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An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-sporulating, flagellated and spindle-like bacterium, designated HY14T, was isolated from a pickle-processing factory wastewater sample. The isolate chemoheterotrophically grew at 4–42 °C (optimum, 35 °C) and pH 5.5–9.0 (optimum, pH 6.0–6.5). Salt was required for growth (0.5–12 % NaCl, w/v). A deep brown and water-soluble uncharacterized pigment was produced when grown in certain media. The predominant fatty acids (>5 %) included C16 : 0, C18 : 1 ω7c, 11-methyl C18 : 1 ω7c and C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, two unidentified aminolipids, two unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified glycolipids and five unknown lipids. The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-10. Pairwise alignment based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain HY14T had the highest sequence similarity to genera Maritimibacter (95.61–96.05 %) and Boseongicola (95.82 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on core genome illustrated that strain HY14T formed a monophyletic lineage with members of the genus Maritimibacter in the clade of the Roseobacter group in the family Rhodobacteraeceae. The core-gene average amino acid identity used to define bacterial genera by a threshold of 60–80 % was calculated to be 68.56–76.5 % between HY14T and closely related taxa. Several genomic characteristics, such as carrying two RuBisCO-mediated pathways and different osmoprotectant transport pathways, exhibited the genotypic discrepancies of strain HY14T. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic characterization, strain HY14T is considered to represent a novel species of a novel genus belonging to the family Rhodobacteraeceae, for which the name Muriiphilus fusiformis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HY14T (=CGMCC 1.15973T=KCTC 52499T). Maritimibacter lacisalsi (Zhong et al. 2015) is considered to diverge from Maritimibacter alkaliphilus at the genus level, and should be reassigned as a novel genus, for which the name Muriicola lacisalsi gen. nov., comb. nov. is proposed.

In this paper, a regional emissions inventory of anthropogenic VOCs was established based on the traditional emissions factor method for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, followed by a multidimensional calibration study based on regional satellite remote sensing information for formaldehyde and typical urban ground VOCs. Inventory calculations showed that the VOCs emissions in BTH in 2013, 2015, and 2017 were 2026700, 2073400, and 1934200 tons, respectively, comprising alkanes (29.83% to 30.72%), unsaturated hydrocarbons (16.54% to 17.68%), aromatic hydrocarbons (27.14% to 27.51%), aldehydes (8.75% to 9.52%), ketones (8.13% to 9.04%), and aldehydes and ketones lipids (5.13% to 6.60%). During 2013-2017, the emission of VOCs in Zhangjiakou, Qinhuangdao, and Hengshui increased slightly (1.10% to 1.66% per year); emissions in Xingtai and Handan decreased slightly (-1.46% to -1.12% per year); and emissions in Chengde, Tangshan, Baoding, and Cangzhou were stable. There trends were consistent with the inter-annual trend of satellite-derived HCHO column concentrations. However, in Beijing, Tianjin, Langfang, and Shijiazhuang, annual variations in VOCs emissions (-6.51%, -3.30%, 2.16%, and 0.11% per year) and HCHO column concentrations (-1.17%, 7.19%, -0.24%, and 6.68% per year) were observed, respectively. In the regional VOCs inventory, a good linear correlation (

The catastrophic failure of coal under super-critical stresses and mining-induced disturbance is becoming one of major safety risks of underground mining. Research of the failure pattern o...

As the fastest growing city in China, Shenzhen, a pioneer of reform and opening up, seems to have exhausted its advantages of geographical convenience, cheap land, and cheap labor, thus, the tourism industry has been adopted as a new economic strategy. However, the Shenzhen tourism market has received little attention from scholars and few studies have been done to investigate the relationships between uncertainty and tourism consumption preferences in different cultures. Therefore, this paper attempts to study Shenzhen as a travel destination to explore the consumption preferences of domestic and international tourists, specify uncertainties in tourism consumption activities, and examine their impacts on preferences. The above aims are achieved using a survey method and a new theoretically proposed preference uncertainty model inspired by combining the modified virtual expert preference approach and the ordered probit model (MVEP-OPM), in which three major components of tourism consumption (food, accommodation, and shopping) are estimated. (1) The results show that there are significant differences in tourism consumption preferences between domestic tourists and international visitors. (2) Inexperience, unfamiliarity, imperfect knowledge, and policy uncertainty are major uncertainties in tourism consumption activities, which affect tourist preferences toward consumption behavior. (3) Uncertainty plays a different moderating role in product-related influential factors, such as sanitation, safety, and decoration.

Past clinical evidence suggests that there is partly an association between suicide risk/mortality and mentally health condition. It is an interesting subject for modern diagnostic implication and therapeutic targeting. As a result, neuropathy in brain and relevant treatment (eased by anti-depressive agents or herbs) can be extensively explored. In order to find useful way for cutting off unnecessary suicide-induced human mortality, mental-related genes or molecules study may move forwards suicide risk prediction, prevention, targeting and application. This perspective highlights emerging areas of human suicide and mental healthcare.

Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are generally recognized as the main components of sawdust. In this paper, the spontaneous combustion mechanism of sawdust was studied from the aspect of these components. The thermogravimetry analysis and biochemical component analysis showed that the lignin decomposed evidently at the induction period of thermal decomposition of sawdust, and the lignin contents of sawdust also presented positive correlation with their spontaneous combustion risk. Scanning electron microscope, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectra were implemented further. The results showed that: the cellulose remained stable at the induction period; for hemicellulose, the oxidation reaction took place, but it was very weak. However, for lignin, the dehydration reaction (loss hydroxyl group of alcohols) took place evidently so that the lignin exhibited an apparent porous structure. Therefore, the dehydration reaction of lignin might greatly affect the spontaneous combustion of sawdust.

A series of catalysts with p-LaFeO3/n-ZnO heterostructure were designed and prepared by hydrothermal method. The structure, surface topographies, optical properties and interfacial interactions of these photocatalysts were analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM, PL, Uv-vis DRS, XPS, COD, TOC etc., indicating that p-n heterojunction formed at the interface between p-LaFeO3 and n-ZnO, which enhanced the photocatalytic activity. Among them, the 20%-p-LaFeO3/n-ZnO composite exhibits the best activity for the phenol degradation under visible light. The superior photocatalytic activity of the heterojunction photocatalyst is mainly attributed to the formation of p-n heterojunction which leads to an efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Besides, the 20%-p-LaFeO3/n-ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst shows the excellent photocatalytic stability after 4 cycles. And from the free radical capture experiment, the degradation of phenol is dominated by the oxidation reaction of hydroxyl radicals and direct hole oxidation. What's more, certain intermediates were detected by HPLC and 3D-EEMs. Therefore, a photocatalytic mechanism of the 20%-p-LaFeO3/n-ZnO p-n heterojunction catalyst for phenol degradation under visible light irradiation was proposed.

Transportation investment plays a significant role in promoting economic development. However, in what scenario and to what extent transportation investment can stimulate economic growth still remains debatable. For developing countries undergoing rapid urbanization, answering these questions is necessary for evaluating proposals and determining investment plans, especially considering the heterogeneity of spatiotemporal conditions. Current literature lacks systematical research to consider the impacts of panel data and spatial correlation issue in examining the economic effects of transportation investment. To fill this gap, this study collects provincial panel data in China from 1997 to 2015 to evaluate multi-level temporal and spatial effects of transportation investment on economic growth by using spatial panel data analysis. Results show that transportation investment leads to significant and positive effects on growth and spatial concentration of economic activities, but these results vary significantly depending on the temporal and spatial characteristics of each province. The economic impacts of transportation investment are quite positive even considering the time lag effects. This study suggests that both central and local governments should carefully evaluate the multifaceted economic effects of transportation investment, such as a balanced transportation investment and economic development between growing and lagging regions, and considering the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the economic environment.

Coal mine fire often occurs in lean-oxygen environments caused by methane. In order to clarify the characteristics and mechanisms of coal-oxygen reaction under these conditions, the coal-oxygen reaction experiments were carried by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)-gas chromatograph (GC) combined technology in the range of 30-800°C. The thermogravimetric-subtraction/derivative thermogravimetric-subtraction (TG-S/DTG-S) curves which can more accurately reflect the coal-oxygen process were obtained by subtracting the TG/DTG curve of coal pyrolysis under the condition of pure N2. Through TG-S/DTG-S curves, the coal-oxygen reaction was divided into low temperature oxidation stage, accelerated oxidation stage and combustion stage. In the low temperature oxidation and accelerated oxidation stages, methane delayed the coal-oxygen reaction as an inert gas. Under the same oxygen concentration, the effect of methane on reducing CO, CO2 production and increasing ignition temperature (Ti) of coal was obvious than...

La/Y-codoped microporous organosilica membranes were successfully fabricated by sol-gel procedure with 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) as silica precursor for efficient desalination. The rare earth elements were confirmed to be doped into silica frameworks during the sol-gel procedure by various characterizations, which would decrease particles size and size distribution of BTESE-derived sols and form hydrothermally stable Si–O–RE (RE for La and Y) bonds. It could significantly influence membrane surface morphology, microstructure properties and hydrophilcity of La/Y-codoped membranes, and then improve their desalination performance. Under the optimized preparation conditions, La25Y75-SiO2 (La:Y = 25:75, mol%) membranes exhibited the highest water flux of 10.3 kg m−2 h−1 and NaCl rejection of nearly 100% towards 3.5 wt% NaCl feed solution even at room temperature of 25 °C. It was attributed to strongest hydrophilcity, finest microstructure, and lowest mass resistance of water permeation for La25Y75-SiO2 membranes. Moreover, such these organosilica membranes demonstrated good stability for 200 h simulated seawater desalination tests without any significant changes of separation performance and promising hydrothermal durability under various salts solutions with different concentrations at 25–60 °C.

Background:. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is sensitive to radiotherapy (RT). However, neurocognitive complications such as memory loss and learning and attention deficits emerge in the survivors of NPC who received RT. It remains unclear how radiation affects patient brain function. This pilot study aimed at finding cerebral functional alterations in NPC patients who have received RT. Methods:. From September 2014 to December 2016, 42 individuals, including 22 NPC patients and 20 normal volunteer controls in National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and Peking Union Medical College, were recruited in this study. All patients received resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and neurocognitive tests 1 day before the initiation of RT (baseline) and 1 day after the completion of RT; the 20 normal controls were also subjected to the same scans and tests. The amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in blood oxygen level-dependent signals and functional connectivity (FC) were used to characterize cerebral functional changes. Independent t test, paired t test, and analysis of variances were used to obtain statistical significance across groups. Results:. After RT, NPC patients showed significantly decreased ALFF values in the calcarine sulcus, lingual gyrus, cuneus, and superior occipital gyrus and showed significantly reduced FC mainly in the default mode network (P

A new series of C2-glycosyl benzofuranylthiazole derivatives was synthesised by the further cyclization of glycosyl thiourea and 2-(bromoacetyl)-benzofuran via Hantzsch’s method. The corresponding 2-(bromoacetyl)-benzofuran derivatives were obtained by the reaction from various salicylaldehydes, and the glycosyl thiourea was prepared through a series of steps from D-Glucosamine. The acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory activities of the products were tested by Ellman’s method. The most active compounds were subsequently evaluated for the 50% inhibitory concentration values. N-(1,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-4-(5-methoxy-benzofuran-2-yl)-1,3-thiazole-2-amine possessed the best acetylcholinesterase-inhibition activity with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 2.03 ± 0.26 μM.

Objective To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism of vitamin D receptor (VDR) genes and osteoporosis in Chinese Northern Han patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods Patients with acute exacerbation COPD were enrolled and divided into osteoporosis and non-osteoporosis groups. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of the subjects. UCSC genome browser and haploview 4.2 software were used to screen the tag single nucleotide polymorphism (tagSNPs) of VDR gene. The selected tagSNPs of VDR gene were genotyped by Sequenom MassARRAY SNP platform. Logistic regression was used to analyze the OR values and confidence intervals (CI) of each tagSNP in the codominant, dominant and recessive genetic models, and assess the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms in VDR gene and osteoporosis in COPD patients. Results A total of 379 COPD patients were enrolled. The group of osteoporosis and non-osteoporosis differed significantly in gender, age, alcohol assumption, peripheral platelet counts, serum phosphorus and serum creatinine levels (P

Coal and gas outbursts are small-scale geological disasters controlled by tectonic movement, and tectonic coal is widespread in outburst zones. In this study, we compare tectonic and intact coal specimens to examine the basic properties of tectonic coal. We estimate the different energies and limits of the crushing work ratio of coal from five typical outburst cases using on-site outburst data, and discuss the relationship between outbursts and tectonic coal. The results show that tectonic coal is a product of tectonic movement and its original primary structure is destroyed during the tectonic process. Compared with intact coal, tectonic coal shows low strength properties and a crushing work ratio of 22.11 J/m2. The specific surface area and total pore volume of the minipores, mesopores, and macropores of the coal strongly increase under conditions of intense tectonism, which indicates that tectonic coal has a very high capacity for rapid initial gas desorption. An adequate supply of gas is required to transport outburst coal, such that the existence of coal particles smaller than the critical diameter is important. Our calculations indicate that the crushing work ratio of coal from the five outburst case ranges from 22.19 to 78.67 J/m2. Only the crushing work ratio of tectonic coal satisfies the requirement for these cases. Therefore, the properties of the tectonic coal and crushing work ratio for the five cases indicate that the widespread occurrence of tectonic coal plays a crucial role in outbursts.

Hard carbon is the most common carbon-based material with abundant raw material resources, low cost, high reversible capacity and reliable safety performance, it is the most suitable sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) anode material for commercial production, which attracts the interest of the researchers. Unfortunately, the electrochemical performances of hard carbon are still underestimated in the previous reports. In this research, we use a simple process flow to obtain carbonized oatmeal as a kind of hard carbon. It can deliver initial reversible capacity of 272.4 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1, the capacity retention rate is 93.3% after 100 cycles, exhibits a good electrochemical performance. Simultaneously, the transport properties of sodium-ion in carbonized oatmeal material are also characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT). The measurement results show that the low potential platform region of the oatmeal-derived hard carbon is attributed to the insertion/extraction characteristics of sodium-ion in the graphitic microcrystallites sheets.

LaFeO3 is introduced as an ideal protective coating layer with excellent conductivity to enhance LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) cathode material for use at higher operating voltage (especially 4.6 V). Various material characterization methods are employed to characterize the structural and morphological characteristics of the pristine and modified samples, including x-ray diffraction analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrode with 2 wt.% LaFeO3 coating showed capacity retention of 80% at current density of 1 C after 200 charge/discharge cycles at 25°C, compared with 63% for the pristine electrode. Cyclic voltammogram results indicated that the LaFeO3 coating reduced the cell polarization during extended cycling. The results therefore show that LaFeO3 has potential for coating of NCM523 for use even at high voltage.

Investigating independent active materials is inadequate to settle the technological challenges involved in the booming lithium ion battery industry. The further development of energy-storage properties with both high energy density and superior cycling lifespan are highly dependent on the overall system optimization, which highlights the study of the interface between different components in a system. Herein, a system-level strategy of engineering MnO-based anode build on the plentiful electrolytic manganese dioxide are developed via a microwave-assisted carbothermic reduction, combined with a succeeding in-situ aggregation of polydopamine (PD) onto MnO along with chemical binding with polyacrylic acid (PAA) binder. Fourier transform IR spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra validate the formation of cross-linking reaction between the PD buffer and PAA binder. Benefited from the prominent structure stability which endowed by well-connected three-dimensional porous structure, as well as two steady interfaces between MnO and PD buffer and between PD buffer and PAA binder, the cross-linked MnO anode exhibit a reversible capacity of 687 mAh g−1 at 300 mA g−1 and high Coulombic efficiency of 99% over 500 cycles and impressive rate capability of 320 mAh g−1 at 3000 mA g−1.

Respirable dust pollution at an underground heading face driven with continuous miner was detected during a ventilation survey. In order to obtain fundamental understandings of the airflow patterns and the respirable dust dispersion characteristics within the heading face, three dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models were developed according to field condition. The continuous miner (JOY 12CM27), which significantly impacts the ventilation and respirable dust flow behaviour, was embedded into the model. The inappropriate ventilation arrangement, lack of effective dust control measures, as well as insufficient maintenance of equipment (e.g. blunt picks, missing nozzles etc.) were identified as the main reasons causing the high dust exposure levels (greater than 500 mg/m3). Based on the CFD model results, a new ventilation arrangement together with dust mitigation strategy were proposed. And an evaluation of the proposed system demonstrated a high respirable dust mitigation effect (90%) could be achieved. Therefore, it is highly recommended these control strategies to be implemented immediately to address the extremely high dust levels in the underground working environment. The proposed strategy will be also suitable for headings with similar conditions and could provide guidance for mining operators to refer.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the Chinese employment relationship under the framework of psychological contracts. The authors explored the effects of firm ownership (in terms of state-owned and private enterprises) and employment type (in terms of permanent and temporary employees) on employee perceptions of psychological contract. In addition, the associations between fulfilled psychological contract and various dimensions of employee attitudes were examined. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a questionnaire as the primary instrument to investigate the impact of firm ownership and employment type on psychological contract perceptions and outcomes. The analysis was based on a Chinese sample of a size of 363 employees. Findings The results indicate that state-owned employees overall reported fewer promises (employer under-obligation promised psychological contract), while private employees tended to have more promises (mutual high obligation, employer over-obligation and quasi-spot obligation promise-based psychological contract). Permanent employees reported high fulfillment (employer over-obligation, mutual high obligation and employer under-obligation fulfilled psychological contract). In contrast, temporary employees presented many promises (mutual high obligation promised psychological contract) and low fulfillment (quasi-spot fulfilled psychological contract). In general, firm ownership had weak effects on permanent and temporary employees’ perceptions of promise-based psychological contract, but no significant influence on fulfillment-based psychological contract. Moreover, psychological contract fulfillment was positively related to employees’ fairness perception and job satisfaction, while negatively related to the intention to quit. The authors failed to find comprehensive statistical support for the moderating effects of firm ownership or employment type. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature through a number of ways. First, instead of psychological contract breach, the authors use psychological contract fulfillment as a direct measure to examine the relationship between psychological contract and employees’ attitudes. Second, they investigate the effects of firm ownership on employment relationship under the psychological contract framework, enriching the institutional lens of the issue. Third, while majority of psychological contract studies concerning employment type concentrate on either permanent or temporary employees, the authors take both types into account. Fourth, they integrate perspectives of firm ownership and employment type. Finally, the authors perform the study in the Chinese context, which offers extra evidence to the body of psychological contract literature.

Spontaneous combustion of coal has long been a thermal dynamic hazard during coal mining, storage, and transport, posing a great threat to coal mine safety. Especially coal spontaneous combustion in longwall goaf poses a great threat to underground working crew. To investigate such a mine safety issue with more insights and “what if” scenarios, this study employs CFD technique to develop a proactive inertisation plan in a longwall goaf. Based on real on-site conditions of the longwall goaf, a three-dimensional transient non-equilibrium thermal CFD model was developed to study heating evolution and proactive inertisation plans of the longwall goaf. The theoretical model incorporated a set of governing equations including low temperature kinetics of coal oxidation, energy and mass conservation, momentum balance, and continuity equation. After the base model (1000 m) was validated and calibrated with field gas monitoring data, another model (500 m model) was studied to obtain an optimum inertisation plan. Both steady state and transient simulations were conducted to study the flow dynamics of air velocity, oxygen ingress, dispersion of gaseous products and heating evolution in the longwall goaf. Based on the flow dynamics field, proactive inertisation plans using nitrogen to suppress the onset and development of goaf heatings were then developed and studied.

Extensive studies have been conducted on the use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) as a confining material in hybrid tubular columns for civil construction, where the design of columns is often controlled by the stiffness and/or strength requirements. By contrast, the capacity of sustaining large deformation without losing structural integrity can be critical in some applications such as the standing supports for underground mines. This paper presents the conceptual development of a novel column form with large deformation capacity. The novel column consists of an outer FRP tube, and an infill made of coarse lumps/aggregates, which can be from coal rejects or other waste/recycled materials, as well as calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA)-based cementitious material with high water content. In addition to its large deformation capacity, the new column allows the extensive, direct and easy use of waste materials and eliminates the need for mixing concrete on site or transporting commercial concrete. This paper also presents the results from a series of compression tests on the new columns as well as two similar column forms. These tests demonstrate the very large deformation capacity of the new column and show that an existing stress-strain model for FRP-confined normal concrete can be used to provide reasonable predictions of the behaviour of the confined infill material in the new column. The potential applications of the new column and the needs for future research are also discussed.

Reinforced s-shaped bellows, which can withstand high pressure, is a kind of typical reinforced metal bellows. The reinforced s-shaped bellows mainly uses the hydroforming process, and the forming process is a severe plastic deformation process. The hydroforming process and its effects on the fatigue life of reinforced s-shaped bellows were discussed in the present study. Different levels of plastic strain and wall thickness thinning were detected in the hydroforming process. The maximum plastic strain can reached 32%, while the maximum wall thickness thinning ratio is 20%, which occurs on the wave peak. Mechanical characteristics of reinforced s-shaped bellows were discussed considering the effects of hydroforming process. The maximum stress appears on the upper and lower ends, which is the weak part of the structure. Fatigue life of the reinforced s-shaped bellows was analyzed based on the modified Manson-Coffin method. Mechanical properties of related materials, which can be more accurate consideration the effects of hydroforming process, were tested under the pre-plastic deformation. Fatigue life analysis of reinforced s-shaped bellows was carried out and the effects of hydroforming process were discussed. The hydroforming process will lead to a decline in fatigue life, which needs to be considered well in the structural design and analysis. Keywords: Reinforced s-shaped bellows, Hydroforming process, Fatigue life, Mechanical characteristics.

The article entitled “Aberrant Sialylation in Cancer Pathology and Metastasis, a Putative Drug Target Candidate”, by Lu D.Y., Lu T.R., Xu B., Varki A., Huang M., Zhu H., Shen Y., Yarla N.S., has been retracted on the request of the co-authors Dr. Ajit Varki, Ming Huang, Hong Zhu and Ying Shen available at: Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2018; 18(14): 1952-1961. http://www.eurekaselect.com/165282. The Corresponding Author Dr. Da-Yong Lu has included the name of the co-author Dr. Ajit Varki, Dr. Nagendra Yarla, Ming Huang, Hong Zhu and Ying Shen without their consent and the manuscript has been published in the journal Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (ACAMC). Kindly see Bentham Science Policy on Article retraction at the link given below: https://benthamscience.com/journals/anti-cancer-agents-in-medicinal-chemistry/editorial-policies/). Submission of a manuscript to the respective journals implies that all authors have read and agreed to the content of the Copyright Letter or the Terms and Conditions. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. Bentham Science Publishers takes a very strong view on this matter and apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may cause.

The constant Ebola epidemic outbreaks in Africa arisen in waves of panic worldwide. There is a high mortality rate (30-70%) among the Ebola-infected people in virus- stricken areas. Despite these horrors, the medical capabilities against this deadly viral disease were provided by limited therapeutic agents/options. As a result, several patented agents, biotherapies or prophylactic/therapeutic vaccines need to be reviving into the global markets—including patents of small molecular chemicals, short sequences or oligomers of DNA/RNA, linkages of chemicals with bio-molecules, herbal medicine and so on. In addition, the possible mechanisms of action of these therapeutic options are underway. To promote Ebola biomedical study, the multiple characters of Ebola infections—its origin, pathologic progress, genomic changes, therapeutic context and economic considerations are outlined in this review. Finally, a great difference can be expected after these types of efforts.

Background and aims AIDS (acquired immune deficient syndrome), a deadly human infectious disease is caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses) infection. Patient's mortality was eventually reduced to one-fourth by combined chemotherapy (usually 3 chemical drugs simultaneously) than earlier HIV/AIDS treatments (single drug or vaccine) in the clinic. Results Combined treatments against HIV/AIDS are still incurable for all patients despite a high rate of patient's survival. Basic viral pathological study and advancing drug development systems for curable medications are indispensable nowadays and in the future. Conclusion Up to date, therapeutic trinity (combined therapy) against HIV/AIDS is generally among chemical drugs. In this article, several forms of other therapeutic attempts for effectively curing efforts against HIV/AIDS are proposed-including the development of next generation therapeutic HIV vaccines and schedules, new categories of bio-therapy, different pathways of immune-modulation, herbal medicines in general (allopathic, Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicines), high quality of physical exercises, and especially therapeutic combinations guided by latest medical discovery and principles (new forms of therapeutic trinity against HIV-induced pathogenesis and human mortality).

Spontaneous combustion of coal in underground coal mine is a long-standing thermal dynamic hazard. The hazard is harmful in diverse aspects: causing loss of coal resource, raising safety concerns, and giving off noxious/greenhouse effect gases. Detection and trending analysis of a few particular gaseous products liberated during coal oxidation is the most fundamental spontaneous combustion forecasting technique in practice. This study mainly reviewed the mechanism and practical knowledge by using such technique to forecast spontaneous combustion. To give more insights in emerging order of fire gas, this study critically reviewed and analysed the detailed production sequences of these key gaseous products. It was indicated production of carbon oxide, hydrogen, methylene and some other hydrocarbon gases can be used to forecast early heating of coal. This study also summarised and discussed the interpretation of the index gases through absolute concentration of key gas indicators and composite ratios. Six common gas monitoring techniques (i.e. tube bundle system, telemetric system, portable system, gas chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, and tunable diode laser adsorption spectroscopy) are discussed in terms of their advantages and limitations in this study. Lastly, a practically demonstrated spontaneous combustion hazard management plan (i.e. TARP) is introduced. TARP uses different gas ratios in various locations to indicate escalating levels of severity of a heating event.

This study aims to understand the relationship between female corporate leadership and firm performance based on exploration and exploitation strategies using a global enterprise data set. Previous studies report conflicting evidence of female corporate leadership on firm performance. This study applies an exploration–exploitation framework and suggests that the relative advantage of female corporate leadership relies upon certain aspects of the firm’s growth strategy. The empirical evidence confirms that the relative advantage of female corporate leadership resides more in the exploitation than the exploration aspect of a firm’s growth strategy compared to male corporate leadership. The study thus offers important implications for broader business practices when considering the alignment between the choice of corporate leadership and firm growth strategy.

The massive rural-to-urban migration has been one of the most important features of China’s labour market in recent decades. The recent pattern of return migration and migrant wages has increased the costs of firms in urban areas and has negatively affected urbanisation. Therefore, it is important to understand the determinants of settlement intention of migrants. Using data from Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC), we find that migrants express higher settlement intention in a city after receiving training that is provided by firms. The effect is larger for females, high school graduates and dropouts, and wage earners. These findings suggest that training may complement migrants’ human capital and upgrade their skills. Therefore, training in cities may act as an instrument that facilitates the migration decisions and transforms a temporary migrant to a permanent resident in an urban area.

A series of glycosyl-substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazoles were synthesized by cyclization of glycosyl-acylthiosemicarbazides via a base-catalyzed reaction. The starting glycosyl-acylthiosemicarbazide derivatives were obtained by the reaction of glycosyl isothiocyanate with various hydrazides. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities of the products were tested by Ellman’s method. The most active compounds were subsequently evaluated for the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values. N-(1,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-5-(4-fluorophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-amine (6i) possesses the best AChE -inhibition activity with an IC50 of 1.61±0.34 μm.

Introduction Suicide is still a major event of human mortality worldwide. Yet human suicide prediction, prevention and therapeutic systems at this moment are generally ineffective in the clinic. No diagnostic system is reliable for significantly suicidal prevention and mortality reduction. As a result, human suicide etiopathologic investigation (especially at genetic/molecular levels in the clinical settings) is quite necessary. In order to boost human suicide researches, emerging human suicide diagnostic/treatment study will be transformed from clinical symptom observations into new generations of candidate drug targets and therapeutics. To achieve this goal, associations between suicidal etiopathologic identification, genetic/bioinformatics-based diagnostics and putative drug targets must be exploited than ever before. After all, the interaction and relationships between environmental/ genetic/molecular clues and overall patient's risk prediction (environmental influences and different therapeutic targets/types) should be found out. Conclusion In the future, effective clinical suicide prediction, prevention and therapeutic systems can be established via scientific expeditions and causality discovery.

Dust management at longwall faces has always been a concern for mine operators. Recent respirable dust monitoring at a longwall top coal caving (LTCC) face indicated that extremely high dust exposure levels have been experienced at the face. Dust contamination from intake ventilation and the incorrect use of ventilation arrangements (i.e. curtains) at maingate (MG) area were identified as the main cause of this issue. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling studies were therefore conducted to investigate the impact of different ventilation arrangements on the dispersion behaviour of respirable dust at the LTCC face, with a special focus on the airflow patterns and the aerodynamics of fugitive dust at the intersection of MG and face. Field investigation was first carried out to observe the dust issue and obtain essential data for the development and validation of base model. Then parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two different curtain configurations at MG considering the worst scenario of intake dust contamination to face (dust from travel road and beam stage loader (BSL) discharge point flows towards face) with the shearer cutting into the MG. Model results demonstrate that the occurrence of flow separation and incorrect use of curtains account for the main reasons of high dust exposure level at the intersection of MG and face, especially when the shearer is cutting into the MG. Ventilation arrangements at the MG and face entry are critical to minimise the impact of flow separation on the dust flow patterns at the intersection. Based on model results, new ventilation arrangements at the MG and face entry have been proposed and evaluated through which significant dust mitigation effect can be achieved at face entry, contributing to the overall reduction of dust exposure levels along the face.

Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and yellow-pigmented bacterium, designated A3-108T, was isolated from seawater of the West Pacific Ocean. Cells were non-motile and rod-shaped, with carotenoid-type pigments. The strain A3-108T grew at pH 6.0-8.5 (optimum 6.5) and 15–40℃ (optimum 28℃), in the presence of 0.5–10% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1.0%). It possessed the ability to produce H2S. Based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis, strain A3-108T exhibited highest similarity with Aureisphaera salina A6D-50T (90.6%). Phylogenetic analysis shown that strain A3-108T affiliated with the family Flavobacteriaceae and represented an independent lineage. The principal fatty acids were iso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 3-OH, iso-C15:1 G and summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c). The sole isoprenoid quinone was MK-6. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified aminophospholipid, one unidentified aminolipid and one unidentified lipid. The ANIb, in silico DDH and AAI values among the genomes of strain A3-108T and the reference strains were 67.3–71.1%, 18.7–22.1% and 58.8–71.4%, respectively. The G + C content was 41.0%. Differential phylogenetic distinctiveness, chemotaxonomic differences as well as phenotypic properties revealed that strain A3-108T represented a novel genus and species of the family Flavobacteriaceae, for which the name Luteorhabdos pelagi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed (type strain, A3-108T = CGMCC 1.18821T = KCTC 82563T).

The techniques and qualities of drug sensitivity testing (DST) for anticancer treatment have grown rapidly in the past two decades worldwide. Much of DST progress came from advanced systems of technical versatility (faster, highly-throughput, highly-sensitive, and smaller in tumor quantity). As the earliest drug selective system, biomedical knowledge and technical advances for DST are mutually supported. More importantly, many pharmacological controversies are resolved by these technical advances. With this technical stride, the clinical landscape of DST entered into a new phase (>500 samples per testing and extremely low quantity of tumor cells). As a forerunner of the drug selection system, DST awaits a new version that can adapt to complicated therapeutic situations and diverse tumor categories in the clinic. By upholding this goal of pathogenic and therapeutic diversity, DST could eventually cure more cancer patients by establishing high-quality drug selection systems. To smoothen DST development, there is a need to increase the understanding of cancer biology, pathology and pharmacology (cancer heterogeneity, plasticity, metastasis and drug resistance) with well-informative parameters before chemotherapy. In this article, medicinal and technical insights into DST are especially highlighted.

Most of the coal seams in China are characterized by high in-situ stress, high gas pressure, high gas content and low permeability, which makes the gas extraction rather difficult. This infrastructure not only limits CBM production but also presents considerable challenges to the safety and efficiency of coal mining in China.

The form of gas migration in coal seams is either diffusion or seepage, and is closely related to the fracture scale and pore size distribution. However, the characteristic of inhomogeneous pore structure exists in natural coal seams, and has been simplified by some researchers on the basis of the primary and secondary effects of seepage and diffusion in coal seams.

Adsorption is a type of interfacial phenomena, which includes physical adsorption, chemical adsorption and absorption. The gas adsorption in coal belongs to physical adsorption, which means that the gas molecules concentrate in the surface of coal pores, i.e. the gas molecule concentration at the interface between gas and coal is larger than elsewhere. For the physical adsorption, the adsorption force between the solid surface and the gas is the van der Waals force, and the adsorption volume depends mainly on the pressure, temperature and the size of coal surface area. Similar to the gas liquefaction and water vapor condensation, physical adsorption is also reversible. The heat released by gas adsorption is small, and generally, there is about 10–20 kJ of heat released when 1 mol of gas molecules are adsorbed, which is similar to that of gas liquefaction. For the chemical adsorption, chemical bonds are formed between the solid molecule and the gas molecule on the solid surface, i.e. there exists electron exchange between gas molecules and solid surface molecules. The main difference between chemical adsorption and physical adsorption is that the chemical adsorption is irreversible, and the generated heat of chemical adsorption is similar to the thermal effect of chemical reaction, which is generally ten times to several tens of times larger than the physical adsorption heat. A large number of experiments on coal adsorption show that the gas adsorption/desorption in coal is a reversible process and the volume of adsorbed gas is approximately the same as the desorbed gas. The gas adsorption heat measured by experiments ranges from 12.6 to 20.9 kJ/moL, which is approximately equal to the heat released by methane liquefaction.

In view of the problem where there is abnormal continuous CO exceedance in the tailgate corner without any sign of spontaneous combustion associated with the mining of low metamorphic coal seam, both desorption experiments and ambient temperature oxidation experiments were carried out, and the ambient temperature oxidation characteristics and its mechanism were studied. The results demonstrate that the original coal seam from which the experimental coal sample was taken, does not contain CO and CO2, and the coal sample can oxidize at ambient temperature. The O2 consumption rate, CO and CO2 production rate is not directly related to the particle size. Low O2 concentration can inhibit but not eliminate the ambient temperature oxidation. In addition to the active sites of coal itself, the ambient temperature oxidation reaction rate is also affected by the inhibitory substances produced by the reaction itself. R1(△CO/△O2), R2(△CO2/△O2) and R3(△CO/△CO2) indexes are mostly not affected by the changes of particle size, O2 concentration and oxidation rates, and the ambient temperature oxidation of coal is dominated by a single mechanism. The ambient temperature oxidation mechanism is also theoretically deduced. The research will have important significance for controlling the abnormal exceedance of CO.

Moisture, ash content, volatiles, density and hardness of coal. Pore, fracture structures of coal and characterization methods. Coal matrix and its scale features

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol and is supposed to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiapoptotic properties. Although some studies have reported the therapeutic effects of curcumin on ulcerative colitis (UC), the specific mechanism remains unclear. An in vitro coculture model of Caco-2 and differentiated THP-1 cells was established. After administration of curcumin (10 μM), Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate the protein levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins zonula occludens- (ZO-) 1 and claudin-1. Annexin V-APC/7-AAD assays and flow cytometry were conducted to assess Caco-2 cell apoptosis. The expression levels of oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress- (ERS-) related molecules were determined by Western blot analysis. Curcumin administration significantly upregulated ZO-1 and claudin-1 protein levels and reduced Caco-2 cell apoptosis. The protein levels of oxidative stress markers inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and γH2AX and ERS-induced apoptosis-related molecules C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and cleaved caspase-12 were significantly downregulated upon curcumin treatment. Furthermore, curcumin administration greatly blocked the protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase- (PERK-) eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α- (eIF2α-) activating transcription factor 4- (ATF4-) CHOP signaling pathway. Curcumin enhanced intestinal epithelial barrier integrity in the in vitro coculture model by upregulating TJ protein expressions and reducing intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis. The potential mechanisms may be suppression of ERS and subsequent apoptosis.

Gas drainage technologies are the main means of lowering the gas content of coal seams and eliminating the gas hazard of coalmines. As China has a huge reservoir of coalbed methane (CBM) resources, the extraction and utilization of coal seam gas resources can realize the significant triple benefits of ensuring the safe mining of coal resources, promoting the clean and efficient use of coalmine gas, and protecting the environment.

Coal and gas outburst is the extreme instability caused by stress, gas, and coal. In this review article, dominant factors and inducing factors of outburst were summarized; geologic features of typical outburst cases and the effects of tectonic movement on outbursts were analyzed; the outburst stages with considerations to geologic factors were divided. It was found that inducing factors, including buried depth, tectonic movement, gas composition, coal seam conditions, overlying/underlying rock conditions, and mining mode, control the outburst by influencing the dominant factors (stress, gas, and coal). Among them, tectonic movement is the key of outburst. Influenced by tectonic movement, the primary structure of coals is damaged/pulverized due to the tectonic stress and unique tectonic mode, resulting in the formation of tectonic coals. When external dynamic factors are changed, tectonic coals are crucial to outburst control for its evolution of porous structure as well as the unique mechanical behaviors and gas flowing responses. Besides, the preparation stage of outburst includes the tectonic process and mining process. The former one refers to the restructuring process of the original coal-bearing strata by tectonic movement, while the mining process is the prerequisite of outburst and it refers to the disturbance of human mining activities to the initial coal seams. It is suggested that more work is required on geological factors of outburst, and a few research areas are proposed for future research.

Coal strength plays a significant role in various mining related engineering activities, including the evaluation of coal and gas outburst dangers, pillar design, hydraulic fracturing design (involving enhanced gas drainage), coalface support, coal seam CO2 sequestration, and other activities.

Coal formation, including coalification effect, peatization effect, diagenesis effect and metamorphism effect; Metamorphism types and maceral composition of coal; Generation of coal seam gas during coal metamorphism, basic composition of coal seam gas, and the existence forms of adsorbed gas and free gas. Controlling effect of magma intrusion on the coal metamorphism and coal seam gas occurrence.

The basic concept of force in coal mechanics consists of external force and stress. The external force is generated from the outside of coal seam and can be further divided into two types, surface force and body force. Surface force is applied to the coal surface, such as gas pressure, coal support force and the contact forces between different coal blocks. Body force, such as gravity and inertia force, is continuously distributed within the coal and is also called a mass force.

Hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) engaging disc cutters as cutting tools have been employed in considerable underground coal mines to accommodate the requirement of more stone drivage as operations are going deeper. This study conducted a set of disc cutter indentation tests to explore the influence of confining stresses on rock fragmentation, thrust force, and penetration energy on sandstone, which is commonly encountered in underground coal mines. The test results show that there exists a critical confining stress, under which the maximum thrust force and penetration energy keep increasing with confining stress mounting while the maximum thrust force and penetration energy will decrease or flatten if it is surpassed. By combining with previous studies and comparing the critical confining stress values to the rock mechanical properties’ values, the critical value is most likely to be of cohesion. For subsurface rock fragmentation, the Constant Cross Section (CCS) disc cutter indentation has denser cracks and their orientations are more lateral than those under the V shape one; the V shape disc cutter indentation is less sensitive to confining stresses, with no notable increase of crack number and crack reorientation with increasing confinement. Thus, the CCS disc cutter is more favorable than the V shape one from the perspective of rock fragmentation under confining stresses.