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Metapetrocosmea W. T. Wang and Deinostigma W. T. Wang & Z. Y. Li were originally monotypic with M. peltata (Merr. & Chun) W. T. Wang and D. poilanei (Pellegr.) W. T. Wang & Z. Y. Li, respectively. Recent molecular phylogenetic research expanded Deinostigma to include several species previously transferred from Chirita D. Don to Primulina Hance. However, the relationship between Metapetrocosmea and Deinostigma has not been well addressed. In the present study, the type species of Metapetrocosmea and Deinostigma were sampled together with related taxa, and the systematic relationships were reexamined using the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacer regions (ITS and ETS) and four chloroplast regions (rpL32-trnL, rps16, trnH-psbA, trnL-F). Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that M. peltata is embedded in the species of Deinostigma and sister to D. poilanei. All of these species form a highly supported branch, i.e., Metapetrocosmea–Deinostigma clade, which is sister to Oreocharis Benth. Morphological analyses show that species in the Metapetrocosmea–Deinostigma clade share a series of morphological traits, i.e., alternate leaves, arcuate filaments, densely lanate anthers with the hair surface covered with granular or vermiform appendages, bilobed stigma that vary from dorsal to ventral and almost equal in size to a dorsal-ventral oblique lamella with the dorsal one sterile, hooked hairs and T-shaped glandular hairs occurring on the whole plant, and riblike seed surfaces. Both molecular and morphological evidence strongly suggest that the Metapetrocosmea–Deinostigma clade is monophyletic and should be combined into a single genus, i.e., Metapetrocosmea W. T. Wang. Therefore, we present a taxonomic treatment for this group.

— Chirita umbrophila is a species endemic to Yunnan, China, and its exact systematic position remains a mystery since it was treated as a species with uncertain generic affiliation in the taxonomic revision of Chirita in 1985. In the present study, the phylogenetic relationships between C. umbrophila and its allied species were inferred using two nuclear ribosomal DNA regions (ETS and ITS) and three chloroplast regions (rpl16, rps16, and trnL-F). Additionally, the type locality of C. umbrophila was revisited and flowering specimens were collected and examined. Our phylogenetic analyses showed that Chirita umbrophila is imbedded in three accessions of Loxostigma kurzii with strong support. Morphological observations revealed that C. umbrophila can be characterized as perennial herbs with somewhat tufted leaves at the top of the aerial stem, large ventricose corollas with yellow-brown spotted interior surfaces, four anthers cohering in pairs, and two equal or subequal stigmas. Detailed morphological analyses suggested that C. umbrophila is indistinguishable from Loxostigma kurzii (≡Didymocarpus? kurzii). Therefore, both molecular phylogenetic results and morphological evidence support that Chirita umbrophila is conspecific with Loxostigma kurzii, and a taxonomic treatment is provided herein.

Transition metal and nitrogen co-doped carbon-based catalysts (TM-N-C) have become the most promising catalysts for Pt/C due to their wide range of sources, low cost, high catalytic activity, excellent stability and strong resistance to poisoning, especially Fe–N–C metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are some of the most promising precursors for the preparation of Fe–N–C catalysts due to their inherent properties, such as their highly ordered three-dimensional framework structure, controlled porosity, and tuneable chemistry. Based on these, in this paper, different iron sources were added to synthesis a sort of zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8). Then the imidazole salt in ZIF-8 was rearranged into high N-doped carbon by high-temperature pyrolysis to prepare the Fe–N–C catalyst. We studied the physical characteristics of the catalysts by different iron sources and their effects on the catalytic properties of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). From the point of morphology, various iron sources have a positive influence on maintaining the morphology of ZIF-8 polyhedron. Fe–N/C–Fe(NO3)3 has the same anion as zinc nitrate, and can maintain a polyhedral morphology after high-temperature calcination. It had the highest ORR catalytic activity compared to the other four catalyst materials, which proved that there is a certain relationship between morphology and performance. This paper will provide a useful reference and new models for the development of high-performance ORR catalysts without precious metals.

(Zr53Al11.6Ni11.7Cu23.7)1–x(Fe77.1C22.9)x (x=0−2.2, at.%) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were prepared by copper mold suction casting method. Their glass forming ability and physical and chemical properties were systematically investigated. The glass forming ability is firstly improved with increasing x, and then decreased when x exceeds 0.44 at.%. Both glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature are increased, while the supercooled liquid region is narrowed, with Fe–C micro-alloying. The hardness, yielding and fracture strength, and plasticity firstly increase and then decrease when x reaches up to 1.32 at.%. The plasticity of the BMG (x=1.32 at.%) is six times that of the Fe-free and C-free BMG. In addition, by the Fe–C micro-alloying, the corrosion potential is slightly decreased, while the corrosion current density increases. The pitting corrosion becomes increasingly serious with the increase of Fe and C content.

Refining grains are important to obtain sound cast billets suitable for further processing. The structure refinement of low frequency electromagnetic field (LFEF) during the aluminum alloy semi-continuous casting process has been confirmed by many researchers. In this work, effects of the electromagnetic agitation on the crystal growth were investigated during the pure aluminum slow cooling process. The results showed that the grain refinement effect by electromagnetic agitation mainly occurred at the first half period of crystal growth. With increasing of applying LFEF treated time, the fine grain occupied the whole section of ingot, and the ratio of fine grain zone to the whole section was proportional to the treated time.

Nucleotide oligomerization domain–like receptors (NLRs) and RIG-I–like receptors (RLRs) detect diverse pathogen-associated molecular patterns to activate the innate immune response. The role of mammalian NLR NOD1 in sensing bacteria is well established. Although several studies suggest NOD1 also plays a role in sensing viruses, the mechanisms behind this are still largely unknown. In this study, we report on the synergism and antagonism between NOD1 and MDA5 isoforms in teleost. In zebrafish, the overexpression of NOD1 enhances the antiviral response and mRNA abundances of key antiviral genes involved in RLR-mediated signaling, whereas the loss of NOD1 has the opposite effect. Notably, spring viremia of carp virus–infected NOD1−/− zebrafish exhibit reduced survival compared with wild-type counterparts. Mechanistically, NOD1 targets MDA5 isoforms and TRAF3 to modulate the formation of MDA5–MAVS and TRAF3–MAVS complexes. The cumulative effects of NOD1 and MDA5a (MDA5 normal form) were observed for the binding with poly(I:C) and the formation of the MDA5a–MAVS complex, which led to increased transcription of type I IFNs and ISGs. However, the antagonism between NOD1 and MDA5b (MDA5 truncated form) was clearly observed during proteasomal degradation of NOD1 by MDA5b. In humans, the interactions between NOD1–MDA5 and NOD1–TRAF3 were confirmed. Furthermore, the roles that NOD1 plays in enhancing the binding of MDA5 to MAVS and poly(I:C) are also evolutionarily conserved across species. Taken together, our findings suggest that mutual regulation between NOD1 and MDA5 isoforms may play a crucial role in the innate immune response and that NOD1 acts as a positive regulator of MDA5/MAVS normal form–mediated immune signaling in vertebrates.

Didymocarpus cordifolius, a new species of Gesneriaceae from southern Yunnan Province, China is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to D. silvarum and D. margaritae, but can be readily distinguished by its short petioles with both glandular and eglandular hairs, pale purple corolla, hairy anthers, and ovary and style of subequal length.

Thanks to their high conductivity and theoretical capacity, transition metal selenides have demanded significant research attention as prospective anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, their practical applications are hindered by finite cycle life and inferior rate performance because of large volume expansion, polyselenide dissolution, and sluggish dynamics. Herein, the nitrogen-doped carbon (NC)-coated FeSe

A new species of Gesneriaceae, Primulina clausa P.W.Li & M.Kang was described, which occurs in the karst areas of northern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. The new species is morphologically similar to P. obtusidentata (W.T.Wang) Mich.Möller & A.Weber, but can be readily distinguished by its short and prostrate peduncle, slightly unfolded bracts, appressed sepals, glabrous anthers, parietal placenta, and nearly straight capsules.

Activated carbon support Pd nanoparticles (NPs) modified by various WO₃-shaped catalysts were prepared and applied as an efficient anode catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells. Three forms of WO₃ (nanosheets, nanoparticles, nanobars) modified activated carbon hybrids were first prepared via different syntheses, and then used as supports to synthesize three types of Pd-WO₃/C catalysts by a NaBH4 reduction method. The morphology, structure, and electrochemical performances of the as-prepared Pd-WO₃/C catalysts were characterized and analyzed. We can see that the noble metal particles loaded with activated carbon modified by WO₃ exhibit small particle size and uniform dispersion from the transmission electron microscope image. The synthesized composite catalysts was used for the formic acid electrooxidation and showed excellent catalytic performance. The oxidation peak current density of the Pd/WO₃-Nanosheets/C (40.04 mA·cm-2 was the highest, approximately 1.2 times that of Pd/C (33.00 mA·cm-2. Additionally, the long-term stability (i-t) test results show that the Pd/WO₃-Nanosheets/C catalyst exhibits superior stability during formic acid electrooxidation. The reason for the increase in performance can be attributed to the following: the large specific surface area of WO₃ decreases the adsorption strength of intermediates such as COad on Pd and prevents the accumulation of poisonous intermediates, thereby promoting the oxidation reaction of formic acid in the direct pathway; the catalyst-support interaction between precious metal Pd and WO₃, substantially improving the catalytic performance of Pd-WO₃/C catalysts.

A widely held hypothesis in evolution is that adaptive specialization constrains the potential direction of future evolutionary change and thus may be irreversible, also known as Dollo's law. However, this hypothesis has long been subject to debate in evolutionary biology. Floral specialization is intriguing as it is usually linked to reproductive isolation and could affect speciation. Here, following the discovery of four new taxa, we observed some interesting phenomena of reversal versus specialization in morphology in a clade with the most specialized flowers in the genus Petrocosmea. In the phylogenetic tree based on sequences of multiple DNA regions, the morphological reversals, especially the regain of a long corolla tube, are nested within the branches characteristic of normally specialized flowers with a short corolla tube and highly specialized zygomorphy. Our results indicate that the highly specialized floral organ of this clade is still actively evolving in multiple branches toward specialization while reversals to different ancestral states occur in some branches. Great disturbance of ecological environment is likely a crucial factor affecting trait reversibility, such as the rapid uplift of the Himalayan–Tibetan plateau. The four new taxa are treated herein taxonomically. The flowers of this clade represent an interesting model to explore the genetic basis underlying the evolutionary reversal versus specialization and the interplay between genetic factors and environmental variables.

In this work, a series of bimetallic Cd/Zr-UiO-66 materials were successfully synthesized for fluorescence sensing toward traces of As5+ and Fe3+ via a one-pot method. Interestingly, the obtained bimetallic Cd/Zr-UiO-66 (1:9) can be served as turn-on probe for As5+ as well as turn-off probe for Fe3+. The LODs of Cd/Zr-UiO-66 (1:9) toward As5+ and Fe3+ were calculated to be 5.4 μM and 4.3 μM, respectively, indicating its effective sensing properties for As5+ and Fe3+ in methanol media. Moreover, even in the presence of other potentially interfering toxic metal ions such as As3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+, Cd/Zr-UiO-66 (1:9) still presented good anti-interference abilities. Additionally, the removal efficiency of Cd/Zr-UiO-66 (1:9) toward As5+ was higher than 70% when the initial As5+ was lower than 50 mg/L. The fluorescence quenching of Fe3+ were mainly due to the competitive absorption of excitation source and RET, while the ACE mechanism was mostly responsible for the enhancement of As5+. More importantly, this job might pave the way for future researches and applications on sensing As5+ and Fe3+.

The analysis of breath VOC biomarkers is an efficient method for the early diagnosis of lung cancer. In this work, the zirconium UiO-66 was post-synthetically modified by using methylamine (MA), ethylenediamine (ED) and N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (MMEN), respectively. The modified UiO-66 materials were thoroughly characterized, including PXRD, FTIR, TGA, physical adsorption at 77 ​K by nitrogen and photoluminescence analysis. The sensing properties of the modified UiO-66 materials toward the selected five potential breath VOC biomarkers were investigated. Results showed that after modification, the BET surface area and total pore volume all decreased, and followed the order: UiO-66 ​> ​UiO-66-MA ​> ​UiO-66-MMEN ​> ​UiO-66-ED. Furthermore, the N–H group was successfully grafted into the modified UiO-66 samples. In comparison with UiO-66, the fluorescence intensities of UiO-66-MA, UiO-66-ED and UiO-66-MMEN toward hexanal, styrene and isoprene all obviously increased, while the fluorescence intensities of the modified UiO-66 materials toward 1-propanol and ethylbenzene all decreased a lot, accompanied by the frequency shift. In addition, the LOD of hexanal on UiO-66-MA was calculated to be as low as 12 ​ppm, which was obviously lower than that of UiO-66 (31 ​ppm). The fluorescence quenching of hexanal was mainly due to the FRET mechanism. The results of this study would provide information for the development of early breath diagnosis of lung cancer.

Hg2+ is one of the most universal and severe toxic metal pollutants. Here we reported a high-sensitivity and rapid method for detection of Hg2+. The technique was based on the localized surface plasmon resonance property of gold nanorods. Neither modification of gold nanorods nor separation of analyte was necessary. The longitudinal absorption peak of gold nanorods presented a linear blue shift as Hg2+ concentration increased. The blue shift of longitudinal absorption peak was due to the changes of both aspect ratio and medium dielectric constant. The sensor had a wide linear interval ranging from 285 nM to 8.00 μM, the detection limit was as low as 112 nM, and the sensitivity was 30.48 nm μMμ1, which were comparable to the performance of the modified sensors.

Unlike most crops, which were domesticated through long periods of selection by ancient humans, horticultural plants were primarily domesticated through intentional selection over short time periods. The molecular mechanisms underlying the origin and spread of novel traits in the domestication process have remained largely unexplored in horticultural plants. Gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa), whose attractive peloric flowers influenced the thoughts of Darwin, have been cultivated since the early 19th century, but its origin and genetic basis are currently unknown. By employing multiple experimental approaches including genetic analysis, genotype–phenotype associations, gene expression analysis, and functional interrogations, we showed that a single gene encoding a TCP protein, SsCYC, controls both floral orientation and zygomorphy in gloxinia. We revealed that a causal mutation responsible for the development of peloric gloxinia lies in a 10-bp deletion in the coding sequence of SsCYC. By combining genetic inference and literature searches, we have traced the putative ancestor and reconstructed the domestication path of the peloric gloxinia, in which a 10-bp deletion in SsCYC under selection triggered its evolution from the wild progenitor. The results presented here suggest that a simple genetic change in a pleiotropic gene can promote the elaboration of floral organs under intensive selection pressure.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hardness tests and tensile tests were performed to investigate the effect of aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of forged Al-4.4Cu-0.7Mg-0.6Si alloy. The results show that the alloy exhibits splendid mechanical properties with an ultimate tensile strength of 504 MPa and an elongation of 10.1% after aging at 170 °C for 16 h. With tensile testing temperature increasing to 150 °C, the strength of the alloy declines slightly to 483 MPa. Then, the strength drops quickly when temperature reaches over 200 °C. The high strength of the alloy in peak-aged condition is caused by a considerable amount of θ′ and AlMgSiCu (Q) precipitates. The relatively stable mechanical properties tested below 150 °C are mainly ascribed to the stability of θ′ precipitates. The growth of θ′ and Q precipitates and the generation of θ phase lead to a rapid drop of the strength when temperature is over 150 °C.

The hot deformation behavior of AA2014 forging aluminum alloy was investigated by isothermal compression tests at temperatures of 350–480 °C and strain rates of 0.001–1 s −1 on a Gleeble–3180 simulator. The corresponding microstructures of the alloys under different deformation conditions were studied using optical microscopy (OM), electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The processing maps were constructed with strains of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. The results showed that the instability domain was more inclined to occur at strain rates higher than 0.1 s −1 and manifested in the form of local non-uniform deformation. At the strain of 0.7, the processing map showed two stability domains: domain I (350–430°C, 0.005–0.1 s −1 ) and domain II (450–480 °C, 0.001–0.05 s −1 ). The predominant softening mechanisms in both of the two domains were dynamic recovery. Uniform microstructures were obtained in domain I, and an extended recovery occurred in domain II, which would lead to the potential sub-grain boundaries progressively transforming into new high-angle grain boundaries. The optimum hot working parameters for the AA2014 forging aluminum alloy were determined to be 370–420 °C and 0.008–0.08 s −1 .

Activated carbon support Pd nanoparticles (NPs) modified by various WO₃-shaped catalysts were prepared and applied as an efficient anode catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells. Three forms of WO₃ (nanosheets, nanoparticles, nanobars) modified activated carbon hybrids were first prepared via different syntheses, and then used as supports to synthesize three types of Pd-WO₃/C catalysts by a NaBH4 reduction method. The morphology, structure, and electrochemical performances of the as-prepared Pd-WO₃/C catalysts were characterized and analyzed. We can see that the noble metal particles loaded with activated carbon modified by WO₃ exhibit small particle size and uniform dispersion from the transmission electron microscope image. The synthesized composite catalysts was used for the formic acid electrooxidation and showed excellent catalytic performance. The oxidation peak current density of the Pd/WO₃-Nanosheets/C (40.04 mA·cm

A Pd/WO3/C nanocomposite with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)-functionalized tungsten oxide nanosheets (Pd/WO3/C-APTMS) was synthesized and applied as the efficient anode catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs). The mechanism for synthesizing the nanocomposite is as follows: initially, [PdCl4]2− was assembled onto the tungsten oxide nanosheets modified with APTMS. Following this, Pd nanoparticles were reduced via traditional impregnation reduction of [PdCl4]2− with NaBH4. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) images revealed that the Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on WO3 nanosheets and were approximately 2.7 nm in size. The electrochemical test results showed that enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR) was obtained on the Pd/WO3/C catalyst compared with Pd/C. The higher electrocatalytic activity might be attributed to the uniform distribution of Pd with smaller particles. Furthermore, it is likely that the improvement in catalytic stability for the Pd/WO3/C catalyst is due to the hydrogen spillover effect of WO3 particles. These results indicate that this novel Pd/WO3/C-APTMS nanocomposite exhibits promising potential for use as an anode electrocatalyst in DFAFCs.

By comparing nine groups of experiments, the influences of Mg, Si, Cu and Mn on the strength, plasticity and conductivity of 6005 alloy were researched. The results show that α-Al, Mg2Si, Si and β-AlFeSi are mainly present in the as-cast microstructure of 6005 aluminum alloy. The strength, plasticity and electrical conductivity of the 6005 aluminum alloy of 9 groups were compared and then select a good overall performance of an alloy composition, which is Al–0.53Mg–0.72Si–0.2Cu–0.28Mn–0.18Cr–0.05Ti (wt%). The tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness and electrical conductivity of the extruded alloy are 310.9, 280.1 MPa, 11.95%, 102.3 HV and 47.2% IACS, respectively, after solid solution, air-cooling and 175 °C × 8 h aging.

Summary Aims The mouse model of allo-head and body reconstruction (AHBR) has recently been established to further the clinical development of this strategy for patients who are suffering from mortal bodily trauma or disease, yet whose mind remains healthy. Animal model studies are indispensable for developing such novel surgical practices. The goal of this work was to establish head transplant mouse model, then the next step through the feasible biological model to investigate immune rejection and brain function in next step, thereby promoting the goal of translation of AHBR to the clinic in the future. Methods and Results Our approach involves retaining adequate blood perfusion in the transplanted head throughout the surgical procedure by establishing donor-to-recipient cross-circulation by cannulating and anastomosing the carotid artery on one side of the body and the jugular vein on the other side. Neurological function was preserved by this strategy as indicated by electroencephalogram and intact cranial nerve reflexes. Conclusions The results of this study support the feasibility of this method for avoiding brain ischemia during transplantation, thereby allowing for the possibility of long-term studies of head transplantation.

SummaryAims A successful cephalosomatic anastomosis (“head transplant”) requires, among others, the ability to control long-term immune rejection and avoidance of ischemic events during the head transference phase. We developed a bicephalic model of head transplantation to study these aspects. Methods and Results The thoracic aorta and superior vena cava of a donor rat were anastomosed with the carotid artery and extracorporeal veins of a recipient rat by vascular grafts. Before thoracotomy in the donor rat, the axillary artery and vein of the donor were connected to the carotid and the extracranial vein of the third rat through a silicone tube. The silicone tube was passed through a peristaltic pump to ensure donor brain tissue blood supply. There is no ischemia reperfusion injury in donor brain tissue analyzed by electroencephalogram. Postoperative donor has pain reflex and corneal reflex. Conclusions Peristaltic pump application can guarantee the blood supply of donor brain tissue per unit time, while the application of temperature change device to the silicone tube can protect the brain tissue hypothermia, postoperative experimental data show that there is no brain tissue ischemia during the whole operation. The application of vascular grafting can also provide the possibility of long-term survival of the model.

SummaryAims There is still no effective way to save a surviving healthy mind when there is critical organ failure in the body. The next frontier in CTA is allo-head and body reconstruction (AHBR), and just as animal models were key in the development of CTA, they will be crucial in establishing the procedures of AHBR for clinical translation. Methods and results Our approach, pioneered in mice, involves retaining the donor brain stem and transplanting the recipient head. Our preliminary data in mice support that this allows for retention of breathing and circulatory function. Critical aspects of the current protocol include avoiding cerebral ischemia through cross-circulation (donor to recipient) and retaining the donor brain stem. Successful clinical translation of AHBR will become a milestone of medical history and potentially could save millions of people. Conclusions This experimental study has confirmed a method to avoid cerebral ischemia during the surgery and solved an important part of the problem of how to accomplish long-term survival after transplantation and preservation of the donor brain stem.

The DDS middleware provides powerful support for data dissemination in the distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems, and supports multiple transport protocol (e.g. TCP, UDP and Multicast) that affect the end-to-end quality of service (QoS) properties (e.g. latency, jitter and reliability).In order to evaluate the performance of the transport protocol and then evaluate the affection on the DDS middleware QoS, this paper first briefly compares the common DDS implementations, and then presents performance evaluation and analysis of the transport protocol in OpenDDS with different environment configurations, at last presents the conclusion.

In this paper, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin films were deposited by a hydrazine-free solutions method. In the proposed method, acetylacetonate salts and Se powder were simply dissolved in triethylenetetramine under ambient conditions, respectively. These two solutions were mixed in a certain percentage to form the final CIGS precursor solution. CIGS films were obtained by a drop-coating method and subsequently annealed in nitrogen atmosphere. The facile formation of the precursor solution without the need to prefabricate nanoparticles enables a rapid and easy processing. The high stability of the solution in air further ensures the precursor preparation and the film deposition in ambient conditions without a glove box. The crystal structure, morphology, composition, electronic state, optical, and electrical qualities of CIGS films were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, UV–vis, and I–V. The easy preparation and low-cost nature of the proposed strategy make it quite attractive. The proposed synthesis strategy developed in this work may be used as a general process for low-cost deposition of CIGS film and may have bright application prospects in high-efficiency, yet low-cost, photovoltaic areas in the future.

This paper studies how to use the cognitive model to model the behavioral decision-making for the tactical level simulation. The decision making process includes initial behavior planning and behavior modification. This method has the advantages of accuracy and real-time, this makes the behaviors of the simulation entity more realistic and improves the credibility of simulation.

People’s demand for water resource is increasing continuously at this moment. People should desalt seawater based on pressure-gas distillation techniques in order to ease the tensions of water resource and to come out the comprehensive utilization of seawater. According to its principle, it is applied to the relatively systematic process design of the main evaporation equipment of the device of Seawater Desalination. Operating parameters and types of the other devices are also illustrated. This equipment has advantages of simple structure, low cost, easy to maintain and the strong ability in producing fresh water. It can accumulate valuable experience for future study of the device of seawater desalination.

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinases (LRR-RLKs) are the largest group of receptor-like kinases, which are one of the largest protein superfamilies in plants, and play crucial roles in development and stress responses. Although the evolution of LRR-RLK families has been investigated in some eudicot and monocot plants, no comprehensive evolutionary studies have been performed for these genes in basal angiosperms like Amborella trichopoda. In this study, we identified 94 LRR-RLK genes in the genome of A. trichopoda. The number of LRR-RLK genes in the genome of A. trichopoda is only 17–50% of that of several eudicot and monocot species. Tandem duplication and whole-genome duplication have made limited contributions to the expansion of LRR-RLK genes in A. trichopoda. According to the phylogenetic analysis, all A. trichopoda LRR-RLK genes can be organized into 18 subfamilies, which roughly correspond to the LRR-RLK subfamilies defined in Arabidopsis thaliana. Most LRR-RLK subfamilies are characterized by highly conserved protein structures, motif compositions, and gene structures. The unique gene structure, protein structures, and protein motif compositions of each subfamily provide evidence for functional divergence among LRR-RLK subfamilies. Moreover, the expression data of LRR-RLK genes provided further evidence for the functional diversification of them. In addition, selection analyses showed that most LRR-RLK protein sites are subject to purifying selection. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of LRR-RLK gene family in angiosperm and provide a framework for further functional investigation on A. trichopoda LRR-RLKs.

Molten nitrate is widely used as thermal storage medium in the solar thermal power plants for its appropriate phase-change temperature, high heat storage density and low cost, etc. But its low thermal conductivity, heat absorbing and releasing rate limited its application. Expanded graphite (EG) can compensate the low thermal conductivity of nitrate. In this study, binary nitrates at the weight ratio of 4:6 for $$\hbox {LiNO}_{3}:\hbox {KNO}_{3}$$ were prepared using static mixed melting method. EG with the mass fraction of 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 30 % was used to enhance the thermal conductivity. The compound of nitrates/EG was prepared using the ultrasonic smashing method. The thermal conductivity of binary nitrates, EG and nitrates/EG composite was measured by the transient plane heat source technique (TPS). The thermal behaviors were analyzed with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Results showed that the addition of EG significantly enhanced the thermal conductivity, e.g., the thermal conductivity of 10 wt% EG composite phase-change material (PCM) is 8.5 $$\hbox {W}(\hbox {m}{^{-1}} \hbox {K}{^{-1}})$$ to 9.5 $$\hbox {W}(\hbox {m}{^{-1}}\hbox {K}{^{-1}})$$ , which is about eight times larger than that of binary nitrates. To observe the combination morphology, pure EG, nitrates/EG composite PCM and binary nitrates were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The thermal reliability of the binary nitrates and the composite PCM was determined by DSC. Thermal cycling test showed that both binary nitrates and nitrates/EG composite material have good thermal reliability.

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinases (LRR-RLKs) are the largest group of receptor-like kinases, which are one of the largest protein superfamilies in plants, and play crucial roles in development and stress responses. Although the evolution of LRR-RLK families has been investigated in some eudicot and monocot plants, no comprehensive evolutionary studies have been performed for these genes in basal angiosperms like Amborella trichopoda. In this study, we identified 94 LRR-RLK genes in the genome of A. trichopoda. The number of LRR-RLK genes in the genome of A. trichopoda is only 17–50% of that of several eudicot and monocot species. Tandem duplication and whole-genome duplication have made limited contributions to the expansion of LRR-RLK genes in A. trichopoda. According to the phylogenetic analysis, all A. trichopoda LRR-RLK genes can be organized into 18 subfamilies, which roughly correspond to the LRR-RLK subfamilies defined in Arabidopsis thaliana. Most LRR-RLK subfamilies are characterized by highly conserved protein structures, motif compositions, and gene structures. The unique gene structure, protein structures, and protein motif compositions of each subfamily provide evidence for functional divergence among LRR-RLK subfamilies. Moreover, the expression data of LRR-RLK genes provided further evidence for the functional diversification of them. In addition, selection analyses showed that most LRR-RLK protein sites are subject to purifying selection. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of LRR-RLK gene family in angiosperm and provide a framework for further functional investigation on A. trichopoda LRR-RLKs.

The paper focuses on the quantitative relationship between technological progress and industrial structural optimization of China's construction industry. In first, the relational model of technological progress and resource allocation of construction industry is established. And then the relational model of technological progress and industrial structure of construction industry is also set up. In the last, a case study on the structural flexibility of technological progress of China's construction enterprises of various ownership types in 1997-2007 is completed.