NEW INITIATION SYSTEMS FOR ATOM TRANSFER RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

This review summarizes our achievements in designing new initiation systems for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). First-order kinetics and extension experiments revealed the living nature of these reactions. Tailor- made vinyl polymers with functional end groups were characterized by 1H-NMR and UV-vis spectroscopic analyses. Replacing traditional radical initiators AIBN and BPO, carbon-carbon bond compounds, 1,1,2,2-tetraphenyl-1,2-ethanediol, diethyl 2,3-dicyano-2,3-diphenylsuccinate and diethyl 2,3-dicyano-2,3-di(p-tolyl)succinate, were utilized in reverse ATRP to produce the initiating radical. Sulfur-sulfur bond iniferter, tetraethylthiuram disulfide (TD), in conjunction with CuBr/bpy or NiCl2/PPh3 complex could control the styrene polymerization via redox reaction. Pseudo-halogen transfer reaction was demonstrated to maintain the dormant-active species equilibrium in normal and reverse ATRP with Cu(S2CNEt2), Cu(S2CNEt2)Cl and Fe(S2CNEt2)3 as catalysts. The organic halide initiator and reduced transition metal compound that started the living polymerization were produced in situ from the components of TD/FeCl3/PPh3, TD/CuBr2/bpy and Fe(S2CNEt2)3/FeCl3/PPh3 systems. Accurate control of UV irradiation time favored the radical generation process in photo ATRP with the 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone/Fe(S2CNEt2)3 initiation system.

New initiation system for polymerization of acryl acid

The redox initiation system for polyacrylate sodium of high molecular mass was designed and its effect with varying component dosage on the degree of polymerization was investigated. The results show that the proper type and amount of inorganic salt, as well as amine initiator, are conductive to the increase of degree of polymerization. The fine ingredient of the initiation system is as follows:the dosages of amine, persulphate and inorganic salt are 0.75%, 0.10% and 1.00% by mass based on acryl acid respectively, the molar ratio of sulphite to the persulphate is 1:1. Under such conditions the degree of polyacrylate can reach 7.43×107 with a acceptable polymerization time for industrial production.

Corrigendum to“Nitrosamines crisis in pharmaceuticals-Insights on toxicological implications,root causes and risk assessment:A systematic review”[J.Pharm.Anal.14(2024)100919]

Original statement in the Section 2:2.Literature search Our primary screening of 180 articles yielded the relevant data for this study.2.1.Study selection A total of 180 articles spanning from 1960 to the present day,including original research,reviews,case reports and studies reporting nitrosamine impurities above the no-observed-adverse-effect levels(NOAEL)established by regulatory agencies,were initially screened.During the primary screening,we considered factors such as relevance,publication date,access to the full article text,and content.

Effects of the initiation position on the damage and fracture characteristics of linear-charge blasting in rock

To study the effects of the initiation position on the damage and fracture characteristics of linear-charge blasting, blasting model experiments were conducted in this study using computed tomography scanning and three-dimensional reconstruction methods. The fractal damage theory was used to quantify the crack distribution and damage degree of sandstone specimens after blasting. The results showed that regardless of an inverse or top initiation, due to compression deformation and sliding frictional resistance, the plugging medium of the borehole is effective. The energy of the explosive gas near the top of the borehole is consumed. This affects the effective crushing of rocks near the top of the borehole, where the extent of damage to Sections Ⅰ and Ⅱ is less than that of Sections Ⅲ and Ⅳ. In addition, the analysis revealed that under conditions of top initiation, the reflected tensile damage of the rock at the free face of the top of the borehole and the compression deformation of the plug and friction consume more blasting energy, resulting in lower blasting energy efficiency for top initiation. As a result, the overall damage degree of the specimens in the top-initiation group was significantly smaller than that in the inverse-initiation group. Under conditions of inverse initiation, the blasting energy efficiency is greater, causing the specimen to experience greater damage. Therefore, in the engineering practice of rock tunnel cut blasting, to utilize blasting energy effectively and enhance the effects of rock fragmentation, using the inverse-initiation method is recommended. In addition, in three-dimensional(3D) rock blasting, the bottom of the borehole has obvious end effects under the conditions of inverse initiation, and the crack distribution at the bottom of the borehole is trumpet-shaped. The occurrence of an end effect in the 3D linear-charge blasting model experiment is related to the initiation position and the blocking condition.

Frost heaving and crack initiation characteristics of tunnel rock mass in cold regions under low-temperature degradation

Water freezing in rock fractures causes volumetric expansion and fracture development through frost heaving.This study introduces a novel analytical model to investigate how uneven freezing force and surrounding rock pressure influence fracture initiation,based on mass conservation,elasticity,and water-ice phase transition principles.A model for rock fracture initiation considering freezing temperature,uneven freezing expansion,in-situ stress,and lateral pressure was proposed based on fracture mechanics.Equations for stress intensity factors were developed and validated using the phase field method.The effects of rock elastic modulus anisotropy and critical fracture energy density on fracture initiation were also discussed.The results show that the values of KI and KII exhibit an upward trend as the freezing temperature,uneven expansion,in-situ stress,and lateral pressure increase.The uneven freezing expansion has the most significant influence on KI and KII values among these parameters.As the uneven freezing expansion coefficient increases to 0.5,the fracture initiation mode shifts from tensile fracture to shear fracture.As the lateral pressure coefficient increases to 1,the fracture initiation mode shifts from tensile fracture to shear fracture.Rock elastic modulus anisotropy causes fractures to propagate in a clockwise direction,forming a'butterfly'pattern.Critical fracture energy density an isotropy causes counterclockwise deviation in propagation direction,resulting in branching paths and an'H'-shaped pattern.

A hybrid CNN-LSTM model for diagnosing rice nutrient levels at the rice panicle initiation stage

Nitrogen(N)and potassium(K)are two key mineral nutrient elements involved in rice growth.Accurate diagnosis of N and K status is very important for the rational application of fertilizers at a specific rice growth stage.Therefore,we propose a hybrid model for diagnosing rice nutrient levels at the early panicle initiation stage(EPIS),which combines a convolutional neural network(CNN)with an attention mechanism and a long short-term memory network(LSTM).The model was validated on a large set of sequential images collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)from rice canopies at different growth stages during a two-year experiment.Compared with VGG16,AlexNet,GoogleNet,DenseNet,and inceptionV3,ResNet101 combined with LSTM obtained the highest average accuracy of 83.81%on the dataset of Huanghuazhan(HHZ,an indica cultivar).When tested on the datasets of HHZ and Xiushui 134(XS134,a japonica rice variety)in 2021,the ResNet101-LSTM model enhanced with the squeeze-and-excitation(SE)block achieved the highest accuracies of 85.38 and 88.38%,respectively.Through the cross-dataset method,the average accuracies on the HHZ and XS134 datasets tested in 2022 were 81.25 and 82.50%,respectively,showing a good generalization.Our proposed model works with the dynamic information of different rice growth stages and can efficiently diagnose different rice nutrient status levels at EPIS,which are helpful for making practical decisions regarding rational fertilization treatments at the panicle initiation stage.

Molecular cloning,characterization and promoter analysis of LbgCWIN1 and its expression profiles in response to exogenous sucrose during in vitro bulblet initiation in lily

Lily(Lilium spp.) is an important ornamental flower, which is mainly propagated by bulbs. Cell wall invertases(CWINs), which catalyze the irreversibly conversion of sucrose into glucose and fructose in the extracellular space, are key enzymes participating in sucrose allocation in higher plants. Previous studies have shown that CWINs play an essential role in bulblet initiation process in bulbous crops, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here, a CWIN gene of Lilium brownii var. giganteum(Lbg) was identified and amplified from genomic DNA. Quantitative RT-PCR assays revealed that the expression level of LbgCWIN1 was highly upregulated exactly when the endogenous starch degraded in non-sucrose medium during in vitro bulblet initiation in Lbg. Phylogenetic relationship, motif, and domain analysis of LbgCWIN1 protein and CWINs in other plant species showed that all sequences of these CWIN proteins were highly conserved. The promoter sequence of LbgCWIN1 possessed a number of alpha-amylase-, phytohormone-, light-and stress-responsive cis-elements. Meanwhile, β-glucuronidase(GUS) assay showed that the 459 bp upstream fragment from the translational start site displayed maximal promoter activity. These results revealed that LbgCWIN1 might function in the process of in vitro bulblet initiation and be in the response to degradation of endogenous starch.

Shock Initiation Experiments with Modeling on a DNAN Based MeltCast Insensitive Explosive

2,4-dinitroanisole(DNAN)is a good replacement for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene(TNT)in melt-cast explosives due to its superior insensitivity.With the increasing use of DNAN-based melt-cast explosives,the prediction of reaction violence and hazard assessment of the explosives subjected to shock is of great significance.This study investigated the shock initiation characteristics for a DNAN-based melt-cast explosive,DHFA,using the one-dimensional Lagrangian apparatus.The embedded manganin gauges in the apparatus record the pressure histories at four Lagrangian positions and show that shock-todetonation transition in DHFA needs a high input shock pressure.The experimental data are analyzed to calibrate the Ignition and Growth model.The calibration is performed using an objective function based on both pressure history and the arrival time of shock.Good agreement between experimental and calculated pressure histories indicates the high accuracy of the calibrated parameters with the optimization method.

Numerical simulation for the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems

Numerical simulation is employed to investigate the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems.Nucleation and propagation processes are illustrated for pentadisperse and triadisperse particle systems,respectively.In these processes,particles involved in the avalanche grow slowly in the early stage and explosively in the later stage,which is clearly different from the continuous and steady growth trend in the monodisperse system.By examining the avalanche propagation,the number growth of particles involved in the avalanche and the slope of the number growth,the initial state can be divided into three stages:T1(nucleation stage),T2(propagation stage),T3(overall avalanche stage).We focus on the characteristics of the avalanche in the T2 stage,and find that propagation distances increase almost linearly in both axial and radial directions in polydisperse systems.We also consider the distribution characteristics of the average coordination number and average velocity for the moving particles.The results support that the polydisperse particle systems are more stable in the T2 stage.

Drone systems for delivering defibrillators for sudden cardiac arrests

Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs),or drones,that were initially developed for military use during World War I[1],have evolved into highly sophisticated aircraft that can be navigated remotely using global positioning systems.With constant improvements,drones have become more efficient,and cost-effective,with longer battery life and greater loading capacity.Today,UAVs have proven to be an effective and affordable solution for enhancing healthcare accessibility for patients who face geographical or infrastructural barriers.Using drone networks can greatly reduce the time transporting life-saving equipment,such as delivering automated external defibrillators(AEDs),to cardiac arrest victims,and can provide quick assistance to reduce travel time for the patients.

Actors of Psychoactive Drug Initiation among Adolescents in Yaoundé-Cameroon

Introduction: Actors of psychoactive drug initiation refer to those who introduce others to psychoactive drug use (initiators) and those who are introduced to psychoactive drugs (users). By identifying their features, better prevention and intervention programs can be developed to reduce psychoactive drug use among adolescents. This article describes the role of actors of psychoactive drug initiation among teenagers in secondary schools in Yaoundé (Cameroon). Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out in twelve secondary schools in Yaoundé from October 2022 to May 2023. Adolescents from Form four to upper sixth, who assented to participate in the study and received parental consent were included. Data were collected in a structured self-reported questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS 23. Quantitative variables were expressed using means, standard deviations, median and interquartile ranges depending on the distribution of data. Qualitative variables were expressed in the form of frequency and percentages. Results: Drug use was more prevalent among male adolescents (55.3%) from nuclear families (91.4%) who received relatively high pocket money. The main sources of drug exposure were non-family members (49.7%), especially friends outside school. The most frequent place of initiation was snack bars (33.1%). Conclusion: The study revealed the importance of the family, friends and leisure places in the initiation process of drug use in teenagers. Based on these results, parents and school authorities should work together to create a safe and supportive environment that fosters communication, education to prevent drug abuse among adolescents in Yaoundé.

Timing of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Initiation in Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions

This review examines the application of continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT)in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury(S-AKI),with a particular focus on the timing of CRRT initiation.This review addresses the controversy surrounding initiation timing and proposes future research directions.Through a systematic review of recent literature on CRRT for S-AKI,working principles,therapeutic mechanisms,initiation timing of CRRT,and related meta-analyses were summarized.Current studies indicate that the optimal timing for CRRT initiation in S-AKI patients remains inconclusive,with ongoing debate regarding whether early initiation significantly improves patient survival and renal function.This lack of consensus reflects the heterogeneity of the S-AKI patient population and the limitations of existing research methodologies.Future studies should focus on advancing the application of precision medicine in S-AKI and developing individualized treatment strategies by integrating multidimensional information to optimize CRRT utilization and improve patient outcomes.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 5A2 and human digestive system neoplasms

Eukaryotic initiation factor 5A2(eIF5A2),as one of the two isoforms in the family,is reported to be a novel oncogenic protein that is involved in multiple aspects of many types of human cancer.Overexpression or gene amplification of EIF5A2 has been demonstrated in many cancers.Accumulated evidence shows that eIF5A2 initiates tumor formation,enhances cancer cell growth,increases cancer cell metastasis,and promotes treatment resistance through multiple means,including inducing epithelial–mesenchymal transition,cytoskeletal rearrangement,angiogenesis,and metabolic reprogramming.Expression of eIF5A2 in cancer correlates with poor survival,advanced disease stage,as well as metastasis,suggesting that eIF5A2 function is crucial for tumor development and maintenance but not for normal tissue homeostasis.All these studies suggest that eIF5A2 is a useful biomarker in the prediction of cancer prognosis and serves as an anticancer molecular target.This review focuses on the expression,subcellular localization,post-translational modifications,and regulatory networks of eIF5A2,as well as its biochemical functions and evolving clinical applications in cancer,especially in human digestive system neoplasms.

Translocation and Distribution of Carbon-Nitrogen in Relation to Rice Yield and Grain Quality as Affected by High Temperature at Early Panicle Initiation Stage

Due to climate change, extreme heat stress events have become more frequent, adversely affecting rice yield and grain quality. The accumulation and translocation of dry matter and nitrogen substances are essential for rice yield and grain quality. To assess the impact of high temperature stress(HTS) at the early panicle initiation(EPI) stage on the accumulation, transportation, and distribution of dry matter and nitrogen substances in various organs of rice, as well as the resulting effects on rice yield and grain quality, pot experiments were conducted using an indica rice cultivar Yangdao 6(YD6) and a japonica rice cultivar Jinxiangyu 1(JXY1) under both normal temperature(32 ℃/26 ℃) and high temperature(38 ℃/29 ℃) conditions. The results indicated that exposure to HTS at the EPI stage significantly decreased rice yield by reducing spikelet number per panicle, grain-filling rate, and grain weight. However, it improved the nutritional quality of rice grains by increasing protein and amylose contents. The reduction in nitrogen and dry matter accumulation accounted for the changes in spikelet number per panicle, grain-filling rate, and grain size. Under HTS, the decrease in nitrogen accumulation accompanied by the reduction in dry matter may be due to the down-regulation of leaf net photosynthesis and senescence, as evidenced by the decrease in nitrogen content. Furthermore, the decrease in sink size limited the translocation of dry matter and nitrogen substances to grains, which was closely related to the reduction in grain weight and the deterioration of grain quality. These findings significantly contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of HTS on grain yield and quality formation from the perspective of dry matter and nitrogen accumulation and translocation. Further efforts are needed to improve the adaptability of rice varieties to climate change in the near future.

Characterization of subduction initiation

Compression is required for all kinds of subduction initiations,which may cause either subsidence or uplift,depending on the ages of the oceanic plates.Subduction initiations associated with the old oceanic crust tend to amplify preexisting subsidence by compression,whereas those associated with young oceanic plates may result in uplift.

Coupling between the Cenozoic west Pacific subduction initiation and decreases of atmospheric carbon dioxides

At the beginning of the Cenozoic,the atmospheric CO_(2)concentration increased rapidly from~2000 ppmv at 60 Ma to~4600 ppmv at 51 Ma,which is 5–10 times higher than the present value,and then continuous declined from~51 to 34 Ma.The cause of this phenomenon is still not well understood.In this study,we demonstrate that the initiation of Cenozoic west Pacific plate subduction,triggered by the hard collision in the Tibetan Plateau,occurred at approximately 51 Ma,coinciding with the tipping point.The water depths of the Pacific subduction zones are mostly below the carbonate compensation depths,while those of the Neo-Tethys were much shallower before the collision and caused far more carbonate subducting.Additionally,more volcanic ashes erupted from the west Pacific subduction zones,which consume CO_(2).The average annual west Pacific volvano eruption is 1.11 km~3,which is higher than previous estimations.The amount of annual CO_(2)absorbed by chemical weathering of additional west Pacific volcanic ashes could be comparable to the silicate weathering by the global river.We propose that the initiation of the western Pacific subduction controlled the long-term reduction of atmospheric CO_(2)concentration.

Brassinosteroids Mediate Endogenous Phytohormone Metabolism to Alleviate High Temperature Injury at Panicle Initiation Stage in Rice

High temperatures cause physiological and biochemical changes and significantly affect young panicle development of rice(Oryza sativa L.).Brassinosteroids play important roles in enhancing crop stress resistance.In this study,we subjected rice cultivars Huanghuazhan(heat-resistant)and IR36(heat-sensitive)to high temperature(HT,40 oC)or normal temperature(NT,33 oC)for 7 d at the panicle initiation stage,in conjunction with application of 24-epibrassinolide[EBR,a synthetic brassinolide(BR)]or brassinazole(BRZ,a BR biosynthesis inhibitor)at the beginning of the treatments.HT exacerbated spikelet degeneration and inhibited young panicle growth,which were partially prevented by EBR application,while BRZ application aggravated the reduction in spikelet number.HT decreased the contents of BR,active cytokinins(aCTK),active gibberellins(aGA)and indole-3-acetic acid(IAA),but increased the content of abscisic acid(ABA)in young panicles.The activities of key enzymes involved in sucrose hydrolysis,glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle in young panicles were decreased with the change of endogenous hormone levels under HT.In addition,the contents of H2O2 and malondialdehyde(MDA)were increased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were decreased in young panicles.Exogenous application of EBR induced the expression of phytohormone biosynthesis-related genes and down-regulated the expression of phytohormone catabolism-related genes to increase the contents of endogenous BR,aCTK,aGA and ABA,thus promoting the decomposition and utilization of sucrose in young panicles,enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase,catalase and peroxidase,and reducing the accumulation of H2O2 and MDA in young panicles,whereas application of BRZ had the opposite physiological effects.These results showed that brassinosteroids mediate endogenous phytohormone metabolism to alleviate HT injury at the panicle initiation stage in rice.

Initial-state dependence of phase behaviors in a dense active system

There are rich emergent phase behaviors in non-equilibrium active systems.Flocking and clustering are two representative dynamic phases.The relationship between both the phases is still unclear.Herein,we numerically investigate the evolution of flocking and clustering in a system consisting of self-propelled particles with active reorientation.We consider the interplay between flocking and clustering phases with different initial configurations,and observe a domain in steady state order parameter phase diagrams sensitive to the choice of initial configurations.Specifically,by tuning the initial degree of polar ordering,either a more ordered flocking or a disordered clustering state can be observed in the steady state.These results enlighten us to manipulate emergent behaviors and collective motions of an active system,and are qualitatively different from the emergence of a new bi-stable regime observed in aligned active particles due to an explicit attraction[New J.Phys.14073033(2012)].

STUDIES ON THE KINETICS AND INITIATION MECHANISM OF ACRYLAMIDE POLYMERIZATION USING CERIC/ACETOACETANILIDE SYSTEM AS INITIATOR

It is found that acetoacetanilide possesses very high promoting reactivity towards ceric ion in initiating polymerization of vinyl monomer. The kinetics of acrylamide polymerization and the activation energies were studied. The initiation mechanism of ceric/acetoacetanilide is proposed on the basis of experimental results of FT-IR and ESR.

Design of in-line multipoint initiation control system

In order to improve the power of initiating explosive warheads, besides exploring new type of high explosive, multipoint initiation technology becomes the research focus. With research on electronic safety and arming devices （ESADs）, pulse power devices and slapper detonators, a hardware control circuit was designed for multipoint initiation control system based on complex programmable logic device （ CPLD ）. In addition, a real-time monitoring interface based on virtual instru- ments technology was designed by the prevailing software of Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineer- ing Workbench （LabVIEW）. It provides users a real-time status of the hardware circuit system. Mo- reover, a series of experiments were done on the software and hardware platform. The results show that the signals transmission, collection, analysis and display can be realized reliably through a serial port line. It is verified that using a serial bus controller for multiple initiators is reasonable. Successful design of the platform will play an important foundation for the theory and engineering of the fu- ture weapon system. Surely, it will become one of the development directions for intelligent initia- tion system.