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van der Waals heterojunctions formed by transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and fullerenes are promising candidates for novel photovoltaic devices due to the excellent optoelectronic properties of both TMDs and fullerenes. However, relevant experimental and theoretical investigations remain scarce to the best of our knowledge. Herein, we have first employed static density functional theory (DFT) calculations in combination with time-domain density functional theory (TDDFT) based nonadiabatic dynamics simulations to rationally evaluate the photovoltaic performances of four TMD@fullerene heterostructures, i.e. WSe2@C60, WSe2@C70, MoTe2@C60 and MoTe2@C70, respectively. Our simulation results indicate that the C70-based heterostructures overall have better photoinduced electron transfer efficiencies than their C60-based counterparts, among which the performance of the WSe2@C70 heterostructure is the best and the electron transfer from WSe2 to C70 almost accomplishes within 1 ps. In addition, the large build-in potential of about 0.75 eV of WSe2@C70 is beneficial for the charge separation processes. Our present work not only selects the van der Waals TMD@fullerene heterojunctions that might have excellent photovoltaic properties, but also paves the way for the rational design of novel heterojunctions with better optoelectronic performances with DFT and TDDFT simulations in the future.

The KT/HAK/KUP (HAK) family is the largest potassium (K+) transporter family in plants, which plays key roles in K+ uptake and homeostasis, stress resistance, and root and embryo development. However, the HAK family has not yet been characterized in Brassica napus. In this study, 40 putative B. napus HAK genes (BnaHAKs) are identified and divided into four groups (Groups I&ndash, III and V) on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. Gene structure analysis revealed 10 conserved intron insertion sites across different groups. Collinearity analysis demonstrated that both allopolyploidization and small-scale duplication events contributed to the large expansion of BnaHAKs. Transcription factor (TF)-binding network construction, cis-element analysis, and microRNA prediction revealed that the expression of BnaHAKs is regulated by multiple factors. Analysis of RNA-sequencing data further revealed extensive expression profiles of the BnaHAKs in groups II, III, and V, with limited expression in group I. Compared with group I, most of the BnaHAKs in groups II, III, and V were more upregulated by hormone induction based on RNA-sequencing data. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase reaction analysis revealed that the expression of eight BnaHAKs of groups I and V was markedly upregulated under K+-deficiency treatment. Collectively, our results provide valuable information and key candidate genes for further functional studies of BnaHAKs.

The KT/HAK/KUP (HAK) family is the largest potassium (K+) transporter family in plants, which plays key roles in K+ uptake and homeostasis, stress resistance, and root and embryo development. However, the HAK family has not yet been characterized in Brassica napus. In this study, 40 putative B. napus HAK genes (BnaHAKs) are identified and divided into four groups (Groups I–III and V) on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. Gene structure analysis revealed 10 conserved intron insertion sites across different groups. Collinearity analysis demonstrated that both allopolyploidization and small-scale duplication events contributed to the large expansion of BnaHAKs. Transcription factor (TF)-binding network construction, cis-element analysis, and microRNA prediction revealed that the expression of BnaHAKs is regulated by multiple factors. Analysis of RNA-sequencing data further revealed extensive expression profiles of the BnaHAKs in groups II, III, and V, with limited expression in group I. Compared with group I, most of the BnaHAKs in groups II, III, and V were more upregulated by hormone induction based on RNA-sequencing data. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase reaction analysis revealed that the expression of eight BnaHAKs of groups I and V was markedly upregulated under K+-deficiency treatment. Collectively, our results provide valuable information and key candidate genes for further functional studies of BnaHAKs.

Located in the northern part of the Pingtung Plain of southern Taiwan, the town of Meinong is surrounded by Jade Mountain Range in the northeast, Laonong River in the south. After a period of land management and social operation in the Qing Dynasty, Hakka ethnic groups kept traditional lifestyle in Meinong. In the Qing Dynasty, the settlement development of Meinong was mainly distributed in the northern as a result of Laonong River usually flooded and deposited to alluvial fans with gravel and developed hardly in the southern. Until the Japanese colonization period, the Japanese government and the private enterprise begun to develop the alluvial fan. This study has two mainly purposes to analyze. First, the cooperation relationship between private enterprise and government. Second, the social operation and interaction between the original residents and immigrants in Meinong by the new developments that through existing research, literature review, field study and mapping.In 1908, the Japanese government constructed Shihzihtou Irrigation System to irrigate a new reclamation site in the south of Meinong and set up a dike to block flood on the right bank of the Laonong River. In 1909, the Governor's House gave the permission to the private enterprise—Sanwu Company—to develope the NanLong farm. The NanLong farm attracted the nearby Hoklo ethnic group, the Hakka group of the northern Taiwan and the families of the old tribes of Meinong came here for reclamation. The NanLong farm is alluvial soil of sandstone and shale, so it is conducive to agricultural development. It mainly grows the second-phase rice, sucrose, banana and miscellaneous grain crops. The NanLong farm controlled as a committee, representatives were from the settlements of new reclamation site and farm manager who was councilman. That built up a local society center on the NanLong farm, it was different from Meinong was mainly distributed in the northern that was center on the town office. Through state resources supported the private enterprise and private enterprise provided job opportunities for immigranst, the south of Meinong became liveable, culturally inclusive and sustainable landscapes from a alluvial fans with gravel.

Phosphate (Pi) transporters play critical roles in Pi acquisition and homeostasis. However, currently little is known about these genes in oil crops. In this study, we aimed to characterize the five Pi transporter gene families (PHT1-5) in allotetraploid Brassica napus. We identified and characterized 81 putative PHT genes in B. napus (BnaPHTs), including 45 genes in PHT1 family (BnaPHT1s), four BnaPHT2s, 10 BnaPHT3s, 13 BnaPHT4s and nine BnaPHT5s. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the largest PHT1 family could be divided into two groups (Group I and II), while PHT4 may be classified into five, Groups I-V. Gene structure analysis revealed that the exon-intron pattern was conservative within the same family or group. The sequence characteristics of these five families were quite different, which may contribute to their functional divergence. Transcription factor (TF) binding network analyses identified many potential TF binding sites in the promoter regions of candidates, implying their possible regulating patterns. Collinearity analysis demonstrated that most BnaPHTs were derived from an allopolyploidization event (~40.7%) between Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea ancestors, and small-scale segmental duplication events (~39.5%) in the descendant. RNA-Seq analyses proved that many BnaPHTs were preferentially expressed in leaf and flower tissues. The expression profiles of most colinearity-pairs in B. napus are highly correlated, implying functional redundancy, while a few pairs may have undergone neo-functionalization or sub-functionalization during evolution. The expression levels of many BnaPHTs tend to be up-regulated by different hormones inductions, especially for IAA, ABA and 6-BA treatments. qRT-PCR assay demonstrated that six BnaPHT1s (BnaPHT1.11, BnaPHT1.14, BnaPHT1.20, BnaPHT1.35, BnaPHT1.41, BnaPHT1.44) were significantly up-regulated under low- and/or rich- Pi conditions in B. napus roots. This work analyzes the evolution and expression of the PHT family in Brassica napus, which will help further research on their role in Pi transport.

BackgroundThe basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene family is one of the largest transcription factor families in plants and is functionally characterized in diverse species. However, less is known about its functions in the economically important allopolyploid oil crop,Brassica napus.ResultsWe identified 602 potential bHLHs in theB. napusgenome (BnabHLHs) and categorized them into 35 subfamilies, including seven newly separated subfamilies, based on phylogeny, protein structure, and exon-intron organization analysis. The intron insertion patterns of this gene family were analyzed and a total of eight types were identified in the bHLH regions ofBnabHLHs. Chromosome distribution and synteny analyses revealed that hybridization betweenBrassica rapaandBrassica oleraceawas the main expansion mechanism forBnabHLHs. Expression analyses showed thatBnabHLHswere widely in different plant tissues and formed seven main patterns, suggesting they may participate in various aspects ofB. napusdevelopment. Furthermore, when roots were treated with five different hormones (IAA, auxin; GA3, gibberellin; 6-BA, cytokinin; ABA, abscisic acid and ACC, ethylene), the expression profiles ofBnabHLHschanged significantly, with many showing increased expression. The induction of five candidateBnabHLHswas confirmed following the five hormone treatments via qRT-PCR. Up to 246BnabHLHsfrom nine subfamilies were predicted to have potential roles relating to root development through the joint analysis of their expression profiles and homolog function.ConclusionThe 602 BnabHLHs identified fromB. napuswere classified into 35 subfamilies, and those members from the same subfamily generally had similar sequence motifs. Overall, we found that BnabHLHs may be widely involved in root development inB. napus. Moreover, this study provides important insights into the potential functions of theBnabHLHssuper gene family and thus will be useful in future gene function research.

Phosphate (Pi) transporters play critical roles in Pi acquisition and homeostasis. However, currently little is known about these genes in oil crops. In this study, we aimed to characterize the five Pi transporter gene families (PHT1-5) in allotetraploid Brassica napus. We identified and characterized 81 putative PHT genes in B. napus (BnaPHTs), including 45 genes in PHT1 family (BnaPHT1s), four BnaPHT2s, 10 BnaPHT3s, 13 BnaPHT4s and nine BnaPHT5s. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the largest PHT1 family could be divided into two groups (Group I and II), while PHT4 may be classified into five, Groups I-V. Gene structure analysis revealed that the exon-intron pattern was conservative within the same family or group. The sequence characteristics of these five families were quite different, which may contribute to their functional divergence. Transcription factor (TF) binding network analyses identified many potential TF binding sites in the promoter regions of candidates, implying their possible regulating patterns. Collinearity analysis demonstrated that most BnaPHTs were derived from an allopolyploidization event (~40.7%) between Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea ancestors, and small-scale segmental duplication events (~39.5%) in the descendant. RNA-Seq analyses proved that many BnaPHTs were preferentially expressed in leaf and flower tissues. The expression profiles of most colinearity-pairs in B. napus are highly correlated, implying functional redundancy, while a few pairs may have undergone neo-functionalization or sub-functionalization during evolution. The expression levels of many BnaPHTs tend to be up-regulated by different hormones inductions, especially for IAA, ABA and 6-BA treatments. qRT-PCR assay demonstrated that six BnaPHT1s (BnaPHT1.11, BnaPHT1.14, BnaPHT1.20, BnaPHT1.35, BnaPHT1.41, BnaPHT1.44) were significantly up-regulated under low- and/or rich- Pi conditions in B. napus roots. This work analyzes the evolution and expression of the PHT family in Brassica napus, which will help further research on their role in Pi transport.

A new alkaline-earth metal borate SrB3O4(OH)3·H2O, has been successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that it crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P21/c, a = 6.249(4) A, b = 11.459(6) A, c = 8.749(5) A, β = 108.493(6)°, Z = 4. SrB3O4(OH)3·H2O contains infinite [B3O4(OH)3]2− chains along the c axis direction extended by the B3O8 units with Sr2+ cations filling the space between these chains. There are inter-chain hydrogen-bonds leading to a compact 3D structure. SrB3O4(OH)3·H2O possesses a large experimental band gap of 6.15 eV and a short wavelength cutoff edge lower than 190 nm (183 nm) as found by the UV–vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectrum. The calculated band structure and the density of states of SrB3O4(OH)3·H2O suggest that its indirect energy gap is 5.76 eV which agrees with the experimental result. The thermal behavior and the IR spectrum of SrB3O4(OH)3·H2O are also reported in this work.

Nitrogen-modified carbon nanotube-supported ruthenium catalyst was demonstrated to be effective in the conversion of crude cyperus esculentus oil into linear liquid alkanes. The model compound stearic acid was nearly quantitatively converted into liquid alkanes, and the yields of n-heptadecane and n-octadecane were 89.5 % and 8.5 %, respectively. The mass yield of liquid alkanes from crude cyperus esculentus oil was 76.6 %, which was very close to the theoretical yield. The catalyst could be reused at least six times without loss of catalytic activity during the conversion of oil. We found that the nitrogen modification of the carbon nanotube support was beneficial to form more Ru0 species, which exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability towards the hydrodeoxygenation of stearic acid and plant oil.

The robust designs of broadband extreme ultraviolet multilayers based on the multiobjective genetic algorithm are validated experimentally. In order to reduce the influence of random layer thickness fluctuations on the great deformation of the experimental reflection of extreme ultraviolet multilayer with a wide angular band, the multiobjective genetic algorithm has been improved to optimize the multilayer system composed by the layer thicknesses which can be controlled precisely. The robust designs of broadband Mo/Si multilayers were fabricated, and the experimental results were presented and analyzed, and then the advantage of robust multilayer designs was demonstrated.The robust designs of broadband extreme ultraviolet multilayers based on the multiobjective genetic algorithm are validated experimentally. In order to reduce the influence of random layer thickness fluctuations on the great deformation of the experimental reflection of extreme ultraviolet multilayer with a wide angular band, the multiobjective genetic algorithm has been improved to optimize the multilayer system composed by the layer thicknesses which can be controlled precisely. The robust designs of broadband Mo/Si multilayers were fabricated, and the experimental results were presented and analyzed, and then the advantage of robust multilayer designs was demonstrated.

Continuous collision detection (CCD) algorithm is a vital step in virtual reality. This paper describes an efficient self-collision detection algorithm called the minimum normal cone algorithm. The algorithm calculates the parent-normal cone in a new way, which optimizes the two test conditions for the self-collision detection: In the first test condition, we analyze and calculate the relative position between the two child-normal cones, and then a bottom-up technology is used to build the parent-normal cone. Thus the two child normal cones can be surrounded by the parent-normal cone perfectly, and the normal vectors motion range of the parent-triangular mesh can also be closely restricted; In the second test condition, we calculate the normal vectors motion range of the contour projection line, and check whether the projection line is self-colliding or not, to avoid excessive tests between segments. The algorithm has been implemented and tested on two classical models, cloth-ball and N-body model respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can decrease the number of elementary tests by two orders of magnitudes, and significantly improve the performance of the overall CCD algorithm.

Uncertainty is a fundamental and unavoidable feature of our real life, which has many distinct representation forms such as randomness, fuzziness, ambiguity, inaccuracy, incompleteness and roughness. Accordingly, many different mathematical models for dealing with these uncertainties, like probability, fuzzy set theory, Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence and rough set theory, have been introduced and also applied with great success in many fields. In order to construct uncertainty models with more powerful abilities of linguistic expression and logical inference, researchers have been devoting to intersections of different branches of mathematics of uncertainty, among which the resulting interdiscipline by combining probability and many-valued propositional logics is called probabilistically quantitative logic. This paper presents a brief introduction to probabilistically quantitative logic from four viewpoints of its research approaches and applications. Main contents include probabilistic truth degrees of propositions, logic systems for reasoning about probabilities of many-valued events, generalized state theory on residuated lattices, consistency degrees of formal theories, characterizations of maximally consistent theories, Stone representations of \(R_{0}\)-algebras, and generalized state based similarity convergence in residuated lattices with its Cauchy completion.

The cure kinetics of epoxy/epoxy-grafted nano-aluminum oxide using 4, 4'-diaminodiphenylsulphone (DDS) as the curing agent was studied by nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at different heating rates. The activation energy (Ea) was determined by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method, and kinetic model was predicted by Málek method. TheEa values of epoxy/nano-aluminum oxide/DDS systems are generally higher than those of epoxy /DDS. These imply that the addition of nano-aluminum oxide would inhibit the chain mobility of the epoxy resins. Furthermore, autocatalytic model was found to be appropriate to describe the kinetics of above mentioned reactions. The predicted curves fit well with the experimentally obtained curves.

In this paper, American put options on zero-coupon bonds are priced under a single factor model of short-term rate. The linear complementarity problem of the option value is solved numerically by a penalty method, by which the problem is transformed into a nonlinear PDE by adding a power penalty term. The solution of the penalized problem converges to that of the original problem. A numerical scheme is established by using the finite volume method and the corresponding stability and convergence are discussed. Numerical results are presented to show the usefulness of the method.

The effect of reactive compatibilization on the mechanical properties of nanosilica filled polypropylene (PP) composites was studied in this work. First, the nanoparticles were grafted with poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) by solution free-radical polymerization, and then melt blended together with PP matrix and aminated PP (PP-g-NH2) that acts as reactive compatibilizer. The reaction between epoxide groups of the grafted PGMA on the nanoparticles and amine groups of PP-g-NH2 during compounding greatly improved interfacial interaction in the composites. As a result, tensile strength, Young's modulus, and notch impact strength of PP composites were increased at rather low filler content. The experimental results indicated that the reinforcing and toughening effects were controlled by flexibility of the grafted polymer as well as processing methods. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:499–509, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.

In this paper, the lattice operations and the adjoint pair on the fuzzy filters set on residuated lattices are defined, the conclusion that the fuzzy filters lattice defined as such is a distributive residuated lattice is obtained. An order-reversing involution on the fuzzy strong-prime filters sublattice is introduced. It is proved that the fuzzy strong-prime filters sublattice is a quasi-Boolean algebra.

In order to introduce reactive groups onto the surface of inorganic nanoparticles, which can take part in the in-situ reaction when being compounded with matrix polymers to produce nanocomposites, poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) was grafted onto silane pretreated nano-SiO2 by free-radical polymerization. This paper mainly studied the factors that influence the graft polymerization, including monomer concentration, initiator consumption, reaction temperature and reaction time. The reactive kinetics of the PGMA grafted on the nanoparticles with 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) in polypropylene (PP) or polystyrene (PS) matrices were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was shown that the appearance of PP or PS in the model composites did not change the overall curing reaction mechanism and the grafted nanoparticles gave a stable dispersion in the good solvent for the grafting chains.

An efficient method for generating a smooth spline surface over an irregular mesh is presented in this paper. Similar to the methods proposed by [1, 2, 3, 4], this method generates a generalised bi-quadratic B-spline surface and achieves C1 smoothness. However, the rules to construct the control points for the proposed spline surfaces are much simpler and easier to follow. The construction process consists of two steps: subdividing the initial mesh once using the Catmull–Clark [5] subdivision rules and generating a collection of smoothly connected surface patches using the resultant mesh. As most of the final mesh is quadrilateral apart from the neighbourhood of the extraordinary points, most of the surface patches are regular quadratic B-splines. The neighbourhood of the extraordinary points is covered by quadratic Zheng–Ball patches [6].

Domain insertions and deletions lead to variations in the domain architectures of the proteins from their common ancestor. In this work, we investigated four groups of the RhoGEF-containing proteins from different organisms with domain architectures RhoGEF-PH-SH3, SH3-RhoGEF-PH, RhoGEF-PH, and SH3-RhoGEF defined in the Pfam database. The phylogenetic trees were constructed using each individual domain and/or the combinations of all the domains. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that RhoGEF-PH-SH3 and SH3-RhoGEF-PH might have evolved from RhoGEF-PH through the insertion of SH3 independently, while SH3-RhoGEF of proteins in fruit fly might have evolved from SH3-RhoGEF-PH by the degeneration of PH domain.

Quantitative logic mainly provides a quantitative approach to evaluating the degree of truth of a formula in a system of many-valued logic. Based on the fundamental notion of truth degree, one can introduce the notions of similarity degree and of pseudo-metric between formulas, and can also introduce an effective method to measure the degree of consistency of a logic theory. The purpose of the paper is to give a brief overview of the background, basic results and recent developments of quantitative logic.

To establish an effective method for isolating and culturing outer root sheath (ORS) bulge cells, dermal sheath cells (DSCs) and dermal papilla cells (DPCs) derived from human hair follicle.Small scalp specimens were incubated in the presence of dispase at 37 degrees celsius; for 2 h, the hair shafts with ORS embedded in the dermal sheath (DS) were extracted under dissecting microscope, and the ORS tissue were inoculated onto Petri dish. The specimens were transected at the interface between the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The portions of DS and DP (linked with and enclosed by DS) embedded in the adipose tissue were pulled out and incubated with collagenase at 37 degrees celsius; for 6-8 h, and the DP and DSCs were isolated by repeated low-speed centrifugation and cultured respectively on Petri dishes. The cultured ORS bulge cells were identified by immunohistochemistry with K19 antibody and DPCs and DSCs by immunohistochemistry with alpha-actin antibody.Purified ORS bulge cells, DSCs and DPCs could be harvested from the same human hair follicle.This new method allows efficient, rapid, and simultaneous isolation and culture of ORS bulge cells, DSCs and DPCs.

To observe the hair follicle regeneration after subcutaneous implantation of hair follicle cell mixture in nude mice.The hair papilla cells, dermal sheath cells, outer root sheath and fibroblasts of human scalp were mixed with the hair follicle epithelial cells and implanted subcutaneously in nude mice to observe the regeneration of the hair follicle.Formation of intact hair follicle-like structures was observed in the skin sections of the recipient nude mice, suggesting the feasibility of this approach for hair follicle regeneration in vivo.

An efficient method for generating a C2 continuous spline surface over a Catmull-Clark mesh is presented in this paper. The spline surface is the same as the Catmull-Clark limit surface except in the immediate neighborhood of the irregular mesh points. The construction process presented in this paper consists of three steps: subdividing the initial mesh at most twice using the Catmull-Clark subdivision rules; generating a bi-cubic Bezier patch for each regular face of the resultant mesh; generating a C2 Gregory patch around each irregular vertex of the mesh. The union of all patches forms a C2 spline surface. Differing from the previous methods proposed by Loop, DeRose and Peters, this method achieves an overall C2 smoothness rather than only a C1 continuity.

In order to resolve the coupling phenomena in the collecting main pressure system, a fuzzy decoupling method with the idea of feed-forward control is presented to reduce the coupling phenomena of collecting main in this paper, and good effect has been attained in practical application.

Genetic analyses of lifespan in model animals have revealed that extended lifespans are closely associated to increased resistance to oxidative stress. In the model plant Arabidopsis, late-flowering mutants are also found to be more tolerant to oxidative stress. However, Arabidopsis mutants with extended lifespans are poorly studied so far. In this study, a screening system for mutants with extended lifespans in Arabidopsis was established using paraquat, a potent herbicide that exacerbates O2-. radical production. The relationship between lifespan and resistance to oxidative stress was examined with one of the mutants, SFNA-9-4. Compared to that of wild type, the lifespan of SFNA-9-4 is significantly extended, and its resistance to oxidative stress is also significantly elevated. These results suggest that, as in Drosophila, paraquat can also be used to screen for mutants with extended lifespans in Arabidopsis.

The emission of toxic gas, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides has become serious issue in the world. A review of EB method to remove the SO/sub x/ and NO/sub x/ in flue gas from coal-fired power plants was described in this paper. A design of an electron curtain accelerator of 600 keV was given, and a facility for purification of flue gas from coal combustion power plant of 10 MW was described here.

Protective effect of various doses of selenium on cadmium-induced hepatic cell damage in pregnant rats

Protective action of various doses of compound zinc preparation on cadmium-induced liver damage