Extended wet sieving method for determination of complete particle size distribution of general soils

The traditional standard wet sieving method uses steel sieves with aperture?0.063 mm and can only determine the particle size distribution(PSD)of gravel and sand in general soil.This paper extends the traditional method and presents an extended wet sieving method.The extended method uses both the steel sieves and the nylon filter cloth sieves.The apertures of the cloth sieves are smaller than 0.063 mm and equal 0.048 mm,0.038 mm,0.014 mm,0.012 mm,0.0063 mm,0.004 mm,0.003 mm,0.002 mm,and 0.001 mm,respectively.The extended method uses five steps to separate the general soil into many material sub-groups of gravel,sand,silt and clay with known particle size ranges.The complete PSD of the general soil is then calculated from the dry masses of the individual material sub-groups.The extended method is demonstrated with a general soil of completely decomposed granite(CDG)in Hong Kong,China.The silt and clay materials with different particle size ranges are further examined,checked and verified using stereomicroscopic observation,physical and chemical property tests.The results further confirm the correctness of the extended wet sieving method.

The Effect of Key Nodes on theMalware Dynamics in the Industrial Control Network

As industrialization and informatization becomemore deeply intertwined,industrial control networks have entered an era of intelligence.The connection between industrial control networks and the external internet is becoming increasingly close,which leads to frequent security accidents.This paper proposes a model for the industrial control network.It includes a malware containment strategy that integrates intrusion detection,quarantine,and monitoring.Basedonthismodel,the role of keynodes in the spreadofmalware is studied,a comparisonexperiment is conducted to validate the impact of the containment strategy.In addition,the dynamic behavior of the model is analyzed,the basic reproduction number is computed,and the disease-free and endemic equilibrium of the model is also obtained by the basic reproduction number.Moreover,through simulation experiments,the effectiveness of the containment strategy is validated,the influence of the relevant parameters is analyzed,and the containment strategy is optimized.In otherwords,selective immunity to key nodes can effectively suppress the spread ofmalware andmaintain the stability of industrial control systems.The earlier the immunization of key nodes,the better.Once the time exceeds the threshold,immunizing key nodes is almost ineffective.The analysis provides a better way to contain the malware in the industrial control network.

Ginsenoside Rg1 protects against ischemia-induced neuron damage by regulating the rno-miRNA-27a-3p/PPARγaxis

A preliminary miRNA screening showed that expression levels of rno-miRNA-27a-3p were significantly increased in the serum and brain tissues of rats undergoing cerebral ischemia.In recent years,there is evidence of the protective capacity of the saponins extracted from panax ginseng and its primary active ingredient ginsenosideRg1oncerebral ischemic injury.Methods:Fetal rat neurons(FRNs)were cultured in glucose-and-serumfree medium and exposed to hypoxia to establish a cerebral ischemia model in vitro(oxygen and glucose deprivation model,OGD).Antioxidant indexes(CAT,SOD),inflammatory markers(MPO,TNF-αand IL-6),and the expression of apoptosis and proliferation associated proteins(NF kB-p65,Caspase 3-cleaved,BCL-2)were examined.Results:Pre-treatment of Rg1(30–100μg/mL)could effectively inhibit the decline of antioxidant indexes(CAT,SOD)and increase in inflammatory markers(MPO,TNF-αand IL-6),and effectively inhibited the apoptosis in FRNs induced by OGD in a gradient-dependent manner.The mechanism analysis showed that the role of Rg1 in protecting against ischemia-induced neuron damage depends on its indirect up-regulation of PPAR protein via suppression of rnomiRNA-27a-3p.Moreover,these effects of Rg1 could be reversed by exogenous rno-miRNA-27a-3p and PPAR gene silencing in FRNs exposed to OGD.Conclusion:To summarize,our study demonstrates that Rg1 could effectively attenuate neuronal damage caused by cerebral ischemia via the rno-miRNA-27a-3p/PPARγpathway.Further,clarification of the novel mechanism will certainly improve our previous understanding of the role of Rg1 and enhancing its level in treatments for alleviating ischemic brain injury.

Temporal and spatial variation of cloud cover in arid regions of Central Asia in the last 40 years

Water resources are one of the key factors restricting the development of arid areas,and cloud water resources is an important part of water resources.The arid region of central Asia is the core region of the current national green silk road construction,and is the largest arid region in the world.Based on cloud cover data of ECMWF,the current study analyzed temporal and spatial characteristics of cloud properties in arid regions of Central Asia between 1980 and 2019.Our findings show that:(1)From the point of view of spatial distribution,total cloudiness in arid regions of Central Asia was low in the south and high in the north.The distribution of high cloud frequency and medium cloud frequency was higher in the south and lower in the north,while low cloud frequency distribution was low in the south and high in the north.(2)In terms of time,the variation of cloud cover and cloud type frequency had obvious seasonal characteristics.From winter to spring,cloud cover increased,and the change of cloud type frequency increased.From spring to summer,cloud cover continued to increase and the change of cloud type frequency increased further.Cloud cover began to decrease from summer to autumn,and the change of cloud type frequency also decreased.(3)Generally,average total cloud cover decreased in most of central Asia,and high and medium cloud cover increased while low cloud cover decreased.This study provides a reference for the rational development of cloud resources in the region.

β-血红蛋白病基因组编辑治疗的研究进展

β-血红蛋白病(β-hemoglobinopathies)是严重危害人类健康的6种常见疾病之一,尽管其遗传分子机制已被阐释清楚,但目前除异基因骨髓移植外尚还缺乏根治性的治疗策略。近年来,基因组编辑技术的迅速发展及其在人造血干祖细胞中的应用为β-血红蛋白病的治疗开辟了新的方向。针对血红蛋白的基因突变,可利用同源重组介导的细胞内源性DNA损伤修复途径直接修复遗传缺陷,也可以利用非同源末端连接机制沉默抑制胎儿血红蛋白表达的分子,重新激活胎儿血红蛋白的表达以缓解β-血红蛋白病人的临床症状。本文从β-血红蛋白病的基因组编辑策略及尝试、临床转化平台的要素分析等方面对该病的基因组编辑治疗的研究进展展开综述,以期为β-血红蛋白病新型治愈方案的研究以及基因组编辑技术的临床转化提供参考。

Surface characteristics analysis of fractures induced by supercritical CO_(2)and water through three-dimensional scanning and scanning electron micrography

Morphology of hydraulic fracture surface has significant effects on oil and gas flow,proppant migration and fracture closure,which plays an important role in oil and gas fracturing stimulation.In this paper,we analyzed the fracture surface characteristics induced by supercritical carbon dioxide(SC-CO_(2))and water in open-hole and perforation completion conditions under triaxial stresses.A simple calculation method was proposed to quantitatively analyze the fracture surface area and roughness in macro-level based on three-dimensional(3D)scanning data.In micro-level,scanning electron micrograph(SEM)was used to analyze the features of fracture surface.The results showed that the surface area of the induced fracture increases with perforation angle for both SC-CO_(2)and water fracturing,and the surface area of SC-CO_(2)-induced fracture is 6.49%e58.57%larger than that of water-induced fracture.The fractal dimension and surface roughness of water-induced fractures increase with the increase in perforation angle,while those of SC-CO_(2)-induced fractures decrease with the increasing perforation angle.A considerable number of microcracks and particle peeling pits can be observed on SC-CO_(2)-induced fracture surface while there are more flat particle surfaces in water-induced fracture surface through SEM images,indicating that fractures tend to propagate along the boundary of the particle for SC-CO_(2)fracturing while water-induced fractures prefer to cut through particles.These findings are of great significance for analyzing fracture mechanism and evaluating fracturing stimulation performance.

Porous catalytic membranes for CO_(2)conversion

Catalytic CO_(2)conversion has witnessed a dynamic growth in recent decades.Various materials have been applied to reduce CO_(2)into fuels and value-added chemicals.Normally,the powder-based catalysts cannot be directly utilized for CO_(2)conversion.Much attention was paid to the study of catalytic membranes in order to overcome this issue,since it is convenient for catalytic membranes to be employed in devices for practical applications.In this review,the recent research development of porous catalytic membranes for CO_(2)conversion is summarized.The preparations of representative porous catalytic membranes and their CO_(2)conversion methods,including electrocatalysis,photocatalysis,photoelectrocatalysis,thermalcatalysis and biocatalysis,are discussed in detail.This review is expected to provide deep understanding on the utilization of porous catalytic membranes for CO_(2)conversion.

Wet-Chemical Synthesis and Applications of Semiconductor Nanomaterial-Based Epitaxial Heterostructures

Semiconductor nanomaterial-based epitaxial heterostructures with precisely controlled compositions and morphologies are of great importance for various applications in optoelectronics,thermoelectrics,and catalysis.Until now,various kinds of epitaxial heterostructures have been constructed.In this minireview,we will first introduce the synthesis of semiconductor nanomaterial-based epitaxial heterostructures by wet-chemical methods.Various architectures based on different kinds of seeds or templates are illustrated,and their growth mechanisms are discussed in detail.Then,the applications of epitaxial heterostructures in optoelectronics,catalysis,and thermoelectrics are described.Finally,we provide some challenges and personal perspectives for the future research directions of semiconductor nanomaterial-based epitaxial heterostructures.

Comparative Analysis of Proanthocyanidins and Polysaccharides on Wild Lycium ruthenicum

[Objectives] To compare content of proanthocyanidins and polysaccharides in wild Lycium ruthenicum. [Methods] The wild L. ruthenicum collected from different regions such as Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Gansu Province were taken as the research objects. The conventional indicators such as proanthocyanidins and polysaccharides of the experimental materials were determined, and the proanthocyanidins and polysaccharides of the experimental materials in different regions were compared and analyzed. The difference in content and correlation, and the cluster analysis method were used to divide clusters of the experimental materials. [Results] The absorbance of proanthocyanidins in the fruit of wild L. ruthenicum was No.4>No.1>No.5>No.6>No.3>No.2, among which the absorbance of anthocyanin(2.43) of wild L. ruthenicum variety No.4 was significantly higher than other experimental materials(P<0.05), and proanthocyanidin of No.2 had the lowest absorbance value of 1.35. There was no significant difference between No.3 and No.6(P>0.05), and there were significant differences among other experimental materials(P<0.05). The content of polysaccharides was: No.3>No.7>No.2>No.4>No.5>No.6>No.1; there was no significant difference between No.3 and No.7(P>0.05), but significantly higher than other materials(P<0.05). Besides, proanthocyanidins and polysaccharides showed significant variability, but there was no consistency in the correlation between them. [Conclusions] In terms of the absorbance of proanthocyanidins, the experimental materials No.1 and No.4 can be classified into a cluster; experimental materials No.2, No.3, No.5 and No.6 can be classified into another cluster. This can provide a theoretical basis for the introduction and breeding of fine varieties.

A review on current anode materials for rechargeable Mg batteries

There is an increasing demand for rechargeable batteries in high-performance energy storage systems.The current dominating Li-ion batteries are limited by price,resource availability,as well as their theoretical capacities.So that the community has started to explore alternative battery chemistries.As a promising multivalent battery type,rechargeable magnesium batteries(RMBs)have attracted increasing attention because of high safety,high volumetric energy density,and low cost thanks to abundant resource of Mg.However,the development of high-performance anodes is still hampered by formation of passivating layers on the Mg surface.Additionally,dendrites can also grow under certain conditions with pure Mg anodes,which requires further studies for reliable operation window and substitutes.Therefore,this review specifically aims to provide an overview on the often overlooked yet very important anode materials of RMBs,with the hope to inspire more attention and research efforts for the achievement of over-all better performance of future RMBs.c 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of Chongqing University.

P-wave velocity prediction in porous medium with liquid-pocket patchy saturation

It becomes increasingly clear that non-uniform distribution of immiscible fluids in porous rock is particularly relevant to seismic wave dispersion.White proposed a patchy saturation model in 1975, in which spherical gas pockets were located at the center of a liquid saturated cube.For an extremely light and compressible inner gas,the physical properties can be approximated by a vacuum with White's model.The model successfully analyzes the dispersion phenomena of a P-wave velocity in gas-watersaturated rocks.In the case of liquid pocket saturation, e.g., an oil-pocket surrounded by a water saturated host matrix, the light fluid-pocket assumption is doubtful, and few works have been reported in White's framework.In this work, Poisson's ratio, the bulk modulus, and the effective density of a dual-liquid saturated medium are formulated for the heterogeneous porous rocks containing liquid-pockets.The analysis of the difference between the newly derived bulk modulus and that of White's model shows that the effects of liquid-pocket saturation do not disappear unless the porosity approaches zero.The inner pocket fluid can no longer be ignored.The improvements of the P-wave velocity predictions are illustrated with two examples taken from experiments, i.e., the P-wave velocity in the sandstone saturated by oil and brine and the P-wave velocity for heavy oils and stones at different temperatures.

Anti-nutritional characteristics and mechanism of soybean agglutinin

Soybean agglutinin(SBA)is an important anti-nutritional factor in soybean.SBA can induce animal growth inhibition,cause pathological changes of intestinal tissue,and decrease in the immune system functioning.Recently,a great deal of research has been done on the effects of SBA on cell morphology,division,apoptosis,autophagy,as well as the correlated signal transduction pathway.This review mainly covers the chemical and biological characteristics of SBA,describes the multifaceted aspects of SBA anti-nutritional functions,and highlights the possible cellular and molecular mechanism of anti-nutritional effects of SBA.This review has important implications for the prevention and treatment of SBA-induced diseases,drug development,processing techniques of plant products,prevention of food-borne toxins,as well as human and animal health protection.

Subchronic Exposure of Apigenin Induces Hepatic Oxidative Stress in Male Rats

Apigenin (4’, 5, 7-trihydroxyflavone, AP), a dietary flavonoid, is reported to have several therapeutic effects in different diseases including cancer. In the present study, in order to explore the potential mechanism and provide the references for further studies, we investigated the effect of apigenin at various dosages on the hepatic oxidative stress of male rats. Totally 48 SD male rats were randomly divided into control group (saline, 1 ml/100g·bw), low-dose group (AP, 234 mg/kg·bw), middle-dose group (AP, 468 mg/kg·bw) and high-dose group (AP, 936 mg/kg·bw). The rats were administered with apigenin or saline via intragastriation once a day, 6 days per week, and 5 consecutive weeks. Rats were sacrificed and the livers were harvested and then immediately preserved at ﹣20°C. Liver homogenate was prepared before detection. Hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide syntheses (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and glutathione (GSH) were determined by colorimetric methods according to the provided procedures. The weights of liver and spleen in apigenin treatment groups did not reveal statistically significant difference when compared with that in the control group (P > 0.05). Total protein (TP), albumin (ALB) and globulin (GLO) in apigenin treatment groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). SOD in the middle-dose group (AP, 468 mg/kg·bw) and high-dose group (AP, 936 mg/kg·bw) were significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). T-AOC, CAT and GSH-Px in apigenin treatment groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). In high-dose AP group (AP, 936 mg/kg·bw), apigenin can result in the reduction of T-AOC, thus leading to the oxidative damage of liver tissues. In contrast, in middle-dose AP group (AP, 468 mg/kg·bw), apegenin can reduce the elimination capacity of oxygen free radicals.

The twisted conical Kahler-Ricci solitons on Fano manifolds

In this paper,we show the relation between the existence of twisted conical K?hler-Ricci solitons and the greatest log Bakry-Emery-Ricci lower bound on Fano manifolds.This is based on our proofs of some openness theorems on the existence of twisted conical Kahler-Ricci solitons,which generalize Donaldson’s existence conjecture and the openness theorem of the conical K?hler-Einstein metrics to the conical soliton case.

Josephin domain containing 2(JOSD2)promotes lung cancer by inhibiting LKB1(Liver kinase B1)activity

Non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)ranks as one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide.Despite the prominence and effectiveness of kinase-target therapies in NSCLC treatment,these drugs are suitable for and beneficial to a mere~30%of NSCLC patients.Consequently,the need for novel strategies addressing NSCLC remains pressing.Deubiquitinases(DUBs),a group of diverse enzymes with well-defined catalytic sites that are frequently overactivated in cancers and associated with tumorigenesis and regarded as promising therapeutic targets.Nevertheless,the mechanisms by which DUBs promote NSCLC remain poorly understood.Through a global analysis of the 97 DUBs’contribution to NSCLC survival possibilities using The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database,we found that high expression of Josephin Domain-containing protein 2(JOSD2)predicted the poor prognosis of patients.Depletion of JOSD2 significantly impeded NSCLC growth in both cell/patient-derived xenografts in vivo.Mechanically,we found that JOSD2 restricts the kinase activity of LKB1,an important tumor suppressor generally inactivated in NSCLC,by removing K6-linked polyubiquitination,an action vital for maintaining the integrity of the LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex.Notably,we identified the first small-molecule inhibitor of JOSD2,and observed that its pharmacological inhibition significantly arrested NSCLC proliferation in vitro/in vivo.Our findings highlight the vital role of JOSD2 in hindering LKB1 activity,underscoring the therapeutic potential of targeting JOSD2 in NSCLC,especially in those with inactivated LKB1,and presenting its inhibitors as a promising strategy for NSCLC treatment.

学习反向设计声学超材料以提高性能

弹性超材料可被用于实现多种特殊功能,例如振动控制和波操纵,其中吸声是声学超材料完成的典型任务.利用机器学习方法反向设计超材料因利用数据驱动且不依赖经验的优势而备受关注,成为重要的设计范式之一.但现有的工作大多集中在验证反向设计神经网络的设计准确性,很少有人探索如何利用神经网络进行反向设计以提高材料性能.为此,我们的工作研究了反向设计框架在提升3D多尺度空腔型声学超材料的声学性能方面的能力.框架中有正向和反向网络,在训练过程中将目标吸声曲线(100~10000 Hz)作为反向网络的输入,并输出具有满足此吸声曲线的相应超材料结构,随后将其输入正向网络进行声学性能评估.结果表明,经过训练的前向网络可对超过训练集结构参数范围的结构(既“未见过”的结构)进行高精度性能预测,因此具有较高泛化性能.更重要的是,反向网络能够自发地采用超出范围限制的结构参数,以确保满足平均吸声系数高于训练集中任何数据的吸声目标,因此可利用反向设计突破训练集中数据的声学性能,进行性能优化.通过超限探索,反向设计精度从仅有9.2%的设计拥有<0.0001的均方误差显着提高到99.6%.最后,利用案例证明神经网络拥有的超限探索能力对旨在提高性能的反向设计有重要意义.希望这项工作能为更高性能弹性超材料的优化设计提供支撑.

Design and fabrication of high-performance injectable self-setting trimagnesium phosphate

Magnesium phosphate bone cement has become a widely used orthopedic implant due to the advantages of fast-setting and high early strength. However, developing magnesium phosphate cement possessing applicable injectability, high strength, and biocompatibility simultaneously remains a significant challenge. Herein, we propose a strategy to develop high-performance bone cement and establish a trimagnesium phosphate cement (TMPC) system. The TMPC exhibits high early strength, low curing temperature, neutral pH, and excellent injectability, overcoming the critical limitations of recently studied magnesium phosphate cement. By monitoring the hydration pH value and electroconductivity, we demonstrate that the magnesium-to-phosphate ratio could manipulate the components of hydration products and their transformation by adjusting the pH of the system, which will influence the hydration speed. Further, the ratio could regulate the hydration network and the properties of TMPC. Moreover, in vitro studies show that TMPC has outstanding biocompatibility and bone-filling capacity. The facile preparation properties and these advantages of TMPC render it a potential clinical alternative to polymethylmethacrylate and calcium phosphate bone cement. This study will contribute to the rational design of high-performance bone cement.

Ce:GdYAG phosphor-in-glass:An innovative yellow-emitting color converter for solid-state laser lighting

Stable,efficient and high color rendering index all-inorganic color converters are urgently demanded for white laser diodes.Phosphor-in-glass(PiG),possessing the advantages of phosphors excellent quantum efficiency as well as favorable chemical and thermal stability of glass,has attracted widespread attention.There have been only very few reports of Y_(1.31)Ce_(0.09)Gd_(1.6)Al_(5)O_(12)(Ce:GdYAG)PiG for solid-state laser light-ing.Herein,a series of Ce:GdYAG PiG samples are fabricated by a simple solid-state sintering method.Impressively,the supreme internal quantum efficiency of as-prepared PiG is 91%,which is very close to original phosphors(95%).Furthermore,PiG exhibits a high thermal conductivity(1.844 W m^(−1)K^(−1))and a maximum transparency(62%).Remarkably,by changing the concentration of phosphors and the thickness of PiG samples,a luminous efficacy of 163.5 lm/W,high color rendering index of 74.8 and low correlated color temperature of 4806.8 K are achieved under blue laser irradiation.These results indicate that the Ce:GdYAG PiG samples have shown tremendous application foreground as all-inorganic color converter for solid-state laser lighting.

When optical microscopy meets all-optical analog computing:A brief review

As a revolutionary observation tool in life science,biomedical,and material science,optical microscopy allows imaging of samples with high spatial resolution and a wide field of view.However,conventional microscopy methods are limited to single imaging and cannot accomplish real-time image processing.The edge detection,image enhancement and phase visualization schemes have attracted great interest with the rapid development of optical analog computing.The two main physical mechanisms that enable optical analog computing originate from two geometric phases:the spin-redirection Rytov-Vlasimirskii-Berry(RVB)phase and the Pancharatnam-Berry(PB)phase.Here,we review the basic principles and recent research progress of the RVB phase and PB phase based optical differentiators.Then we focus on the innovative and emerging applications of optical analog computing in microscopic imaging.Optical analog computing is accelerating the transformation of information processing from classical imaging to quantum techniques.Its intersection with optical microscopy opens opportunities for the development of versatile and compact optical microscopy systems.

Recent progress in intermetallic nanocrystals for electrocatalysis:From binary to ternary to high-entropy intermetallics

Developing sustainable and clean energy-conversion techniques is one of the strategies to simultaneously meet the global energy demand,save fossil fuels and protect the environment,in which nanocatalysts with high activity,selectivity and durability are of great importance.Intermetallic nanocrystals,featuring their ordered atomic arrangements and predictable electronic structures,have been recognized as a type of active and durable catalysts in energy-related applications.In this minireview,the very recent progress in the syntheses and electrocatalytic applications of noble metal-based intermetallic nanocrystals is summarized.Various synthetic strategies,including the conventional thermal annealing approach and its diverse modifications,as well as the wet-chemical synthesis,for the construction of binary,ternary and high-entropy intermetallic nanocrystals have been discussed with representative examples,highlighting their strengths and limitations.Then,their electrocatalytic applications toward oxygen reduction reaction,small molecule oxidation reactions,hydrogen evolution reaction,CO_(2)/CO reduction reactions,and nitrogen reduction reaction are discussed,with the emphasis on how the ordered intermetallic structures contribute to the enhanced performance.We conclude the minireview by addressing the current challenges and opportunities of intermetallic nanocrystals in terms of syntheses and electrocatalytic applications.