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The contradiction between flammability and packing density is the technical bottleneck for combustible smoke agent. Herein, polyurethane (PU) foams with flammability and resilience were prepared with polyol and isocyanate as raw materials by chemical foaming method, then compounded with metal powders, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), phthalic annychide (PA), etc. in a certain proportion and pressed into pyrotechnic grain to obtain eco-friendly combustion aerosols with compact density of about 1.15 g/cm3. The resulting combustion smoke agent combined the advantages of PU foam and pyrotechnic with easy ignition, large smoke production, long duration and low environmental pollution. The transmittance of aerosols for 532 nm and 1064 nm lasers was close to 0, and the EMI SE reached up to 65 dB and 35 dB in GPS band and X band, respectively. In addition, the resulting pyrotechnic grains exhibited good mechanical strength and elasticity for sample 1:25, with a compressive strength of 22 MPa and an elastic modulus of 195 MPa. The resulting combustion smoke agent is expected to play a potential role in the field of electromagnetic damage and protection.

Scaling is the most commonly used technique to artificially propagate lilies. Scales from different positions of the donor bulb vary in regeneration efficiency; however, the mechanism underlying bulblet formation remains unclear. To investigate the relationship between scale morphological characteristics, initial nutrient status and bulblet regeneration capacities during scale propagation of Lilium, we performed comprehensive morphological and correlation analyses using scales from three lily cultivars. Principal component analysis clearly distinguished middle scale (MS) from outer scale (OS) by morphological characteristics alone. Morphological results indicated that MS and OS differ significantly in terms of scale width, facial area, basal area, volume, length-to-width ratio and width-to-thickness ratio. Correlation analysis showed that scale width was significantly positively correlated with both the quantity and quality of regenerated bulblets. Among the cultivars, starch and soluble sugars accounted for 50–80% of scale DW. And a higher initial ratio of sucrose to starch in scales was more conducive to the bulblets formation. Although light had no effect on the incidence of bulblets, the formation of bulblets was positively enhanced, and better morphological consistency was obtained. This present study achieved a comprehensive morphological and nutritional analysis focused on bulblet formation capacities of scales from different positions of lily bulbs via scaling propagation, laying a foundation for future molecular studies on bulblet formation.

Background Osmanthus fragrans (Oleaceae) is one of the most important ornamental plant species in China. Many cultivars with different leaf color phenotypes and good ornamental value have recently been developed. For example, a new cultivar ‘Qiannan Guifei’, presents a rich variety of leaf colors, which change from red to yellow-green and ultimately to green as leaves develop, making this cultivar valuable for landscaping. However, the biochemical characteristics and molecular mechanisms underlying leaf color changes of these phenotypes have not been elucidated. It has been hypothesized that the biosynthesis of different pigments in O. fragrans might change during leaf coloration. Here, we analyzed transcriptional changes in genes involved in chlorophyll (Chl), flavonoid, and carotenoid metabolic pathways and identified candidate genes responsible for leaf coloration in the new cultivar ‘Qiannan Guifei’. Methods Leaf samples were collected from ‘Qiannan Guifei’ plants at the red (R), yellow-green (YG) and green (G) leaf stages. We compared the different-colored leaves via leaf pigment concentrations, chloroplast ultrastructure, and transcriptomic data. We further analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the Chl, flavonoid, and carotenoid metabolic pathways. In addition, we used qRT-PCR to validate expression patterns of the DEGs at the three stages. Results We found that, compared with those at the G stage, chloroplasts at the R and YG stages were less abundant and presented abnormal morphologies. Pigment analyses revealed that the leaves had higher flavonoid and anthocyanin levels at the R stage but lower Chl and carotenoid concentrations. Similarly, Chl and carotenoid concentrations were lower at the YG stage than at the G stage. By using transcriptomic sequencing, we further identified 61 DEGs involved in the three pigment metabolic pathways. Among these DEGs, seven structural genes (OfCHS, OfCHI, OfF3H, OfDFR, OfANS, OfUGT andOf3AT) involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were expressed at the highest level at the R stage, thereby increasing the biosynthesis of flavonoids, especially anthocyanins. Six putativeOfMYB genes, including three flavonoid-related activators and three repressors, were also highly expressed at the R stage, suggesting that they might coordinately regulate the accumulation of flavonoids, including anthocyanins. Additionally, expressions of the Chl biosynthesis-related genes OfHEMA, OfCHLG and OfCAO and the carotenoid biosynthesis-related genes OfHYB and OfZEP were upregulated from the R stage to the G stage, which increased the accumulation of Chl and carotenoids throughout leaf development. In summary, we screened the candidate genes responsible for the leaf color changes of ‘Qiannan Guifei’, improved current understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying leaf coloration and provided potential targets for future leaf color improvement in O. fragrans.

Abstract We aimed to investigate whether the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), a combined nutritional-inflammatory score based on serum albumin levels and lymphocyte count, was associated with mortality in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). From September 2011 to November 2014, 309 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing pPCI were prospectively enrolled. Patients with a combined score of albumin (g/L) + 5 × total lymphocyte count × 109/L ≥ 45 or

A novel composite material (TD) composed of TS-1 microcrystalline and dendritic mesoporous silica nanospheres (DMSNs) was successfully prepared. The TD composite material had open pore structure and large specific surface area, which was conducive to the mass transfer of reactants and products. The Ti element in TS-1 could be used as an electron assistant, and the spillover d-electrons were conducive to the improvement of the sulfidation and dispersion of MoS2, thereby forming more type II MoS2 active phases. The incorporation of Ti could bring more Brønsted (B) and Lewis (L) acid, which was conducive to the hydrogenation pathway (HYD) selectivity (41.2%) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and isomerization (ISO) route selectivity (21.9%) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) HDS, thus improve the HDS activity of DBT and 4,6-DMDBT. NiMo/TD-70 (Aging temperature = 70 °C) had the best HDS activities of DBT (99.0%) and 4,6-DMDBT (93.7%) due to its large open pore structure, good acidity, suitable metal-support interaction (MSI) and perfect dispersion of the metallic active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type A acute aortic dissection is a life-threatening vascular emergency because of its high morbidity and mortality. Platelet is a pivotal ingredient involved in the development of acute aortic dissection. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether mean platelet volume (MPV)/platelet count ratio predicts in-hospital complications and long-term mortality in type A acute aortic dissection. In this single-center and prospective cohort study, 106 consecutive patients with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection admitted to the hospital within 12 h after onset were recruited. The best cut-off value of MPV/platelet count ratio predicting all-cause mortality was determined by the receiver operator characteristic analysis. Patients were divided into high (H-MPV/platelet count) and low (L-MPV/platelet count) groups based on the cut-off value of 7.49 (10 fl/10/l). Patients were followed up for 3.5 years. Of the 106 acute aortic dissection patients, 71 (67.0%) died during the study period, with a median follow-up duration of 570 days. Compared to the L-MPV/platelet count group, patients with H-MPV/platelet count had a higher risk of in-hospital complications including hypotension, hypoxemia, myocardial ischemia/infarction, conscious disturbance, pericardial tamponade, paraplegia, and poor survival (all P < 0.05). In multivariable Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders, MPV/platelet count ratio was positively associated with the hazard of all-cause mortality, irrespective of interventions either with medication only or urgent surgery, and the hazard ratios were 2.81 (95% confidence interval 1.28-4.48) for the H-MPV/platelet count group when taking L-MPV/platelet count group as the reference (P = 0.005). The MPV/platelet count ratio was a strong independent predictor for in-hospital complications and long-term mortality in patients with type A acute aortic dissection.