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A new light-conversion agent with high UV-to-red light-conversion efficiency and stability is prepared to increase the yield of crops.

Producing more food with a lower environmental cost is one of the most crucial challenges worldwide. Plastic mulching has developed as one of the most dominant practices to improve crop yields, however its impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the production life cycle of a crop are still unclear. The objective of this work is to quantify the impacts of plastic film on GHG emissions and to reduce GHG emissions with innovative agronomic practices. Carbon footprint per unit of area (CFa), per unit of maize grain yield (CFy), and per unit of economic output (CFe) were evaluated for three maize cultivation systems: a no mulch system, a conventional plastic mulching system (PM) and a biennial plastic mulching pattern, namely a ‘one film for 2 years' system (PM2), during 2015–2018 in a maize field located on the Loess Plateau of China. The results suggested that PM induced a 24% improvement in maize yields during the four experimental years compared to a no-mulch treatment (NM). However, PM dramatically increased the CFa by 69%, 59% of which was created by the input of the plastic film material, and 10% was created by increases in the soil N2O emissions. The yield improvements from PM could not offset the increases in CFa, and CFy and CFe were both increased by 36%. Shifting from PM to PM2 did not reduce crop yields, but it led to a 21% reduction in CFa and 23% reductions in CFy and CFe due to the reduced input amount of plastic film, decreased soil N2O emissions, and less diesel oil used for tillage. Compared to NM, CFy and CFe were only 5% higher in PM2. This study highlights the necessity of reducing the amount of plastic film input in the development of low-carbon agriculture and shifting from conventional PM cultivation to PM2 could be an efficient option for mitigating GHG emissions while sustaining high crop yields in plastic mulched fields.

In this review, the recent developments in microelectronics, spintronics, and magnonics have been summarized and compared. Firstly, the history of the spintronics has been briefly reviewed. Moreover, the recent development of magnonics such as magnon-mediated current drag effect (MCDE), magnon valve effect (MVE), magnon junction effect (MJE), magnon blocking effect (MBE), magnon-mediated nonlocal spin Hall magnetoresistance (MNSMR), magnon-transfer torque (MTT) effect, and magnon resonant tunneling (MRT) effect, magnon skin effect (MSE), etc., existing in magnon junctions or magnon heterojunctions, have been summarized and their potential applications in memory and logic devices, etc., are prospected, from which we can see a promising future for spintronics and magnonics beyond micro-electronics.

In the present work, Ag@AgCl-reinforced cellulose composites with enhanced antibacterial and photocatalytic degradation properties were successfully synthesized via oil bath heating method. During the process, zinc chloride (ZnCl2) solution was used as both Cl− resource to form AgCl and the solvent to dissolve cellulose. The samples were synthesized with different temperatures, times, and concentrations of ZnCl2 solution. The morphology, microstructure and phase of the as-prepared samples were analyzed with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photocatalytic activity studies and inhibition zone experiments. Results showed that dye solution could be completely degraded by the materials in 1 h, and higher concentrations of ZnCl2 solution favored for larger inhibition zones (higher to 10.8 mm). This synthetic strategy displayed here offers more possibilities to high value-added applications of cellulose.

Poly-(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) has become one of the most prevalent biodegradable plastic film materials owing to its good degradability, mechanical properties, and processability. However, the degradation time of this material was too fast and the functional period was short, which limited its application. Herein, three new tropolone-based UV absorbers (UVA-1C, UVA-4C and UVA-6C) were rationally designed and blended into PBAT. The PBAT/UVA films that formed were used against UV aging and prolonged the functional period of PBAT film. The three new absorbers were synthesized by bridging two tropolones using three different organic chains with different flexibility. Among them, the UVA-6C showed the strongest UV absorbance at around 238 nm and 320 nm. Consequently, the PBAT/UVA-6C film showed an extended validity period of 240 h in the Xenon lamp aging machine and a prolonged functional period of 8 d during the field application test when compared to pure PBAT. More importantly, a 7.8% increase in the maize yield was obtained under PBAT/UVA-6C film relative to pure PBAT film. Obviously, the novel prepared UVA-6C compound is a good candidate for UV absorption in PBAT, which makes PBAT/UVA-6C film more advantageous over pure PBAT in practical applications as biodegradable agricultural film.

The effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on the physicochemical, thermal and structural properties of sugar beet pulp (SBP) was investigated in this study. The SBP suspensions (2 g/100 g) were homogenized under different HPH pressure from 0 to 100 MPa. The results indicated that the mean particle size of SBP suspensions increased after HPH treatment at 5 MPa and decreased as the HPH pressure increased from 5 to 100 MPa. The soluble dietary fiber content increased and insoluble dietary fiber decreased as the HPH pressure increased from 5 to 25 MPa. The HPH treatments under 50 and 100 MPa decreased the total dietary fiber and soluble dietary fiber contents. The water and oil holding capacities increased with the increment of HPH pressure ranged from 0 to 100 MPa. The HPH treatment increased the transition temperature and decreased the melting peak temperature. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that HPH had little effect on main components of SBP but decreased the intensity of characteristic bands in absorbance. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed similar tendency and HPH treatment decreased the crystallinity index. In addition, microscopic pictures revealed that homogenized samples gradually stretched and showed flake-like structures after HPH treatment.

The effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on the rheological and microstructural properties of sugar beet pulp (SBP) suspensions was investigated. The results showed that the mean particle size of SBP suspensions increased from 43.07 to 70.77 μm at the pressure of 5 MPa and then decreased from 72.09 to 38.28 μm as the pressure increased from 15 to 100 MPa. The steady state behavior of homogenized SBP suspensions could be well fitted by the Power Law model (R2 ˃ 0.998) and consistency coefficient (K) increased with the increased HPH pressure. The HPH treatment enhanced both storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of SBP suspensions. Untreated SBP suspension (0 MPa) could be classified as type Ⅰ (strain shinning) and transformed to type Ⅲ (weak strain overshoot) after HPH treatment. Large amplitude oscillatory shear analysis revealed that as the pressure increased to 50 and 100 MPa, the trend of I3/1 and I5/1 with strain showed a transition from a “soft gel” to “hard gel”. Confocal laser scanning micrographs showed that the red-stained areas of pectin substances increased as the pressure increased from 0 to 50 MPa, which further confirmed the cell wall breaking effect of HPH on SBP particles.

A hypothesis, the mechanical properties, interfacial linkage, crystallization, and thermal stability between acetylated bamboo fiber (Ac-BF) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix were significantly affected by the interactions between Ac-BF and PBS composites, was proposed based on the molecular dynamics simulation technique. Thereafter, SEM, XRD, TG and mechanical testing were employed to certify the above hypothesis. However, Ac-BF/PBS composite showed better stability than that of BF/PBS due to the lower mixing energy and Flory-Huggins interaction parameters ( χ). Further, strong van der Waals (VdW) interaction, hydrogen-bond interaction and physical adsorption existed between functional groups of composites. The tensile strength and the initial decomposition temperature ( Td-5%) of Ac-BF/PBS increased by 18% and 12.2℃, respectively, due to the fiber acetoxylation.

Epigenetic changes are involved in learning and memory, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are considered potential therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously reported that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) acts as an HDAC inhibitor. Here, we demonstrate that EGCG reduced β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in vitro and rescued cognitive deterioration in senescence-accelerated mice P8 (SAMP8) via intragastric administration of low- and high-dose EGCG (5 and 15 mg/kg, respectively) for 60 days. The AD brain has decreased levels of the rate-limiting degradation enzyme of Aβ, neprilysin (NEP). We found an association between EGCG-induced reduction in Aβ accumulation and elevated NEP expression. Further, NEP silencing prevented the EGCG-induced Aβ downregulation. Our findings suggest that EGCG might be effective for treating AD.

Novel liquid composites were successfully prepared by blending copolymer (PEG/PHS) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in this work. PEG/PHS was achieved by introducing polyethylene glycol (PEG) into the main chain of poly hexanediol succinic (PHS). The results showed that the structure characterization of PEG/PHS was displayed in 1H NMR spectrum. The interaction existed between PEG/PHS and CMC which was validated in FT-IR and SEM. This conjecture was simulated by molecular dynamics under the software YASARA. Because of the existence of interfacial interaction, composites films kept good thermal performance and the flexibility of composite films was greatly improved.

Bushen‑Yizhi formula (BSYZ), a traditional Chinese medicine formula consisting of six herbs has been reported to possess a neuroprotective effect. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of BSYZ on learning and memory abilities, as well as oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus of scopolamine (SCOP)‑induced senescence in mice, in order to reveal whether BSYZ is a potential therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease (AD). A high‑performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint was applied to provide a chemical profile of BSYZ. Extracts of BSYZ were orally administered to mice with SCOP‑induced memory impairment for two weeks. The learning and memory abilities were determined by the Morris water maze test. The oxidant stress‑related indices, such as activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were examined in hippocampus of SCOP‑treated mice. The cell death ratio was assessed by TUNEL staining, while apoptotic‑related proteins including Bcl‑2 and Bax were determined by immuno-fluorescent staining and western blot analysis. Caspase‑3 was determined by western blot analysis. Consequently, a chromatographic condition, which was conducted at 35˚C with a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min on the Gemini C18 column with mobile phase of acetonitrile and water‑phosphoric acid (100:0.1, v/v), was established to yield common fingerprint chromatography under 203 nm with a similarity index of 0.986 within 10 batches of BSYZ samples. BSYZ at a dose of 2.92 g/kg significantly improved the cognitive ability, restored the abnormal activity of SOD and increased the levels of MDA and GSH induced by SCOP. Moreover, the neural apoptosis in the hippocampus of SCOP‑treated mice was reversed by BSYZ by regulating the expression of Bcl‑2, Bax and caspase‑3. The results demonstrated that BSYZ had neuroprotective effects in SCOP‑induced senescence in mice by ameliorating oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis in the brain, supporting its potential in AD treatment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by the accumulation of senile plaque and neurofibrilary tangle formation in the brain, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Nowadays, the first-line treatment for AD is the application of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. However, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are basically anti-symptomatic for a limited aspect of AD pathology and are associated with serious side-effects. With the advantage of multiple targets, pathways and systems, Chinese herbal compounds hold promising potential for the development of drugs for the treatment of AD. Over the past few years, with the development of Chinese herbal compounds and in vitro pharmacological studies, cell-based disease models are one of the main methods used to screen Chinese herbal compounds for potential efficacy. Testing the efficacy of possible anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs and the development of new drugs are hindered by the lack of objective high-throughput screening methods. Currently, the assessment of the effects of drugs is usually made by MTT assays, involving laborious, subjective, low-throughput methods. Herein, we suggest a novel application for a real-time cell monitoring device (xCELLigence) that can simply and objectively assess the effective composition of Chinese herbal compounds by assessing amyloid-β peptide Aβ1-42-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells. We detected the proliferation and motility of the cells using a fully automated high-throughput and real-time system. We quantitatively assessed cell motility and determined the real-time IC50 values of various anti-AD drugs that intervene in several developmental stages of Aβ1-42-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells, Then, we identified the optimal time phase by curative efficacy. Our data indicate that this technique may aid in the discovery and development of novel anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs. It is possible to utilize a similar technique to measure changes in electrical impedance as cells attach and spread in a culture dish covered with a gold microelectrode array that covers approximately 80% of the area on the bottom of a well. As cells attach and spread on the electrode surface, it leads to an increase in electrical impedance of 9-12. The impedance is displayed as a dimensionless para-meter termed the cell index, which is directly proportional to the total area of tissue culture well that is covered by the cells. Hence, the cell index can be used to monitor cell adhesion, spreading, morphological variation and cell density.

The natural soil-contact method was used to investigate the toxicity of poly (butylene succinate-co-caprolactone) (P(BS-co-CL)) copolymers with different number-average molecular weight (Mn) on the protein content, cellulose enzyme activity and peroxidase activity in earthworm extraction. The results showed that: during the first two weeks, both cellulose enzyme activity and peroxidase activity of earthworms treated by polymer (Mn is 8.0×103), decreased with the increase of polymer content. In the polymer (Mn is 1.6×104) group, in the end (28 and 42 d), cellulose enzyme and peroxidase activity decreased with the increase of the polymer concentration. However, the polymer (Mn is 2.8×104) had no significant effect on the cellulose enzyme activity and peroxidase activity of earthworms. In addition, in the beginning (7 and 14 d) of the three treatments, the protein content increased with the raising of polymer concentration. Nevertheless, in the test treated by copolymers with high Mn, there was no significant changing.

This study explored the curative effect and underlying mechanisms of a traditional Chinese medicine compound prescription, Bushen-Yizhi formula (BSYZ), in ibotenic acid (IBO)-induced rats. Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests showed that BSYZ significantly improved spatial and object memory. Brain immunohistochemistry staining showed that BSYZ significantly up-regulated expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the hippocampus and cortex. The protein tyrosine kinase high-affinity receptor TrkA was slightly increased in the hippocampus and cortex, and significantly enhanced in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) after BSYZ intervention. The immunoreactivity of the p75 low-affinity receptor in BSYZ-treated rats was significantly strengthened in the cortex. Similar expression trends of nerve growth factor (NGF), TrkA, and p75 mRNA were observed in the hippocampus and cortex. Additionally, BSYZ reversed IBO-induced disorders of acetylcholine (ACh) levels, ChAT, and cholinesterase (ChE) in the cortex, which was consistent with the changes in mRNA levels of ChAT and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Expression of ChAT and AChE proteins and mRNA in the hippocampus was up-regulated, whereas the apoptosis-relative protein cleaved caspase-3 was decreased after administration of BSYZ. Moreover, changes in cell death were confirmed by histological morphology. Thus, the results indicated that the BSYZ formula could ameliorate memory impairments in IBO-induced rats, and it exerted its therapeutic action probably by modulating cholinergic pathways, NGF signaling, and anti-apoptosis. Overall, it is suggested that the BSYZ formula might be a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other cholinergic impairment-related diseases.

A rapid sensitive analytical method was established and validated to investigate levistolide A in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry operated in the positive ion mode. Levistilide A (LA) and internal standard (IS) andrographolide (AD), mixed with the plasma sample, were separated on a reversed phase Spursil™ C18 5 µm column. The precursor/product transitions (m/z) were 398.5/381.3 for LA and (m/z) 368.0/351.1 for AD. The calibration curve was linear over the range from 5 to 1,250 ng/mL for oral administration and 10-4,000 for intravenous administration with a correlation coefficient (r) ≥0.9993. The lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL for LA in plasma. The inter- and intra-day accuracy and precision were less than ±15% of the relative standard deviation. In this study, the developed method is successfully applied to the comparative pharmacokinetic study of LA in rats after oral administration of LA alone, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, and Danggui-Shaoyao-San along with the bioavailability study of LA in rats. Our study shows that low bioavailability (7.5%) is observed after oral administration of LA. Traditional formula compatibility of Danggui-Shaoyao-San could significantly enhance LA bioavailability compared with LA alone and Rhizoma Chuanxiong.

Introduction Whether adding percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) to background medical treatment is effective for decreasing the incidence of stroke or death in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) is still controversial. We perform a randomised controlled trial to examine the effectiveness and safety of an improved PTAS procedure for patients with ICAS. Methods and analysis A randomised controlled trial will be conducted in three hospitals in China. Eligible patients with ICAS will be randomly assigned to receive medication treatment (MT) plus PTAS or MT alone. The MT will be initiated immediately after randomisation, while the PTAS will be performed when patients report relief of alarm symptoms defined as sudden weakness or numbness. All patients will be followed up at 30 days, 3 and 12 months after randomisation. The primary end point will be the incidence of stroke or death at 30 days after randomisation. Secondary outcomes will be the incidence of ischaemic stroke in the territory of stenosis arteries, the incidence of in-stent restenosis, the Chinese version of the modified Rankin Scale and the Chinese version of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (CSQoL). Ethics and dissemination The study protocol is approved by institutional review boards in participating hospitals (reference number FZ20160003, 180PLA20160101 and 476PLA2016007). The results of this study will be disseminated to patients, physicians and policymakers through publication in a peer-reviewed journal or presentations in conferences. It is anticipated that the results of this study will improve the quality of the current PTAS procedure and guide clinical decision-making for patients with ICAS. Trial registration number NCT02689037

Vegetation cover has spatial as well as temporal characteristics, but the latter are often neglected. Temporal cover characteristics were explored to recommend planting policies for returning arable land into land better protected from serious wind erosion during late autumn, winter, and particularly early spring, when crop cover is non existent. An index combining a wind erosive factor and a soil cover factor permits relative quantification of expected erosion, allowing a forecasting of the wind erosion hazard. This index was quantified under the conditions of Wuchuan County, Inner Mongolia, but derived planting policies using the index can be extended to other regions. Because ground cover with much surface contact or undergrowth is needed to reduce wind erosion, it is recommended to grow perennial grasses with shrubs rather than planting forests/woodland, annual pasture, and crops that are totally removed during harvest. If such land stays under annual cropping, geometrically efficient winter stubble patterns assisted by shrub planting will have to be developed