Experimental investigation of the inhibition of deep-sea mining sediment plumes by polyaluminum chloride

Deep-sea sediment disturbance may occur when collecting polymetallic nodules,resulting in the creation of plumes that could have a negative impact on the ecological environment.This study aims to investigate the potential solution of using polyaluminum chloride(PAC)in the water jet.The effects of PAC are examined through a self-designed simulation system for deep-sea polymetallic nodule collection and sediment samples from a potential deep-sea mining area.The experimental results showed that the optimal PAC dose was found to be 0.75 g/L.Compared with the test conditions without the addition of PAC,the presence of PAC leads to a reduction in volume,lower characteristic turbidity,smaller diffusion velocity,and shorter settling time of the plume.This indicates that PAC inhibits the entire development process of the plume.The addition of PAC leads to the flocculation of mm-sized particles,resulting in the formation of cm-sized flocs.The flocculation of particles decreases the rate of erosion on the seabed by around 30%.This reduction in erosion helps to decrease the formation of plumes.Additionally,when the size of suspended particles increases,it reduces the scale at which they diffuse.Furthermore,the settling velocity of flocs(around 10^(-2) m/s)is much higher that of compared to sediment particles(around 10^(-5) m/s),which effectively reduces the amount of time the plume remains in suspension.

The role of intestinal flora on tumorigenesis,progression,and the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies in colorectal cancer

Intestinal flora affects the maturation of the host immune system,serves as a biomarker and efficacy predictor in the immunotherapy of several cancers,and has an important role in the development of colorectal cancer(CRC).Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies have shown satisfactory results in MSI-H/d MMR CRC but performed poorly in patients with MSS/p MMR CRC.In recent years an increasing number of studies have shown that intestinal flora has an important impact on anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody efficacy in CRC patients.Preclinical and clinical evidence have suggested that anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody efficacy can be improved by altering the composition of the intestinal flora in CRC.Herein,we summarize the studies related to the influence of intestinal flora on anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody efficacy in CRC and discuss the potential underlying mechanism(s).We have focused on the impact of the intestinal flora on the efficacy and safety of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies in CRC and how to better utilize the intestinal flora as an adjuvant to improve the efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies.In addition,we have provided a basis for the potential of the intestinal flora as a new treatment modality and indicator for determining patient prognosis.

Do tau-synaptic long-term depression interactions in the hippocampus play a pivotal role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

Cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease correlates with the extent of tau pathology,in particular tau hyperphosphorylation that initially appears in the transentorhinal and related regions of the brain including the hippocampus.Recent evidence indicates that tau hyperphosphorylation caused by either amyloid-βor long-term depression,a form of synaptic weakening involved in learning and memory,share similar mechanisms.Studies from our group and others demonstrate that long-term depression-inducing low-frequency stimulation triggers tau phosphorylation at different residues in the hippocampus under different experimental conditions including aging.Conversely,certain forms of long-term depression at hippocampal glutamatergic synapses require endogenous tau,in particular,phosphorylation at residue Ser396.Elucidating the exact mechanisms of interaction between tau and long-term depression may help our understanding of the physiological and pathological functions of tau/tau(hyper)phosphorylation.We first summarize experimental evidence regarding tau-long-term depression interactions,followed by a discussion of possible mechanisms by which this interplay may influence the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.Finally,we conclude with some thoughts and perspectives on future research about these interactions.

Optimization of the grain boundary diffusion process by doping gallium and zirconium in Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets

As the channel for grain boundary diffusion(GBD)in Nd–Fe–B magnets,grain boundary(GB)phases have a very important effect on GBD.As doping elements that are commonly used to regulate the GB phases in Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets,the influences of Ga and Zr on GBD were investigated in this work.The results show that the Zr-doped magnet has the highest coercivity increment(7.97 kOe)by GBD,which is almost twice that of the Ga-doped magnet(4.32 kOe)and the magnet without Ga and Zr(3.24 kOe).Microstructure analysis shows that ZrB_(2)formed in the Zr-doped magnet plays a key role in increasing the diffusion depth.A continuous diffusion channel in the magnet can form because of the presence of ZrB_(2).ZrB_(2)can also increase the defect concentration in GB phases,which can facilitate GBD.Although Ga can also improve the diffusion depth,its effect is not very obvious.The micromagnetic simulation based on the experimental results also proves that the distribution of Tb in the Zr-doped magnet after GBD is beneficial to coercivity.This study reveals that the doping elements Ga and Zr in Nd–Fe–B play an important role in GBD,and could provide a new perspective for researchers to improve the effects of GBD.

中国沃氏突瓣叶蜂种团两新种暨分种检索表(膜翅目:叶蜂科)

厘定了中国沃氏突瓣叶蜂种团,记述了采自山西和甘肃的2新种:芦芽突瓣叶蜂Nematus luyaensis Liu,Li&Wei sp.nov.和红股突瓣叶蜂N.rubifemoratus Liu,Li&Wei sp.nov.。文中还编制了中国沃氏突瓣叶蜂种团的分种检索表。

Dynamic Prediction Method for Valuable Spare Parts Demand in Weaponry Equipment Based on Data Perception

Missile is an important weapon system of the army.The spare parts of missile equipment are significant effect on military operations.In order to improve the mission completion rate of missile equipment in wartime,this paper introduces data sensing method to forecast the demand of valuable spare parts of missile equipment dynamically.Firstly,the information related to valuable spare parts of missile equipment was obtained by data sensing,and the sample size was determined by Bernoulli uniform sampling probability.Secondly,according to the data quality of multi-source and multi-modal,the data requirement for dynamic demand prediction of valuable spare parts of missile equipment was obtained.Finally,according to the characteristics of the spare parts,the life of the spare parts was predicted,realizing the dynamic prediction of the demand for valuable spare parts of missile equipment.The results show that the demand of valuable spare parts of missile equipment can be predicted dynamically by using this method,the accuracy is higher than 95%,and the real-time performance is more excellent.

Single Failure Routing Protection Algorithm in the Hybrid SDN Network

Loop free alternate(LFA)is a routing protection scheme that is currently deployed in commercial routers.However,LFA cannot handle all single network component failure scenarios in traditional networks.As Internet service providers have begun to deploy software defined network(SDN)technology,the Internet will be in a hybrid SDN network where traditional and SDN devices coexist for a long time.Therefore,this study aims to deploy the LFA scheme in hybrid SDN network architecture to handle all possible single network component failure scenarios.First,the deployment of LFA scheme in a hybrid SDN network is described as a 0-1 integer linear programming(ILP)problem.Then,two greedy algorithms,namely,greedy algorithm for LFA based on hybrid SDN(GALFAHSDN)and improved greedy algorithm for LFA based on hybrid SDN(IGALFAHSDN),are proposed to solve the proposed problem.Finally,both algorithms are tested in the simulation environment and the real platform.Experiment results show that GALFAHSDN and IGALFAHSDN can cope with all single network component failure scenarios when only a small number of nodes are upgraded to SDN nodes.The path stretch of the two algorithms is less than 1.36.

Clopidogrel improves aspirin response after off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery

We sought to assess the incidence of aspirin resistance after off-pump coronary artery bypass （OPCAB） surgery, and investigate whether clopidogrel can improve aspirin response and be safely applied early after OPCAB surgery. Sixty patients who underwent standard OPCAB surgery were randomized into two groups. One group （30 patients） received mono-antiplatelet treatment （MAPT） with aspirin 100 mg daily and the other group received dual anfiplatelet treatment （DAPT） with aspirin 100 mg daily plus clopidogrel 75 mg daily. Platelet aggregations in response to arachi- donic acid （PLAA） and adenosine diphosphate （ADP） （PLADP） were measured preoperatively and on days 1 to 6, 8 and 10 after the antiplatelet agents were administered. A PLAA level above 20% was defined as aspirin resistance. Postoperative bleeding and other perioperative variables were also recorded. There were no significant differences between the two groups in baseline characteristics, average number of distal anastomosis, operation time, postoperative bleeding, ventilation time and postoperative hospital stay. However, the incidence of aspirin resistance was significantly lower in the DAPT group than that in the MAPT group on the first and second day after antiplatelet agents were given （62.1% vs, 32.1%, 34.5% vs. 10.7%, respectively, both P 〈 0.05）. There was no significant difference in postoperative complication between the two groups. DAPT with aspirin and clopidogrel can be safely applied to OPCAB patients early after the procedure. Moreover, clopidogrel reduces the incidence of OPCAB-related aspirin resistance.

Characterization of nitrogen-containing aromatics in Baiyinhua lignite and its soluble portions from thermal dissolution

Soluble portions(SPs) 1-4(SP1-SP4) were afforded from sequentially dissolution and alkanolyses of Baiyinhua lignite(BL) in cyclohexane,CH3OH,CH3CH2OH,and(CH3)2CHOH at 300℃.They were analyzed with a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer and quadrupole exactive orbitrap mass spectrometer(QEOTMS) with an atmosphere pressure chemical ionization source in positive-ion mode,while BL was characterized with an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer(XRPES).The results show that the yields of SP2 and SP3 are much higher than those of SP1 and SP4,and the total SP yield is ca.39.0%.According to the analysis with XRPES,pyrrolic nitrogen atoms are the most abundant nitrogen existing forms in BL.Thousands of nitrogen-containing aromatics(NCAs) were resolved with QEOTMS and their molecular masses are mainly in the range of 200-450 u.The main NCAs are N1O1 and N1O2 class species with double bond equivalent values of 4-18 and carbon numbers of 7-30.The nitrogen atoms appear in pyridine s,quinolines,benzoquinolines or acridine,and dibenzoquinolines or naphthoquinolines,while the oxygen atoms exist in methoxy and furan rings.

Efficient Routing Protection Algorithm in Large-Scale Networks

With an increasing urgent demand for fast recovery routing mechanisms in large-scale networks,minimizing network disruption caused by network failure has become critical.However,a large number of relevant studies have shown that network failures occur on the Internet inevitably and frequently.The current routing protocols deployed on the Internet adopt the reconvergence mechanism to cope with network failures.During the reconvergence process,the packets may be lost because of inconsistent routing information,which reduces the network’s availability greatly and affects the Internet service provider’s(ISP’s)service quality and reputation seriously.Therefore,improving network availability has become an urgent problem.As such,the Internet Engineering Task Force suggests the use of downstream path criterion(DC)to address all single-link failure scenarios.However,existing methods for implementing DC schemes are time consuming,require a large amount of router CPU resources,and may deteriorate router capability.Thus,the computation overhead introduced by existing DC schemes is significant,especially in large-scale networks.Therefore,this study proposes an efficient intra-domain routing protection algorithm(ERPA)in large-scale networks.Theoretical analysis indicates that the time complexity of ERPA is less than that of constructing a shortest path tree.Experimental results show that ERPA can reduce the computation overhead significantly compared with the existing algorithms while offering the same network availability as DC.

Blending Sensor Scheduling Strategy with Particle Filter to Track a Smart Target

We discuss blending sensor scheduling strategies with particle filtering (PF) methods to deal with the prob-lem of tracking a ‘smart’ target, that is, a target being able to be aware it is being tracked and act in a manner that makes the future track more difficult. We concern here how to accurately track the target with a care on concealing the observer to a possible extent. We propose a PF method, which is tailored to mix a sensor scheduling technique, called covariance control, within its framework. A Rao-blackwellised unscented Kal-man filter (UKF) is used to produce proposal distributions for the PF method, making it more robust and computationally efficient. We show that the proposed method can balance the tracking filter performance with the observer’s concealment.

Effect of ecdysterone on heteroptopic heart transplantation in rats

Objective： To investigate the protective effects of ecdysterone（EDS） on the allograft heart transplant model of rats. Methods： Fifty healthy Sprayue-Dawley（SD） rats were divided into donors and recipients randomly. Hearts were harvested and placed heterotopically into allogenic recipients. All animals were divided into three groups： sham-operation group（only opening and closing the abdomen, n=l 0）, EDS group（injected intraperitoneally with 20 mg/（kg · day） of EDS, n = 10）, and control group （injected intraperitoneally with normal saline, n = 10）. The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were analyzed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and the levels of myocardial enzymes（GOT, LDH, CPK）, SOD, ET-1, NO, MDA in serum were measured. Tissue samples underwent the detection ofapoptotic cell death by in situ terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling for apoptotic index（M） and also by immunohistochemistry method to study the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax. Results： Pathological examination and transmission electron microscope observation showed greater myocardium damage in the control group. EDS group showed a decrease in the amount of myocardial enzymes, MDA, ET-1 and an increase in the levels of SOD, NO, compared to the control group. The A1 of EDS group became lower than that of control group, meanwhile the EDS group increased the expression of Bcl-2 and decreased the expression of Bax. Conclusion： EDS has protective effects on heteroptopic heart transplantation, which provides a new idea for myocardial protection in heart transplantation. However, the mechanism of its protective effect needs further research.

Controllable synthesis of metallic Bi from commercial Bi_2O_3 via one-pot solvothermal reduction method

Metallic bismuth crystal is one important and interesting semimetal that has attracted great attention owing to its unique thermal and electrical properties. Herein, we report a facile, green, cost-effective and sustainable solvothermal process using ethanol, glycol, isopropanol, phenylcarbinol as solvent and commercial Bi_2O_3 as the starting material to produce high-purity metallic Bi with tunable morphologies on large scale. It is found that all alcohols are capable of reducing Bi_2O_3 to Bi and the reducibility of glycol is proved to be the strongest. The highest purity of the resultant Bi is calculated to be 99.74%. What's more, the morphology of final Bi particles is controllable by adding various types and concentrations of additives. As a consequence, our work lays the root for the large scale solvothermal production of high-purity Bi particles with various regular morphologies.

Highly efficient catalytic valorization of biomass-derived hexoses and furfuryl alcohol in the presence of polymer-based catalysts

The catalytic transformation of furfuryl alcohol and hexose into value-added chemicals have been investigated with a series of polymer-based catalysts including poly(styrenesulfonic acid)(PSS),graphite oxide-doped poly(styrenesulfonic acid)(PSS-GO),and graphite-doped poly(-styrenesulfonic acid)(PSS-C).It is found that the selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol to methyl levulinate(MLE)was successfully performed with PSS as the catalyst,in which a 96.4%yield is attained in methanol solvent.Moreover,the efficient dehydration of D-fructose to produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)has also been achieved using PSS-GO as the catalyst,where a 76.5%yield of HMF was obtained in Nmethylpyrrodinone solvent.The effects of reaction temperature,time and solvent were investigated.Furthermore,the used catalysts have been respectively characterized by XRD,TG,FTIR,SEM and TEM techniques to reveal the physical properties and structures of these polymeric catalytic materials.

The axisymmetric Rayleigh waves in a semi-infinite elastic solid

It is well-known that Rayleigh wave,also known as surface acoustic wave(SAW),solutions in semiinfinite solids are plane waves with signatory properties like the distinct velocity and exponentially decaying deformation in the depth.Applications of Rayleigh waves are focused on the deformation and energy in the vicinity of surface of solids and less loss in the propagation.A generalized model of Rayleigh waves in axisymmetric mode is established and solutions are obtained with cylindrical coordinates.It is found that the Rayleigh waves also propagate in the axisymmetric mode with slow decay in radius,confirming the existence of surface acoustic waves is irrelevant to coordinate system.On the other hand,the solutions can be treated as plane waves in regions far away from the source.Furthermore,the particle trajectory of axisymmetric SAW is a line with constant slope rather than the signatory ellipse in Cartesian coordinate case.

Energy-Efficient Routing Algorithm Based on Multipath Routing in Large-Scale Networks

A reduction in network energy consumption and the establishment of green networks have become key scientific problems in academic and industrial research.Existing energy efficiency schemes are based on a known traffic matrix,and acquiring a real-time traffic matrix in current complex networks is difficult.Therefore,this research investigates how to reduce network energy consumption without a real-time traffic matrix.In particular,this paper proposes an intra-domain energy-efficient routing scheme based on multipath routing.It analyzes the relationship between routing availability and energy-efficient routing and integrates the two mechanisms to satisfy the requirements of availability and energy efficiency.The main research focus is as follows:(1)A link criticality model is evaluated to quantitatively measure the importance of links in a network.(2)On the basis of the link criticality model,this paper analyzes an energy-efficient routing technology based on multipath routing to achieve the goals of availability and energy efficiency simultaneously.(3)An energy-efficient routing algorithm based on multipath routing in large-scale networks is proposed.(4)The proposed method does not require a real-time traffic matrix in the network and is thus easy to apply in practice.(5)The proposed algorithm is verified in several network topologies.Experimental results show that the algorithm can not only reduce network energy consumption but can also ensure routing availability.

Optimal patching locations and orientations for maximum energy harvesting efficiency of ultrathin flexible piezoelectric devices mounted on heart surface

Flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters(PEHs)have gained lots of attention in recent years,because of their potential biomechanical applications,such as powering implantable devices.Several in vivo animal experiments have demonstrated that the output power of a flexible PEH varies remarkably with patching orientations and locations,but the underlying mechanism remains unclear yet.Herein,an electromechanical model for a flexible PEH installed on a beating heart is proposed,and a concise relationship between the output power of the device and myocardium strain is established.The results demonstrate that the patching orientations have a significant impact on the output power of the PEH,and the optimal patching orientations for all patching locations are approximately 15–20 degree for PEHs mounted on the left ventricle.The simple theoretical method provided here would be universally effective for choosing the optimal patching locations and orientations of flexible PEHs installed on a nonhomogeneous deformed surface.

Histomorphological observation in arterial remodeling following New Zealand rabbit auto-extremity artery transplantation

Objective： To investigate the histomorphological change in auto-extremity artery following transplantation. Methods： 50 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups（postoperative 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 14 d, 56 d, n = 10）. Femoral artery was harvested and end-to-side anastomosed with carotid in order to build the auto-extremity arterial graft animal model. On the postoperative 1^st, 35^nd, 7^th, 14th and 56^th days, grafts for morphometric analysis under the Image analysis system were obtained; and electron microscope was scanned to observe endothelial cells. In addition, Immunostaining of sections were performed with the mouse monoclonal antibody of the a -smooth muscle isoform of actin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen antibody. Results： Overall patency rate for all conduits was 86%.The intimal hyperplasia was first observed in the 7^th day group, and continued to increase in the 56^th day group（183.21 ± 111.74） μ m, P 〈 0.01. Additionally, the luminal narrowed（32.43 ± 18.28）% in the 56^th day group. Smooth muscle cells were the mainly hyperplastic components. The most active proliferation of cells was detected in the 14^th day group, where the extracellular matrix gradually deposited in the intima. Conclusion： Moderate intimal hyperplasia occurred in arterial conduits and vascular structure experienced constrictive remodeling after auto-transplantation.

Correlation between Vascular Calcification and Serum Sclerostin in MHD Patients

Objective Investigate the correlation between serum sclerostinlevel and chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder(CKD-MBD),especially vascular calcification,in maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)patients.Methods This is across-sectional study,a total of 72 MHD patients were included from the first affiliated hospital of Jinan university.Measure the biochemical indicators of mineral metabolism,renal function,and serum sclerostin level by ELISA.The abdominal aorta calcification score(AACS)was assessed according to Kauppila method on lateral spine imaging using DEXA.Patients were distributed into two groups according to the level of serum sclerostin:low sclerostingroup(≤125 pg/ml)and high sclerostingroup(>125 pg/ml).Analyze the association of serum sclerostin level with the indicators of CKD-MBD.Results There was significant difference in i PTH level between high sclerost in group and low sclerost in group.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that dialysis duration,male and anuria were independent risk factor of high sclerostin level,and i PTH and Kt/V were protective factors.Conclusion Dialysis duration,man,anuria was independent risk factors and i PTH,Kt/V were protective factors of high serum sclerostin level in MHD patients.There was no correlation between abdominal aorta calcification and serum sclerostin level.

Chemical constituents and pharmacological properties of Sarcandra glabra(Thunb.)Nakai.

Sarcandra glabra(Thunb.)Nakai.,belonging to Chloranthaceae genus of Sarcandra family,is widely used as the common Chinese herbal medicine in folk.As a traditional medicinal agent,a wide spectrum of chemical constituents have been isolated from the S.glabra,including sesquiterpenoids,triperpenoids,flavonoids,coumarins,phenolic acids and volatile oil.Modern pharmacological studies have shown that S.glabra has many biological activities such as anti-cancer,hepatoprotective activity,anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic activities.For the further development of this plant,the primary chemical constitutions of S.glabra and their activities have been summarized in this study.