Study on the green extraction of corncob xylan by deep eutectic solvent

Corn as one of the world's major food crops,its by-product corn cob is also rich in resources.However,the unreasonable utilization of corn cob often causes the environmental pollution,waste of resources and other problems.As one of the most abundant polymers in nature,xylan is widely used in food,medicine,materials and other fields.Corn cob is rich in xylan,which is an ideal raw material for extracting xylan.However,the intractable lignin is covalently linked to xylan,which increases the difficulty of xylan extraction.It has been reported that the deep eutectic solvent(DES)could preferentially dissolve lignin in biomass,thereby dissolving the xylan.Then,the xylan in the extract was separated by ethanol precipitation method.The xylan precipitate was obtained after centrifugation,while the supernatant was retained.The components of the supernatant after ethanol precipitation were separated by the rotary evaporator.The ethanol,water and DES were collected for the subsequent extraction of corn cob xylan.In this study,a novel way was provided for the green production of corn cob xylan.The DES was used to extract xylan from corn cob which was used as the raw material.The effects of solid-liquid ratio,reaction time,reaction temperature and water content of DES on the extraction rate of corn cob xylan were investigated by the single factor test.Furthermore,the orthogonal test was designed to optimize the xylan extraction process.The structure of corn cob xylan was analyzed and verified.The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions of corn cob xylan were as follows:the ratio of corn cob to DES was 1:15(g:mL),the extraction time was 3 h,the extraction temperature was 60℃,and the water content of DES was 70%.Under these conditions,the extraction rate of xylan was 16.46%.The extracted corn cob xylan was distinctive triple helix of polysaccharide,which was similar to the structure of commercially available xylan.Xylan was effectively and workably extracted from corn cob by the DES method.This study provided a new approach for high value conversion of corn cob and the clean production of xylan.

Current applications and future prospects of nanotechnology in cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy is an artificial stimulation of the immune system to recognize cancer cells and activate specific immune cells to target and attack cancer cells.In clinical trials, immunotherapy has recently shown impressive results in the treatment of multiple cancers.Thus, cancer immunotherapy has gained a lot of attention for its unique advantages and promising future.With extensive research on cancer immunotherapy, its safety and effectiveness has gradually been revealed.However, it is still a huge challenge to expand and drive this therapy while maintaining low toxicity, high specificity, and long-lasting efficacy.As a unique technology, nanotechnology has been applied in many fields, the advantages of which will promote the development of cancer immunotherapies.Researchers have tried to apply nanomaterials to cancer immunotherapy due to their advantageous properties,such as large specific surface areas, effective drug delivery, and controlled surface chemistry, to improve treatment efficacy.Here,we briefly introduce the current applications of nanomaterials in cancer immunotherapy, including adoptive cell therapy(ACT),therapeutic cancer vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies, and throw light on future directions of nanotechnology-based cancer immunotherapy.

Properties of Aroma Sustained-release Cotton Fabric with Rose Fragrance Nanocapsule

The aroma sustained-release cotton fabric was prepared by finishing rose fragrance nanocapsules directly on cotton.The structure and properties of nanocapsules were demonstrated by transmission electron microscope(TEM),dynamic light scattering(DLS),fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR),X-ray diffraction (XRD),gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)and electronic nose.The results showed that the spherical nanocapsule dispersed evenly and the average diameter kept 51.4 nm.The existence of COO peak(1741 cm? 1)in the FTIR curve of the finished cotton fabric and the decrease of crystallinity demonstrated that rose fragrance nanocapsules have been incorporated into the cotton fabrics.The washing resistance of the cotton fabrics finished by 51.4 nm nanocapsules was much better than that by rose fragrance alone.Besides,the loss of fragrance from the cotton fabrics finished by 51.4 nm nanocapsules was obviously lower than that by 532 nm nanocapsules and rose fragrance.The smaller the nanocapsule size,the better the sustained release property.Electronic nose analysis also displayed that the aroma released from the cotton fabrics finished by nanocapsules after washing has no obvious variety in contrast to that without washing.The cotton fabrics finished by nanocapsules has the excellent sustained release property.

Flexible nest site selection of the endangered Oriental Storks(Ciconia boyciana):Trade-off from adaptive strategies

Nest site selection is a vital component of bird reproduction success,and an adaptive behavior conducted to decrease nest predation risk with avoiding external disturbances.Understanding patterns of nest site selection can provide insights into how species adapt to changes in their habitat and has important conservation implications.In this study,we used microhabitat variables and multi-scale data with a field survey of nest occurrence to determine nest site selection patterns and adaptive strategies of the breeding Oriental Storks(Ciconia boyciana)in different nest areas.Results demonstrate that the nest site microhabitat characteristics of the breeding Oriental Storks significantly differed among the three nesting areas,and nest height was higher in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain than in the Northeast China and Bohai Bay nest areas.The food resources and intensity of human disturbance had the greatest effects on the nest site selection of the breeding Oriental Storks.The intensity of human disturbance was positively correlated with the nest height of the breeding Oriental Storks in Bohai Bay and the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain;however,nest height decreased with the abundance of food resources in the Northeast China nest area.Our findings indicate that the nest site selection patterns of Oriental Storks showed flexible adaptive strategies.In safer environments,nests were lower and closer to food resources,which allows parent storks to invest more in the nestlings.However,in areas where human activity was intense,nests were higher to ensure the safety of their offspring.Some measures that could be taken to improve the breeding habitat of Oriental Storks include increasing the percentage of wetland areas in nesting areas to enhance food resources availability and setting artificial nests at suitable heights in potential nesting grounds to encourage nesting.Finally,the establishment of soft barriers around the nesting areas could increase the safety of nests.

Synthesis and Electrical Properties of New Solid State Electrolyte Materials Ce_(6-x)Ho_xMoO_(15-δ)(0.0≤x≤1.2)

Ce6-xHoxMoO15-δ（0.0≤x≤1.2） was synthesized by modified sol-gel method and characterized by differential X-ray diffraction（XRD）, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） methods. The oxide ionic conductivity of the samples was investigated by AC impedance spectroscopy. It shows that all the samples are single phase with a cubic fluorite structure. The solid solution Ce6-xHoxMoO15-δ（x=0.6） was detected to be the best conducting phase with the highest conductivity（σ1=1.05×10^-2 S/cm） at 800 ℃ and the lowest activation energy（Ea=1.09 eV）. These properties suggest that this kind of material has a potential application in intermediate-low temperature solid oxide fuel ceils.

Fe_3O_4@PAM@NTA-Ni^(2+) Magnetic Composite Nanoparticles for Highly Specific Separation of His-tagged Proteins

A facile approach has been developed to synthesize Fe3O4@PAM（polyacrylamide） nanoparticles（NPs） with carboxyl groups on the surfaces by copolymerization with acrylamide and acrylic acid in Fe3O4 NPs aqueous suspension. Nitrilotriacetic acid（NTA） was conjugated to the magnetic NPs via well-known carboniimide chemistry using EDC and NHS. The Ni^（2＋） ions loaded on the surface of NPs provide abundant docking sites for immobilization of His-tagged green fluorescent proteins（His-tagged GFP）. The high magnetic property of Fe3O4@PAM@NTA-Ni^（2＋） allows an easy separation of the NPs from solution under an external magnetic field, with high His-tagged protein binding capacity（42 μg protein/mg of NPs）. The NPs can be recycled for at least four times without significant loss of binding capacity to proteins. These materials show great potential to separate His-tagged protein with low-cost purification at industrial scale.

Computational Modeling of Human Bicuspid Pulmonary Valve Dynamic Deformation in Patients with Tetralogy of Fallot

Pulmonary valve stenosis(PVS)is one common right ventricular outflow tract obstruction problem in patients with tetralogy of Fallot(TOF).Congenital bicuspid pulmonary valve(BPV)is a condition of valvular stenosis,and the occurrence of congenital BPV is often associated with TOF.Dynamic computational models of normal pulmonary root(PR)with tri-leaflet and PR with BPV in patients with TOF were developed to investigate the effect of geometric structure of BPV on valve stress and strain distributions.The pulmonary root geometry included valvular leaflets,sinuses,interleaflet triangles and annulus.Mechanical properties of pulmonary valve leaflet were obtained from biaxial testing of human PV leaflet,and characterized by an anisotropic Mooney-Rivlin model.The complete cardiac cycle was simulated to observe valve leaflet dynamic stress/strain behaviors.Our results indicated that stress/strain distribution patterns of normal tri-leaflet pulmonary valve(TPV)and the BPV were different on valve leaflets when the valve was fully open,but they were similar when valves were completely closed.When the valve was fully open,the BPV maximum stress value on the leaflets was 197.2 kPa,which was 94.3%higher than of the normal TPV value(101.5 kPa).During the valve was fully open,the stress distribution in the interleaflet triangles region of the PR was asymmetric in the BPV model compared with that in the TPV model.The geometric orifice area value in the completely opened position of BPV model was reduced 55.6%from that of the normal PV.Our initial results demonstrated that valve geometrical variations with BPV may be a potential risk factor linked to occurrence of PVS in patients with TOF.Computational models could be a useful tool in identifying possible linkage between valve disease development and biomechanical factors.Large-scale clinical studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.

Influence of intramolecular hydrogen bond formation sites on fluorescence mechanism

The fluorescence mechanism of HBT-HBZ is investigated in this work. A fluorescent probe is used to detect HClO content in living cells and tap water, and its structure after oxidation by HCl O(HBT-ClO) is discussed based on the density functional theory(DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory(TDDFT). At the same time, the influence of the probe conformation and the proton transfer site within the excited state molecule on the fluorescence mechanism are revealed. Combined with infrared vibrational spectra and atoms-in-molecules theory, the strength of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in HBT-HBZ and HBT-ClO and their isomers are demonstrated qualitatively. The relationship between the strength of intramolecular hydrogen bonds and dipole moments is discussed. The potential energy curves demonstrate the feasibility of intramolecular proton transfer. The weak fluorescence phenomenon of HBT-HBZ in solution is quantitatively explained by analyzing the frontier molecular orbital and hole electron caused by charge separation. Moreover, when strong cyan fluorescence occurs in solution, the corresponding molecular structure should be HBT-ClO(T). The influence of the intramolecular hydrogen bond formation site on the molecule as a whole is also investigated by electrostatic potential analysis.

Solid Mechanical and Hemodynamic Analyses of Different Stent Structures in a Curved Stenotic Coronary Artery

Background Coronary artery stenting is commonly used for the treatment of coronary atherosclerosis,but it causes serious clinical complications,such as the in-stent restenosis(ISR).The main reason leading to ISR is the neointimal hyperplasia(NH),which is related to the stresses of plaque and artery,and to the altered local hemodynamic environment due to the presence of stents.Different stent structures indeed have various impacts on the stresses of plaque and artery,and the local hemodynamic environment,such as the wall shear stress(WSS),average WSS(AWSS),and WSS gradient(WSSG).Thus,it is important to evaluate the performance of stents with different structures by the mechanical factors after coronary stenting.Methods Six stents implanted into a stenotic curved coronary artery were treated separately,and they included three typical commercial stents(Palmaz-Schatz,Xience,and Cypher)and three author-developed stents,which were constructed by reducing the numbers of link(C-Rlink)and crown(C-Rcrown),and aligning the strut(C-Astrut)of the commercial Cypher Solid mechanical analyses of the balloon-stent-plaque-artery system in Abaqus were first performed to assess the performance of different stent structures and provide the deformed boundary of lumen for the subsequent hemodynamic analysis.With the deformed boundary,then hemodynamic analyses in Ansys were conducted to quanti-fy the hemodynamic parameters induced by different stent structures.Combining the solid mechanical and hemodynamic analyses,the performance of the six stents was evaluated.Results The results show that among the three commercial stents,the Palmaz-Schatz stent has the least stent dogboning and recoiling,which corresponds to the greatest maximum plastic strain as well as the largest diameter.However,it induces the greatest maximum stress of plaque,intima,and media.From the viewpoint of hemodynamics,the Palmaz-Schatz stent also performs better and it has smaller areas of adverse low WSS(<0.5 Pa),high WSS(>15 Pa),low AWSS(<0.5 Pa),and high WSSG(>5 000 Pa/m).Compared to the commercial Cypher stent,the author-developed Cypher-based C-Rcrown and C-Astrut stents have smaller recoiling,greater maximum plastic stain and larger diameter,which indicates the improved mechanical performance of the Cypher stent.Moreover,both C-Rcrown and C-Astrut have smaller areas of adverse low WSS,high WSS,and low AWSS,but only C-Rcrown has smaller area of adverse high WSSG.Nevertheless,the C-Rlink stent is inferior to the commercial Cypher stent.In both senses of the solid mechanical and local hemodynamic analyses,the C-Rcrown stent is superior to the commercial Cypher stent and other Cypher-based stents.Conclusions In this study,solid mechanical and hemodynamic analyses were carried out to study the effects of six stents with different structures on their performances after stenting.It was found that the Palmaz-Schatz stent performed better than other two commercial stents,and the performance of the Cypher stent could be improved by reducing the number of crowns of its strut.The present study comparatively evaluates the performance of different stents inside a curved artery,and could be used as a guide to select a suitable commercial stent for clinical application,and provide a way to improve the performance of the existing commercial stents.

Improving Right Ventricle Cardiac Function for Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot Patient with Contracting Bands: A Modelling Study

Objective Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot(rTOF)account for the majority of cases with late onset right ventricle(RV)failure.The current surgical approach,including pulmonary valve replacement/insertion(PVR),has yielded mixed results with some patients recover RV function and some do not.An innovative surgical approach was proposed to help ventricle to contract and improve RV function qualified by ejection fraction with one or more active contracting bands.Computational biomechanical modelling is a widely used method in cardiovascular study for investigation of mechanisms governing disease development,quantitative diagnostic and treatment strategies and improving surgical designs for better outcome.Muscle active contraction caused by zero-load sarcomere shortening leads to change of zero-load configurations.In lieu of experimenting using real surgery on animal or human,computational simulations(virtual surgery)were performed to test different band combination and insertion options to identify optimal surgery design and band insertion plan.Methods Cardiac magnetic resonance(CMR)data were obtained from one rTOF patient(sex:male,age:22.5 y)before pulmonary valve replacement surgery.The patient was suffering from RV dilation and dysfunction with RV end-systole volume 254.49ml and end-diastole volume 406.91 mL.A total of 15 computational RV/LV/Patch/Band combination models based on(CMR)imaging were constructed to investigate the influence of different band insertion surgery plans.These models included 5 different band insertion models combined and 3 different band contraction ratio(10%,15%and 20%band zero-stress length reduction).These models included 5 different band insertion models:Model 1 with one band at anterior to the middle of papillary muscle;Model 2 with one band at posterior to the middle of papillary muscle;Model 3 with 2 bands which are the ones from Models 1&2 combined;Model 4 with a band at the base of the papillary muscle;Model 5 with 3 bands which is a combination of Models 3&4.A pre-shrink process was performed on in-vivo begin-filling and end-systole MRI data to obtain diastole and systole zero4oad ventricle geometries.An extra 5%-8%shrinkage was applied to obtain corresponding systole zero-load geometry reflecting myocardium sarcomere shortening.The zero-load band length in systole was 10%,15%and 20%shorter than that in diastole according to their corresponding contraction ratio.The nonlinear Mooney-Rivlin model was used to describe the ventricle material properties with their material parameter values adjusted to match measured data with CMR.The band material properties were in the same scale with healthy right ventricle.The RV/LV/Band model construction and solution procedures were the same as described.Results Model 5 with band contraction ratio of 20%has the ability to improve RV ejection fraction to 41.07%,which represented a 3.61%absolute improvement,or 9.6%relative improvement using pre-PVR ejection fraction as the baseline number.The ejection fractions for Models 1-4 with band contraction ratio of 20%were 39.28%,39.47%,38.87%and 40.34%respectively.Compared to models with band contraction ratio15%and 20%,models with band contraction ratio 10%has the least ability on RV ejection fraction improvement with ejection fraction 38.28%,38.00%,38.81%,38.50%and 39.36%corresponding to Models 1-5.Conclusions This pilot work demonstrated that the band insertion surgery may have great potential to improve post-PVR RV cardiac function for patients with repaired TOF.More band contraction ratio and inserted band number may lead to better post-surgery outcome.Further investigations using in-vitro animal experiments and final patient studies are warranted.

Investigation on the ecological suitable regionalization of Melicope ptelefolia

Objective:The aim of paper is to find ecological suitable regionalization of Melicope ptelefolia planting and provide a reference for the rational planning of Good Agricultural Practices(GAP).Methods:The natural ecological niches of Melicope ptelefolia was taken as basic point.The adaptable areas of Melicope ptelefolia was analysed throughout the whole nation by using Geographic Information System for Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCMGIS).Results:Besides the original distribbution region of Guangxi,Guangdong,Hainan,Yunnan,Fujian,Jiangxi,Hunan,Guizhou,we further found that Zhejiang,Taiwan,Hong Kong,Chongqing,Sichuan are adaptable for the growth of Melicope ptelefolia.The most suitable region is Guangxi,and the followed is Guangdong.Conclusion:The ecological suitable area of Melicope ptelefolia mainly distributes in Lingnan Region,and TCMGIS is comparatively scientific and accurate to analyze suitable areas for the growth of Melicope ptelefolia.These findings have important reference value for the introduction,cultivation and scientific planning of Melicope ptelefolia.

Seed Germination and Callus Induction in Leymus chinensis of Different Seed Colors

[ Objective] To explore the effects of different seed colors on seed germination and callus induction of Leymus chinensis. [ Method ] According to the color of mature seeds of Leymus chinensis, they were divided three color types, namely, pale yellow, yellow and black. Their seed germination and callus induction were observed. [ Result] The pale yellow Leymus chinensis seeds had higher germination rate （32.5%） and rate of callus induction （28.5%）. Based on the results of the TI＇C method and electrical conductivity, the seed viability was decreased with the deepening seed color. [ Conclusion] The study laid the foundation for establishing highly efficient plant regeneration system of Leymus chinensis.

Advances in Medical Research of Glucosamine

Glucosamine,referred to as Glc N,is a product in which one hydroxyl group of glucose is replaced by one amino group. Glc N is widely present in plants,animals and microorganisms. After research,ammonia sugar has a good effect on the treatment of osteoarthritis,the suppression of cancer,and the recovery of cognitive impairment caused by hypoxia in some animals. This article summarized the application of Glc N in the medical field,and lays a foundation for the further development of Glc N in the field of biomedicine.

Angle of Attack between Blood Flow and Mitral Valve Leaflets in Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy: An In Vivo Multipatient CT-based FSI Study

The mechanisms of systolic anterior motion(SAM)of the mitral valve in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM)remain unclear.To investigate the angle of attack between blood flow and mitral valve leaflets at pre-SAM time point,patient-specific CT-based computational models were constructed for 5 patients receiving septal myectomy surgery to obtain pre-and post-operative 2D vector flow mapping.The comparisons between pre-and post-operative angles of attack based on 2D vector flow mapping of 5 patients were performed.It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between pre-and post-operative angles of attack(61.1±t wa o vs.56.2±56.o,p=0.306,n=5).Therefore,we propose that the angle of attack might not play an important role in the initiation of SAM.

Anisotropic Models of Human Pulmonary Root with Bicuspid Pulmonary Valve in Patients with Tetralogy of Fallot: Pulmonary Root Function Assessment and Mechanical Stress Analysis

Background Tetralogy of Fallot(TOF)is the most common cyanotic heart defect,accounting for 10%of all congenital defects.Pulmonary valve stenosis(PVS)is one common right ventricular outflow tract obstruction problem in patients with TOF.Congenital bicuspid pulmonary valve(BPV)is a condition of valvular stenosis,which morphologic feature is the presence of only two pulmonary leaflets instead of the normal tri-leaflet.Congenitally BPV are uncommon and the occurrence is often associated with TOF.Methods The three-dimensional geometric reconstruction of pulmonary root(PR)were based on well-accepted mathematical analytic models with physiological parameters obtained from a typical sample of the pulmonary root used in clinical surgery.The PR geometry included valvular leaflets,sinuses,interleaflet triangles and annulus.The dynamic computational models of normal PR with tri-leaflet and PR with BPV in patients with TOF were developed to investigate the effect of geometric structure of BPV on valve stress and strain distributions and the geometric orifice area.Mechanical properties of pulmonary valve leaflet were obtained from biaxial testing of human pulmonary valve left leaflet,and characterized by an anisotropic Mooney-Rivlin model.The complete cardiac cycle was simulated to observe valve leaflet dynamic stress and strain behaviors.Results Our results indicated that stress/strain distribution patterns of normal tri-leaflet pulmonary valve(TPV)and the BPV were different on valve leaflets when the valve was fully open,but they were similar when valves were completely closed.When the valve was fully open,the BPV maximum stress value on the leaflets was 218.1 kPa,which was 128.0%higher than of the normal TPV value(95.6 kPa),and BPV maximum strain value on the leaflets was 70.7%higher than of the normal TPV.The location of the maximum stress from TPV and BPV were also different,which were found at the bottom of the valve near the leaflet attachment for TPV and the vicinity of cusp of the fusion of two leaflets for BPV,respectively.During the valve was fully open,the stress distribution in the interleaflet triangles region of the PR was more asymmetric in the BPV model compared with that in the normal TPV model,and the largest change on the PR with the geometrical variations in the two models was 39.6%in maximum stress.This stress asymmetry indicates that BPV may be one of the causes of post-stenotic pulmonary artery dilatation and aneurysm in patients with TOF.The cusp of the BPV model showed significant eccentricity during peak systolic period,and its geometric orifice area value in the completely opened position of valve was reduced 57.5%from that of the normal TPV model.Conclusions Our initial results demonstrated that valve geometrical variations with BPV may be a potential risk factor linked to occurrence of PVS in patients with TOF.Computational models could be used as an effective tool to identifying possible linkage between pulmonary valve malformation disease development and biomechanical factors,better design of artificial valves and new surgical procedures without testing those on patients.Large-scale clinical studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.

Anisotropic characterization of different materialized scaffolds:A numerical study

Ideal bone scaffold requires its mechanical properties to match those of natural bone.This work aimed to develop an anisotropic scaffold architecture,investigate the mechanical properties and anisotropy of the scaffold made of six biomedical materials by finite element method,and further compare them with the counterparts of natural bones for scaffold selection.The results showed that the mechanical properties of the scaffold constituent materials were positively correlated to those of the scaffolds but negatively correlated to the porosity.The modulus anisotropy was independent of materials at low porosity,and the strength anisotropy was weakly changed for high-strength materials but negatively correlated to porosity for low-strength materials.Plus,the modulus-strength chart of these materialized scaffolds against those of selected bones indicated that the mechanical match could be obtained by varying the anisotropic index.This work provided a constructing method for an anisotropic scaffold according to the structure-mechanical relationship of bone and could be helpful for scaffold design and selection to regenerate defective bones in clinical applications.

Preoperative serum cortisone levels are associated with cognition in preschool‑aged children with tetralogy of Fallot after corrective surgery:new evidence from human populations and mice

Background Tetralogy of Fallot(TOF)is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease.Children with TOF would be confronted with neurological impairment across their lifetime.Our study aimed to identify the risk factors for cerebral morphology changes and cognition in postoperative preschool-aged children with TOF.Methods We used mass spectrometry(MS)technology to assess the levels of serum metabolites,Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence-Fourth edition(WPPSI-Ⅳ)index scores to evaluate neurodevelopmental levels and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)to detect cortical morphological changes.Results Multiple linear regression showed that preoperative levels of serum cortisone were positively correlated with the gyrification index of the left inferior parietal gyrus in children with TOF and negatively related to their lower visual spaces index and nonverbal index.Meanwhile,preoperative SpO_(2) was negatively correlated with levels of serum cortisone after adjusting for all covariates.Furthermore,after intervening levels of cortisone in chronic hypoxic model mice,total brain volumes were reduced at both postnatal(P)11.5 and P30 days.Conclusions Our results suggest that preoperative serum cortisone levels could be used as a biomarker of neurodevelopmental impairment in children with TOF.Our study findings emphasized that preoperative levels of cortisone could influence cerebral development and cognition abilities in children with TOF.

Assessing target optical camouflage effects using brain functional networks:A feasibility study

Brain functional networks model the brain's ability to exchange information across different regions,aiding in the understanding of the cognitive process of human visual attention during target searching,thereby contributing to the advancement of camouflage evaluation.In this study,images with various camouflage effects were presented to observers to generate electroencephalography(EEG)signals,which were then used to construct a brain functional network.The topological parameters of the network were subsequently extracted and input into a machine learning model for training.The results indicate that most of the classifiers achieved accuracy rates exceeding 70%.Specifically,the Logistic algorithm achieved an accuracy of 81.67%.Therefore,it is possible to predict target camouflage effectiveness with high accuracy without the need to calculate discovery probability.The proposed method fully considers the aspects of human visual and cognitive processes,overcomes the subjectivity of human interpretation,and achieves stable and reliable accuracy.

Characterizing and engineering promoters for metabolic engineering of Ogataea polymorpha

Bio-manufacturing via microbial cell factory requires large promoter library for fine-tuned metabolic engi-neering.Ogataea polymorpha,one of the methylotrophic yeasts,possesses advantages in broad substrate spec-trum,thermal-tolerance,and capacity to achieve high-density fermentation.However,a limited number of available promoters hinders the engineering of O.polymorpha for bio-productions.Here,we systematically characterized native promoters in O.polymorpha by both GFP fluorescence and fatty alcohol biosynthesis.Ten constitutive promoters(P_(PDH),P_(PYK),P_(FBA),P_(PGM),P_(GLK),P_(TRI),P(GPI),P_(ADH1),P_(TEF1) and P_(GCW14))were obtained with the activity range of 13%–130% of the common promoter P_(GAP)(the promoter of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate de-hydrogenase),among which P_(PDH) and P_(GCW14) were further verified by biosynthesis of fatty alcohol.Furthermore,the inducible promoters,including ethanol-induced P_(ICL1),rhamnose-induced P_(LRA3) and P_( LRA4),and a bidirectional promoter(P_(Mal)-P_(Per))that is strongly induced by sucrose,further expanded the promoter toolbox in O.polymorpha.Finally,a series of hybrid promoters were constructed via engineering upstream activation sequence(UAS),which increased the activity of native promoter P LRA3 by 4.7–10.4 times without obvious leakage expression.Therefore,this study provided a group of constitutive,inducible,and hybrid promoters for metabolic engineering of O.polymorpha,and also a feasible strategy for rationally regulating the promoter strength.

Nano-buffer controlled electron tunneling to regulate heterojunctional interface emission

Interface emission from heterojunction is a shortcoming for electroluminescent devices.A buffer layer introduced in the heterojunctional interfaces is a potential solution for the challenge.However,the dynamics for carrier tunneling to control the interface emission is still a mystery.Herein,the low-refractive HfO_(2)with a proper energy band configuration is em-ployed as the buffer layer in achieving ZnO-microwire/HfO_(2)/GaN heterojunctional light-emitting diodes(LEDs).The optic-ally pumped lasing threshold and lifetime of the ZnO microwire are reduced with the introduced HfO_(2)layer.As a result,the interface emission is of blue-shift from visible wavelengths to 394 nm whereas the ultraviolet(UV)emission is en-hanced.To regulate the interface recombination between electrons in the conduction band of ZnO and holes in the valence band of GaN,the tunneling electrons with higher conduction band are employed to produce a higher tunneling current through regulation of thin HfO_(2)film causing blue shift and interface emission enhancement.Our results provide a method to control the tunneling electrons in heterojunction for high-performance LEDs.