time was 3.5 to 5.5 h (average of 4.5 h). There was no nerve root injury during surgery. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 3 cases after surgery, which were healed after conservative treatment. Superficial infection of the incision occurred in 2 cases, which were healed after dressing change. There was one case of pulmonary infection. No deep infection, lower limb thrombosis or other complications were found. All 12 patients were followed up for 9 -40 months with an average of 28.6 months. The clinical symptoms of all patients were significantly improved, and the motor function of the lower limbs was recovered to varying degrees. According to ASIA grade, 2 cases of grade C were improved to grade B;1 case of grade C did not recover significantly;1 case of grade D was improved to grade E. One patient died of primary liver cancer 10 months after surgery. Local tumor recurrence occurred in 1 patient during follow up period. The VAS scores were 2.7±0.6, 2.5±0.4, 2.6±0.5, and 2.5±0.5 at 1, 3, 6 months after surgery and at final follow-up, which were significantly improved compared with the score before surgery(Open decompression, microwave ablation combined with open vertebroplasty and pedicle screw rod system in the treatment of spine metastases show some effects, with less intraoperative blood loss, shorter operation time, significant postoperative pain relief, and low tumor recurrence rate.

In fighting against common threats to human survival and well-being, be they from natural disaster or human conflict, people's commitment to taking collective action matters and can make a huge or even decisive difference. Throughout human history, there is a myriad of powerful examples from around the world in which people's deep commitment to taking collective action changed the course of combat against common threats. These examples are invaluable heritages that belong to the entire humanity. At this critical juncture in human history, they can help cultivate a greater sense of optimism among all the people in the world both in the present fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. To this end, in this showcase article, we present examples of this kind from China's ongoing COVID-19 battle, and from two of her many historical combats.

A series of N-doped carbons were prepared to investigate the effect of different N-containing groups on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH

BackgroundThe outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain a huge threat to the public health worldwide. Clinical data is limited up to now regarding the risk factors in favor of severe conversion of non-severe case with COVID-19.AimsThis study analyzed a hospital staff data to figure out general clinical features of COVID-19 in terms of the association of cardiovascular manifestations (CVMs) with in-hospital outcomes of COVID-19 cases.MethodsRetrospective, single-center case series of 41 consecutive hospitalized health staff with confirmed COVID-19 were collected at the Central Hospital of Wuhan in Wuhan, China, from January 15 to January 24, 2020. Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, treatment data and in-hospital adverse events were collected and analyzed. Final date of follow-up was March 3, 2020. A comparative study was applied between cases with CVMs and those without CVMs.ResultsOf all, clinicians and clinical nurses accounted for 80.5%, while 87.8% of all had history of patient contact. The population was presented with a mean age of 39.1 ± 9.2 and less comorbidities than community population. The three most frequent symptoms of COVID-19 cases analyzed were fever (82.9%), myalgia or fatigue (80.5%) and cough (63.4%). While, the three most frequent initial symptoms were myalgia or fatigue (80.5%), fever (73.2%) and cough (41.5%). There were 95.1% cases featured as non-severe course of disease according to the official standard in China. Patients with CVMs and those without CVMs accounted for 58.5% and 41.5%, respectively. Compared with cases without CVMs, patients with CVMs were presented with lower baseline lymphocyte count (0.99 ± 0.43 and 1.55 ± 0.61, PP=0.011), and more received oxygen support (79.2% and 23.5%, PP=0.001). Multivariable logistic regression model indicated that, coexisting with CVMs in COVID-19 patients was not independently associated with in-hospital adverse events.ConclusionsMost of hospital staff with COVID-19 had history of patient contact, featured non-severe course of disease. Cases with CVMs suffered from more in-hospital adverse events than those without CVMs. But concomitant CVMs were not independently associated with in-hospital adverse events in COVID-19 patients.

Emulsion is considered to be an excellent system for delivering nutraceuticals, but instability limits the application of the emulsion. Adding stabilizers is an effective method to improve the stability of the emulsion. Due to safety concerns, stabilizers from natural resources are attracting more and more attentions in food industry. Plant polysaccharides are natural biopolymers which are widely distributed in the cells of plants. Many plant polysaccharides have been shown good emulsifying and thickening effects, therefore, they are widely used as stabilizers in emulsions. The application of plant polysaccharides in improving emulsion stability was reviewed in this paper. Firstly, the factors affecting the stability of the emulsion were elaborated in detail. On this basis, the methods of improving the stability of the emulsion were discussed. Furthermore, the effects of the plant polysaccharide structures on emulsion stability were explained, such as the molecular weight of the polysaccharide, the hydrophobic group of the polysaccharide, and the protein content of the polysaccharide. Additionally, the application of several common plant polysaccharides and their derivatives in emulsions were introduced. It is hoped that this review can provide sufficient theoretical basis for application of plant polysaccharides in emulsions in the future.

In many room acoustics and noise control applications, it is often challenging to determine the directions of arrival (DoAs) of incoming sound sources. This work seeks to solve this problem reliably by beamforming, or spatially filtering, incoming sound data with a spherical microphone array via a probabilistic method. When estimating the DoA, the signal under consideration may contain one or multiple concurrent sound sources originating from different directions. This leads to a two-tiered challenge of first identifying the correct number of sources, followed by determining the directional information of each source. To this end, a probabilistic method of model-based Bayesian analysis is leveraged. This entails generating analytic models of the experimental data, individually defined by a specific number of sound sources and their locations in physical space, and evaluating each model to fit the measured data. Through this process, the number of sources is first estimated, and then the DoA information of those sources is extracted from the model that is the most concise to fit the experimental data. This paper will present the analytic models, the Bayesian formulation, and preliminary results to demonstrate the potential usefulness of this model-based Bayesian analysis for complex noise environments with potentially multiple concurrent sources.

Humanitarian migrants are amongst the most marginalised population groups in countries within the Global North, including Australia. An important channel for these migrants to successfully settle into the host society and improve their socio-economic outcomes is participation in the local education system, particularly in higher-education options. However, we know surprisingly little about the socio-demographic factors that facilitate or constrain access to (higher) education amongst humanitarian migrants, with evidence from robust quantitative studies being particularly scarce. The present study fills this important gap in knowledge by analysing Australian longitudinal survey data (Building a New Life in Australia; n=2,109 migrants and 8,668 person-year observations) by means of random-effect panel regression models. Key results indicated that higher English-language proficiency and pre-arrival education levels are core factors fostering greater engagement with the Australian higher-education system amongst humanitarian migrants. Surprisingly, humanitarian-migrant women in our sample exhibited a greater adjusted likelihood of being a student than humanitarian-migrant men. Altogether, our findings confirmed that humanitarian migrants experience barriers to accessing the Australian higher-education system, and that policy attention is required to redress this situation. However, they also stress that a “one size fits all” policy strategy may be neither sufficient nor appropriate to boost their education prospects.

As an important factor of scenic quality and biodiversity along a greenway, landscape diversity has yet to receive as much attention as it deserves. In the practice of greenway alignment planning, it usually gives way to the primary consideration of land suitability. In this article, we aim to make up this missing link. Upon the new concepts and measurement of linear landscape diversity and cellular landscape diversity, we proposed greenway potential index incorporating land suitability and landscape diversity. The greenway potential index was combined with connectivity analysis to connect path between a future greenway’s origin and destination that meets both land suitability and landscape diversity requirements. Specially, with Wuchang (Wuhan City, China) as a case study area, we proposed three greenway alignment planning scenarios respectively according to the criteria of suitability, diversity and the synthesis of them. Markedly differences were revealed between the results of suitability greenways and diversity greenways. The results indicate that the tripartite model we proposed is capable of planning a connecting path between a future greenway’s origin and destination that not only meets land suitability requirements for greenway construction, but also incorporates as many landscape types of significant difference as possible.

Reverberation time measurements were conducted in the 21-lane indoor firing range at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Long reverberation times resulted in poor speech transmission indices (STI) which required acoustical treatments within the range. After treatment, reverberation times were significantly reduced and STI was dramatically enhanced. Standard Sabine and Eyring models failed to accurately predict the reverberation times. A computer simulation of the range was developed to predict room acoustic conditions and auralize speech performance for perceptual evaluation in the range.

The aim of this work is to study the sound field distribution in an experimental scale-model of two coupled rooms. An automatic scanning mechanism moves a microphone in small grid steps to measure room impulse responses at each grid point. The measurements cover the entire two-dimensional area of the coupled rooms. Sound energy distributions can be analyzed in the form of animated visual displays, revealing sound propagation across the coupling aperture and inside each room. This paper describes the measurement results, and the analysis method, which offer deep insights into the temporal development of a sound field in coupled spaces.

Coprime microphone arrays use sparse sensing to achieve greater degrees of freedom, while the coprimality of the microphone subarrays help resolve grating lobe ambiguities. The result is a narrow beam at frequencies higher than the spatial Nyquist limit allows, with residual side lobes arising from aliasing. These side lobes can be mitigated when observing broadband sources, as shown by Bush and Xiang [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, 447-456 (2015)]. Peak positions may indicate directions of arrival in this case; however, one must first ask how many sources are present. In answering this question, this work employs a model describing scenes with potentially multiple concurrent sound sources. Bayesian inference is used to first select which model the data prefer from competing models before estimating model parameters, including the particular source locations. The model is a linear combination of Laplace distribution functions (one per sound source). The likelihood function is explored by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method called nested sampling in order to evaluate Bayesian evidence for each model. These values increase monotonically with model complexity; however, diminished returns are penalized via an implementation of Occam's razor.

Objectives: (1) to explore what kind of green infrastructure (GI) meets the demand for urban ecological security of rapid urbanization areas; (2) to figure out how to determine the specific function and configuration of GI from ecosystem service requirements of urban ecological security. Methods: (1) Through the literature review, this article summarizes the function and structure evolution of GI in order to adapt to urban growth. (2) Standing on the imperfect ecological functions and unreasonable spatial configurations, this article builds up a conceptual model for the optimization of green infrastructure ecosystem services to meet the demand for the green infrastructure pattern needed by urban growth. Results: The optimization framework consists of four central function modules and its regulating and controlling mechanisms, including: (1) Balancing supply and demand of GI’s ecosystem service; (2) Measuring and evaluating GI’s ecosystem services; (3) Elevating and optimizing GI’s ecosystem service; (4) Building urban ecological security pattern with high efficiency of GI’s ecosystem services. Moreover, this framework provides guidance for the planning and design of GI and the urban ecological security pattern building in rapid urbanization areas based on balancing supply and demand of GI’s ecosystem services. Conclusion: The conceptual model of GI’s ecosystem service optimization based on balancing supply and demand shows a new path to meet the needs of urban growth and build a city's ecological security pattern through upgrading and optimizing GI.

Foam is a high-volume fraction dispersion of gas into a liquid or a solid. It is important to understand the effect of formulation on shelf life and texture of food foams. The objective of this review is to elucidate mechanisms of formation and stability of foams and relate them to the formulations. Emulsifiers are important in foam formation, whereas proteins are generally preferred to provide long-term stability. Syneresis in foams is a precursor to their collapse in many instances. Intermolecular forces, conformation, and flexibility of proteins play an important role in foam stabilization. An adsorbed protein layer at air/water interfaces imparts interfacial rheology that is necessary to improve the shelf life of foam products. Wettability and spreading of food particles at the interface can stabilize or destabilize foams, depending on their properties. More studies are needed to fully understand the complex interplay of various mechanisms of destabilization in a real-food formulation.

Curcumin (CUR) is a natural food ingredient with known ability to target microbial cell membrane. In this study, the interactions of CUR with different types of model lipid bilayers (POPE, POPG, POPC, DOPC, and DPPE), mixtures of model lipid bilayers (POPE/POPG), and biological membrane mimics (Escherichia coli and yeast) were investigated by all-atom explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. CUR readily inserts into different types of model lipid bilayer systems in the liquid crystalline state, staying in the lipid tails region near the interface of lipid head and lipid tail. Parallel orientation to the membrane surface is found to be more probable than perpendicular for CUR, as indicated by the tilt angle distribution. This orientation preference is less significant as the fraction of POPE is increased in the system, likely due to the better water solvation of perpendicular orientation in the POPE bilayer. In E. coli and yeast bilayers, tilt angle distributions were similar to that for POPE/POPG mixed bilayer, with water hydration number around CUR for the former being higher. Insertion of CUR resulted in membrane thinning. The results from these simulations provide insights into the possible differences in membrane disrupting activity of CUR against different types of microorganisms.

CXCR2 has emerged as a therapeutic target for not only peripheral inflammatory diseases but also neurological abnormalities in the central nervous system (CNS). Herein, we describe the discovery of a novel 1-cyclopentenyl-3-phenylurea series as potent and CNS penetrant CXCR2 antagonists. Extensive SAR studies, wherein molecules' property forecast index (PFI) was carefully optimized for overall balanced developability profiles, led to the discovery of the advanced lead compound 68 with a desirable PFI. Compound 68 demonstrated good in vitro pharmacology with excellent selectivity over CXCR1 and other chemokine receptors. Rat and dog pharmacokinetics (PK) revealed good oral bioavailability, high oral exposure, and desirable elimination half-life of the compound in both species. In addition, the compound demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy in the in vivo pharmacology neutrophil infiltration "air pouch" model in rodents after oral administration. Further, compound 68 is a CNS penetrant molecule with high unbound fraction in brain tissue.

Biaryl amides as new RORγt modulators were discovered. The crystal structure of biaryl amide agonist 6 in complex with RORγt ligand binding domain (LBD) was resolved, and both “short” and “long” inverse agonists were obtained by removing from 6 or adding to 6 a proper structural moiety. While “short” inverse agonist (8) recruits a corepressor peptide and dispels a coactivator peptide, “long” inverse agonist (9) dispels both. The two types of inverse agonists can be utilized as potential tools to study mechanisms of Th17 transcriptional network inhibition and related disease biology.

Until now, coprime sensor arrays have used two sparsely spaced subarrays to emulate the performance of a single uniform array with many more sensors (generally on the order of the product of each subarrays' number of sensors). This allows for similar results with fewer sensors, or the observation of higher frequencies (above the Nyquist limit) with a similar number of sensors. The theory rests on the cross-referencing (using directional filter banks) or cancellation (using product processing) of the M grating lobes in one subarray's beampattern and N grating lobes in the other, where M and N are coprime integers. Sets of coprime integers can consist of more than two integers, however, and introducing another coprime factor theoretically multiplies observable frequency (or further decreases the number of array elements needed for the same frequency). Any amount, n, of coprime integers and corresponding subarrays may be used. In this work, "n-tuple coprime sensor array" theory is expounded and implemented. Experimentally measured beampattern results of a triple coprime sensor array (with three subarrays) are shown, using an extension of the authors' previously established product processing. Results also confirm that the usable range of an n-tuple coprime array extends below its design frequency.

Introduction Patients with narcolepsy and patients with sleep disorders secondary to neurodegenerative diseases have been shown to respond to oxybate. To overcome the limitations of current oxybate therapies, we designed XW10172, a new chemical entity and GABA-B agonist with no sodium or other cation content and for once nightly dosing. The objectives of two clinical studies were to assess the XW10172 pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and safety/tolerability in normal study participants. Methods Two XW10172 studies in healthy participants assessed ascending single and multiple doses, comparison to sodium oxybate in immediate release (IR) and extended release (ER) formulations. PK parameters were calculated from concentration vs. time data. Safety and tolerability were assessed by monitoring adverse events, laboratory tests, and vital signs. Results To date, 84 study participants received XW10172 and the PK from single and multiple dose administration showed doses of 0.1 to 7.25 g had a mean oxybate half-life range of 0.5 to 1.3 hours. Oxybate levels from the drug were about 6-fold higher than XW10172 levels. Oxybate PK from XW10172 (IR) was the same as from equal molar doses of sodium oxybate. XW10172 (ER) formulations showed delayed Tmax with extended oxybate exposure compatible with single nightly dose therapy. PK-PD assessment of somnolence, the desired pharmacologic effect, showed a concentration-effect relationship (Cmax p=0.0004, AUC p Conclusion These data support progression of XW10172 (ER) in further clinical development studies to assess this once nightly GABA-B agonist therapy for the treatment of patients with various sleep disorders. Support (if any) XWPharma

Optical polymer materials are widely used in aerospace, electronics, and other engineering fields, which have strict requirements on optical properties such as the birefringence of products. The present birefringence calculation method is based on the stress-birefringence law and is still difficult in accurate prediction, owing to extremely difficulty in predict residual stress. Actually, the birefringence of polymer optical products is essentially caused by the molecular chain orientation. Thus, a quantitative mathematical model between molecular orientation and birefringence is proposed in this study. The coupling simulation of the macroscopic flow field and microscopic orientation is realized through internal stress. The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by the polarized Raman and birefringence distribution experimental results. Compared with the stress-birefringence method, the proposed model and numerical method can more accurately simulate molecular orientation and birefringence. Meanwhile, the simulated average orientation degree in the thickness direction under different melt and mold temperatures are compared with the measured results, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed model and simulation method at different process conditions.

The acoustic diffusion equation model has been applied within a wide range of enclosure types to simulate diffuse sound fields. Recently, focus has been drawn to its applicability in reverberation chambers to simulate sound fields among a heterogeneous distribution of absorbing materials, particularly those that are highly absorptive. Where quasi-diffuse or non-diffuse sound fields are generated in the presence of highly absorptive material, the acoustic diffusion equation model has convenient capabilities to simulate sound energy flow. Furthermore, it has continued to show promise in characterizing the absorption coefficients of sound absorbing material. Challenges for reproducibility in reverberation room measurements have been well-documented and where traditional chamber-based measurement have shown to be inconsistent, this work will evaluate the acoustic diffusion equation model’s suitability as an alternative and accurate method to characterize absorption coefficients.

Acoustic surface admittance/impedance at room boundaries is essential for wave-based room-acoustic simulations. In this work, two levels of Bayesian inference are applied to estimate the surface admittance based on a multipole admittance model. This work estimates the order of the multipole admittance model through the high level of inference, Bayesian model selection. The first (low) level of inference, Bayesian parameter estimation, is applied to estimate the parameter values of the surface admittance model once model order is selected. This work approximates the frequency-dependent admittance from experimentally measured a set of acoustic surface admittance data. Analysis results demonstrate that multipole model-based Bayesian inference is well suited in estimating the frequency-dependent boundary condition within wave-based simulation framework. Numerical simulations verify the estimation results of Bayesian inference.

An Fe/TiO2 catalyst with uniform mesopores was synthesized using Pluronic F127 as a structure-directing agent. This catalyst was used for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3. The catalytic activity and resistance to H2O and SO2 of Fe/TiO2 prepared by a template method were better than those of catalysts synthesized using impregnation and coprecipitation. The samples were characterized using N2-physisorption, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy. The results showed that Pluronic F127 acted as a structural and chemical promoter; it not only promoted the formation of a uniform mesoporous structure, leading to a higher surface area, but also improved dispersion of the active phase. In addition, the larger number of Lewis acidic sites, indicated by the presence of coordinated NH3 species (1188 cm−1) and the N–H stretching modes of coordinated NH3 (3242 and 3388 cm−1), were beneficial to mid-temperature selective catalytic reduction reactions.

The toxicity and inhibition efficiency of lignocellulose-derived compounds on two kinds of bacteria were evaluated based on Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship method, which could guide us to eliminate fermentation inhibitors existed in hydrolysates specifically. The results revealed that phenols exhibited the most significant toxicity on microbes, in which the functional group attached to benzene ring could dramatically influence toxicity degree. Furans showed moderate toxicity on microbes, however, short chain fatty acids exhibited feeble toxicity. GC-MS analysis identified inhibitors in rice straw hydrolysates after alkali-pretreatment as main constituent of phenols and acids, the concentration of which were 1.965 mM and 2.965 mM, respectively. Moreover, inhibition efficiency of these inhibitors was evaluated based on their toxicity and concentration. The results showed that inhibition efficiency of long chain fatty acids and phenol acids were significantly more enormous than that of other compounds, in which octadecanoic acid and ferulic acid had maximum inhibition efficiency value.

A genomic variant in the human ADTRP [androgen-dependent tissue factor (TF) pathway inhibitor (TFPI) regulating protein] gene increases the risk of coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. TFPI is the TF pathway inhibitor that is involved in coagulation. Here, we report that adtrp and tfpi form a regulatory axis that specifies primitive myelopoiesis and definitive hematopoiesis, but not primitive erythropoiesis or vasculogenesis. In zebrafish, there are 2 paralogues for adtrp (i.e., adtrp1 and adtrp2). Knockdown of adtrp1 expression inhibits the specification of hemangioblasts, as shown by decreased expression of the hemangioblast markers, etsrp, fli1a, and scl; blocks primitive hematopoiesis, as shown by decreased expression of pu.1, mpo, and l-plastin; and disrupts the specification of hematopoietic stem cells (definitive hematopoiesis), as shown by decreased expression of runx1 and c-myb. However, adtrp1 knockdown does not affect erythropoiesis during primitive hematopoiesis (no effect on gata1 or h-bae1) or vasculogenesis (no effect on kdrl, ephb2a, notch3, dab2, or flt4). Knockdown of adtrp2 expression does not have apparent effects on all markers tested. Knockdown of adtrp1 reduced the expression of tfpi, and hematopoietic defects in adtrp1 morphants were rescued by tfpi overexpression. These data suggest that the regulation of tfpi expression is one potential mechanism by which adtrp1 regulates primitive myelopoiesis and definitive hematopoiesis.—Wang, L., Wang, X., Wang, L., Yousaf, M., Li, J., Zuo, M., Yang, Z., Gou, D., Bao, B., Li, L., Xiang, N., Jia, H., Xu, C., Chen, Q., Wang, Q. K. Identification of a new adtrp1-tfpi regulatory axis for the specification of primitive myelopoiesis and definitive hematopoiesis.

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) has been suggested as a potential therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease. Herein we report the discovery of 5-substituent-N-arylbenzamide derivatives as novel LRRK2 inhibitors. Extensive SAR study led to the discovery of compounds 8e, which demonstrated potent LRRK2 inhibition activity, high selectivity across the kinome, good brain exposure, and high oral bioavailability.

There is great interest among geotechnical engineers to develop environment-friendly grouting materials for ground improvement. Biomineralisation is the process where micro-organisms produce minerals; mainly carbonate products that provide a basis to develop ‘biogrout’. Biogrout could be an excellent material for the purpose of ground improvement with several advantages over current remedial measures, to improve the mechanical properties, to decrease the permeability of porous materials, and to modify the properties of soil. In this review article, the conventional soil improvement practices are discussed with their drawbacks. In order to overcome drawbacks of those conventional processes, state-of-art on biologically based grout material is proposed for soil improvement. Further, an attempt has been made to compile the current knowledge on biogrout and identify research gaps for future research.

Air pollution is one of the top environmental concerns and causes of deaths and various diseases worldwide. An important question for sustainable development is to what extent urban design can improve or degrade urban air quality. In this article, we explored the relationship between ground-based observations of air pollution and urban form in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the largest metropolitan region in China. We analyzed six criteria pollutants (SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO, O3) and summarized metric (air quality index, AQI) from 129 ambient air quality monitoring stations during 2015. Urban form was characterized using six spatial metrics, including the size, shape, regularity, fragmentation and traffic coupling factor of urban patches, based on satellite-derived land cover data. The results indicated that: (1) PM2.5, PM10 and O3 were three primary pollutants in the YRD. The annual average AQI was 79, and the air quality was “moderate” for human health, with the highest and lowest AQI appeared in winter (107) and summer (60). Moreover, the air quality of the southern areas (Zhejiang province, AQI: 68) was generally better than the northern parts (Jiangsu province, AQI: 86). (2) Through the size and shape of urban patches, urban form had a significant effect on urban air quality in the YRD. PARA_MN (Mean Perimeter-area ratio), ENN_MN (Mean Euclidean Nearest Neighbor Distance), CA (Total Urban Area) and NP (Number of urban patches) had the most significant impacts on air quality. PM10 and PM2.5 were two important pollutants highly positively related to CA and NP, while negatively related to PARA_MN and ENN_MN. In addition, the polycentric urban form was associated with high air quality. (3) Land use configuration was an important indicator to describe the urban air quality. When buffer distance of spatial scale was 25 km, air quality showed the highest correlation with forest coverage. A high forest coverage rate contributed to the better air quality, increasing or preserving the forested areas would help mitigate the air pollution.

A series of novel hole transport materials based on fluorene and indole were designed, synthesized and well characterized. The carbazole and triphenylamine groups, which have excellent charge carrier mobility and low ionization potential, were introduced by coupling reactions. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectral, photoluminescence (PL) spectral, cyclic voltammetry (CV), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were performed to investigate the photophysical properties, thermal properties and electrochemical properties of these materials. The results implied that all these materials have excellent thermal stabilities with the 5% weight loss at 409–456 °C. The OLED devices based on the as-prepared materials were fabricated to investigate their hole transport ability. It turns out that device based on compound c exhibited the best performance with a maximum current efficiency of 3.74 cd/A and turn-on voltage at 4.0 V. The device performances indicated that the as-prepared materials can serve as highly efficient hole transport materials in OLED devices.

Three novel host materials 9-(4-(5-(4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl)-1H-indol-1-yl)phenyl)-9H-carbazole ( C1 ), 9-(4-(9,9-diphenyl-9H-fluoren-4-yl)-1H-indol-1-yl)-9-phenyl-9H-carbazole ( C2 ) and 9-(4-(5-(9,9-diphenyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-1H-indol-1-yl)phenyl)-9H-carbazole ( C3 ) based on spirofluorene, indole and carbazole derivatives have been designed and synthesized. Their thermal, photophysical and electrochemical properties were fully investigated. The OLED devices with C1 – C3 as host were fabricated to investigate their electroluminescent properties. Compound C3 obtained the best device performances with the maximum current efficiency of 45.2 cd A −1 and the maximum power efficiency of 23.2 lm W −1 for green phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes.

A series of CuCr catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation method and used to produce acetic acid from ethanol via dehydrogenation-(aldehyde–water shift) reaction. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The effects of copper contents and atmosphere on catalytic performance were investigated. The enhanced catalytic performance can be ascribed to the existence of chromium oxide. A possible mechanism for the production of acetic acid from ethanol without oxidant was also proposed.