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The development of grain storage warehouses has low high-tech coverage because of the special features of grain products. Traditional grain warehouses are facing problems including limited land resources, increased labor costs, and poorer health indicators. Accompanied by the development of information technology and the Internet of Things, automated three-dimensional warehouses have been widely used in industry with the advantages of unmanned, informationized, intensive, high-speed and seamless. In the field of grain warehousing, the finished grain three-dimensional warehouse based on mechatronics, automation, control and logistics is expected to solve the problem of grain warehousing. The traditional grain storage industry will be driven by new technology to ensure national food security.

Solving logistics and distribution problems through intelligent algorithms can strongly improve the market core competitiveness of e-commerce logistics enterprises. This paper maps the distribution station location in e-commerce logistics to graph theory nodes and establishes the logistics path planning model. Then use the binary group to improve the Dicoscher algorithm to solve the planning of the e-commerce logistics path, and through the genetic algorithm to solve the objective function of the cost and other factors in the logistics scheduling to achieve the logistics cost concessions, and ultimately build the e-commerce logistics planning and scheduling optimization strategy. The analysis of the application effect of constructing the path planning and optimization strategy finds that the distribution distance of the logistics path solved by this paper’s algorithm under the condition of 20 distribution points is 80.47km shorter than that of the ant colony algorithm. The total cost spent on the path is 799.75 yuan on average, and the time consumed is only 62.14s. Meanwhile, it has been found that after implementing the path planning strategy, the total working time of the dispatcher decreases by 28.6 hours, and the pressure of the job significantly decreases. The e-commerce logistics path planning and scheduling optimization method designed in this paper provides an effective solution for cost-saving in logistics enterprises.

Given the practical issues of the traditional power system's insufficient operational flexibility in the face of changing residential power load and source-side output, demand response can effectively improve the flexibility, safety and economic benefits of system operation. The value of demand response is especially noticeable meanwhile the refined assessment of demand response potential is an important basic support. A method is proposed about evaluating aggregate demand response potential in the absence of historical demand response data based on Gaussian mixture model. Firstly, the typical data are selected through two-stage clustering of households and similar days to improve data representativeness. Then the Gaussian mixture model is introduced to accurately explore the probability distribution of household electricity consumption behavior and calculate individual households' demand response potential. Finally, the bottom-up weighted aggregation is implemented to evaluate the aggregate demand response potential under multiple confidence scenarios. According to empirical analysis, this method can mine hourly information of residential demand response potential from historical electricity consumption data, which can reflect the distribution of power load and demand response potential. Comparative analysis is used to validate the validity of typical data selection by two-stage clustering.

In this article, the authors present two identities involving products of the Bernoulli numbers, provide four alternative proofs for these two identities, derive two closed-form formulas for the Bernoulli numbers in terms of central factorial numbers of the second kind, and supply simple proofs of series expansions of (hyperbolic) cosecant and cotangent functions.

The polysaccharides isolated from Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce (POPs) by water extraction, after precipitation with ethanol were purified through deproteinization, decolorization, dialysis, and column chromatography leading to a purified polysaccharide (POPs-I) content of 90.7 %. The scavenging of oxygen free radicals and inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPO) by POPs-I were analyzed using a colorimetric method. The results showed that the hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of the polysaccharides was weaker than that of benzoic acid, but stronger than those of ascorbic acid and mannitol, and that the superoxide anion radical scavenging ability was inferior to those of all three. When the concentration was higher than 1.0 mg/mL, the POPs-I could inhibit LPO by superoxide anion radicals to a certain degree. Therefore, this work suggests that POPs-I are potential antioxidant agents in medicine and functional food.

Abstract Lignin condensation reactions are hard to avoid or control during separation, which is a deterrent to lignin isolation and post‐conversation, especially for the full utilization of lignocelluloses. Selective protection of β‐aryl ether linkages in the isolation process is crucial to lignin valorization. Herein, a two‐step acid/alkali separation method assisted with l‐cysteine for eucalyptus lignin separation is developed, and the isolated l‐cysteine lignins (LCLs) are comprehensively characterized by 2D NMR, 31P NMR, thioacidolysis, etc. Compared to the two‐step control treatment, a much higher β‐O‐4 content is preserved without reducing the separation efficiency assisted by l‐cysteine, which is also significantly higher than alkali lignin and kraft lignin. The results of hydrogenolysis show that LCLs generate a much higher monomer yield than that of control sample. Structural analysis of LCLs suggests that lignin condensation reaction, to some extent, is suppressed by adding l‐cysteine during the two‐step acid/alkali separation. Further, mechanistic studies using dimeric model compound reveals that l‐cysteine may be the α‐carbon protective agent in the two‐step separation. The role of l‐cysteine in the two‐step lignin isolation method provides novel insights to the selective fractionation of lignin from biomass, especially for the full valorization of lignocellulosic biomass.

Tricin as a monomer of grass lignin with unique biological properties is beneficial to human health with the potential for various applications. The abundant grass lignin could be an alternative source for tricin if an effective separation method is available. In this study, we used different lignin preparations, including alkali lignin (AL), mild acidolysis lignin (MAL), cellulase enzymatic lignin (CEL), γ-valerolactone lignin (GVL), and organosolv lignin (OL), to investigate the effect of different fractionation methods on the tricin content of the wheat straw lignin. The tricin signal of different lignins can be clearly identified by 2D heteronuclear singular quantum correlation (HSQC) spectra. GVL showed the highest tricin level among these lignin samples as the tricin content of GVL was accounted to be 8.6% by integrals. The tricin content was carefully determined using thioacidolysis combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS), and the quantitative results of tricin by HPLC-MS were basically consistent with that of 2D HSQC integrals. Both methods have proved that the tricin contents of lignins isolated under acid conditions were significantly higher than that of AL. In addition, the determination of the sun protection factors (SPF) of lignin-based sunscreen and antioxidant activity of lignin preparations indicated that reserving more tricin was beneficial to the UV resistance of lignin samples. Therefore, this study not only provides new insights for the extraction methods of lignin with high tricin content but also is beneficial to the future study on the application of tricin and tricin-lignin.

Pinoresinol is a high-value monolignol-derived lignan used in plant defense and with human health-supporting effects. The synthetic yield and isolation efficiency of racemic pinoresinol from coniferyl alcohol by conventional radical coupling methods is sub-optimal. In this work, a facile and efficient synthetic approach was developed to synthesize pinoresinol with much higher yield. By using 5-bromoconiferyl alcohol, which was synthesized in high yield from 5-bromovanillin, to make 5,5′-bromopinoresinol via a peroxidase-mediated radical coupling reaction takes advantage of the smaller variety of radical coupling products from the 5-substituted monolignol, producing simpler product mixtures from which 5,5′-bromopinoresinol may be readily crystalized with good yield (total yield of 44.1% by NMR; isolated crystalline yield of 24.6%). Hydro-debromination of the crystalline 5,5′-bromopinoresinol to pinoresinol was essentially quantitative. Gram quantities of pinoresinol were conveniently synthesized by using this approach. This simple alternative pathway to make pinoresinol will impact pinoresinol-related research including structural characterization and modification of lignins, as well as clinical applications of pinoresinol and its derivatives.

Bruno Schulz has recently been discovered as a writer in China. The first volume of his short stories Ulica Krokodyli [Crocodile Street] was published in 2009. From the very beginning Schulz’s writing became fascinating especially for young readers. Many Chinese experts claim that it is similar in some aspects to Kafka’s writing, although direct comparison of the works of these two writers reveals substantial differences. Yu Hua, young and popular writer in China, wrote an introduction to Ulica Krokodyli.

Lignin is the most abundant aromatic polymer in nature and as such is an attractive source of aromatic molecules. Efficient lignin utilization will also likely play a key role in the economic success and sustainability of biomass valorization schemes. However, traditional strategies for lignin isolation and depolymerization suffer from repolymerization issues, which result in low yield of low molecular weight fragments. This review summarizes the recent progress in lignin isolation and depolymerization methods that are able to limit lignin condensation and facilitate the high yield production of monomers and oligomers. A general trend in these methods is that condensation and repolymerization is prevented by trapping reactive intermediates during extraction or depolymerization by chemically stabilizing the ?–O–4 structure and/or its derivatives, or physically removing the separated lignin fragments from the reactor. We highlight the challenges and opportunities that these methods will face as they are further developed.

Simultaneous pressure waves (SPWs) in manometry recordings of the human colon have been associated with gas expulsion. Our hypothesis was that the SPW might be a critical component of most colonic motor functions, and hence might act as a biomarker for healthy colon motility. To that end, we performed high-resolution colonic manometry (HRCM), for the first time using an 84-sensor (1 cm spaced) water-perfused catheter, in 17 healthy volunteers. Intraluminal pressure patterns were recorded during baseline, proximal and rectal balloon distention, after a meal and following proximal and rectal luminal bisacodyl administration. Quantification was performed using software, based on Image J, developed during this study. Gas expulsion was always associated with SPWs, furthermore, SPWs were associated with water or balloon expulsion. SPWs were prominently emerging at the termination of proximal high amplitude propagating pressure waves (HAPWs); we termed this motor pattern HAPW-SPWs; hence, SPWs were often not a pan-colonic event. SPWs and HAPW-SPWs were observed at baseline with SPW amplitudes of 12.0 ± 8.5 mmHg and 20.2 ± 7.2 mmHg respectively. The SPW occurrence and amplitude significantly increased in response to meal, balloon distention and luminal bisacodyl, associated with 50.3% anal sphincter relaxation at baseline, which significantly increased to 59.0% after a meal, and 69.1% after bisacodyl. Often, full relaxation was achieved. The SPWs associated with gas expulsion had a significantly higher amplitude compared to SPWs without gas expulsion. SPWs could be seen to consist of clusters of high frequency pressure waves, likely associated with a cluster of fast propagating, circular muscle contractions. SPWs were occasionally observed in a highly rhythmic pattern at 1.8 ± 1.2 cycles/min. Unlike HAPWs, the SPWs did not obliterate haustral boundaries thereby explaining how gas can be expelled while solid content can remain restrained by the haustral boundaries. In conclusion, the SPW may become a biomarker for normal gas transit, the gastrocolonic reflex and extrinsic neural reflexes. The SPW assessment reveals coordination of activities in the colon, rectum and anal sphincters. SPWs may become of diagnostic value in patients with colonic dysmotility.

LEAFY (LFY) and UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO) homologous genes have been reported to play key roles in promoting the initiation of floral meristems in raceme- and cyme-type plants. Asteraceae, a large family of plants with more than 23,000 species, has a unique head-like inflorescence termed capitulum. Here, we report a floral defective plant of the garden cosmos named green head (gh), which shows homogeneous inflorescence, indistinguishable inflorescence periphery and center, and the replacement of flower meristems by indeterminate inflorescence meristems, coupled with iterative production of bract-like organs and higher order of inflorescences. A comparison of the LFY- and UFO-like genes (CbFLY and CbUFO) isolated from both the wild-type and gh cosmos revealed that CbUFO may play an important role in inflorescence differentiation into different structures and promotion of flower initiation, and the reduced expression of CbUFO in the gh cosmos could be associated with the phenotypes of the flower-defective plants. Further expression analysis indicated that CbUFO may promote the conversion of inflorescence meristem into floral meristem in early ray flower formation, but does not play a role in its later growth period.

One of the most promising technologies for lignocellulosic biomass utilization employs ionic liquids for the conversion of isolated components into fuels, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and composites after fractionation of lignocellulose. However, the time required for dissolution of the whole cell wall has been excessive. To explore a possible dissolution and fractionation pathway of lignocelluloses, the dissolution of holocellulose isolated from bagasse was investigated in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) assisted with ball-milling pretreatment and ultrasound irradiation. Ball milling pretreatment, ultrasonic irradiation assistance, and their combination were found to effectively improve the holocellulose dissolution in [C4mim]Cl. The effects of ultrasound power and irradiation duration on the dissolution time of ball-milled holocelluloses in [C4mim]Cl were studied. The regenerated holocelluloses were characterized with FT-IR, X-Ray, and CP/MAS 13C-NMR. It was found that there were no obvious changes of chemical structure after dissolution and regeneration of the holocellulose. The crystalline structure of cellulose was converted from cellulose I in native holocellulose to cellulose II in the regenerated holocellulose. The crystallinity decreased after the process of dissolution and regeneration assisted by ball-milling pretreatment and ultrasound irradiation.

Tricin [5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one] is a flavone that has been found to be incorporated in grass lignin polymers via 4′–O–β coupling. Herein, we investigated the tricin-lignin structure using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods by comparing the 1H–13C heteronuclear correlation (HSQC) NMR spectra of the isolated lignin with a series of dimeric and trimeric tricin-4′–O–β-ether model compounds. Results showed that the tricin moiety significantly affects the chemical shift of the Cβ/Hβ of 4′–O–β unit, producing peaks at around δC/δH 82.5–83.5/4.15–4.45, that differ from the Cβ/Hβ correlations from normal 4–O–β units formed solely by monolignols, and that have to date been unassigned.