Three novel umami peptides derived from the alcohol extract of the Pacific oyster(Crassostrea gigas):identification,characterizations and interactions with T1R1/T1R3 taste receptors

Oyster(Crassostrea gigas),the main ingredient of oyster sauce,has a strong umami taste.In this study,three potential umami peptides,FLNQDEEAR(FR-9),FNKEE(FE-5),and EEFLK(EK-5),were identified and screened from the alcoholic extracts of the oyster using nano-HPLC-MS/MS analysis,i Umami-Scoring Card Method(i Umami-SCM)database and molecular docking(MD).Sensory evaluation and electronic tongue analysis were further used to confirm their tastes.The threshold of the three peptides ranged from 0.38 to 0.55 mg/m L.MD with umami receptors T1R1/T1R3 indicated that the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bond interaction were the main forces involved.Besides,the Phe592 and Gln853 of T1R3 were the primary docking site for MD and played an important role in umami intensity.Peptides with two Glu residues at the terminus had stronger umami,especially at the C-terminus.These results contribute to the understanding of umami peptides in oysters and the interaction mechanism between umami peptides and umami receptors.

In situ characterizations of advanced electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries toward high electrochemical performances

Energy storage is an ever-growing global concern due to increased energy needs and resource exhaustion.Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)have called increasing attention and achieved substantial progress in recent years owing to the abundance and even distribution of Na resources in the crust,and the predicted low cost of the technique.Nevertheless,SIBs still face challenges like lower energy density and inferior cycling stability compared to mature lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).Enhancing the electrochemical performance of SIBs requires an in-deep and comprehensive understanding of the improvement strategies and the underlying reaction mechanism elucidated by in situ techniques.In this review,commonly applied in situ techniques,for instance,transmission electron microscopy(TEM),Raman spectroscopy,X-ray diffraction(XRD),and X-ray absorption near-edge structure(XANES),and their applications on the representative cathode and anode materials with selected samples are summarized.We discuss the merits and demerits of each type of material,strategies to enhance their electrochemical performance,and the applications of in situ characterizations of them during the de/sodiation process to reveal the underlying reaction mechanism for performance improvement.We aim to elucidate the composition/structure-per formance relationship to provide guidelines for rational design and preparation of electrode materials toward high electrochemical performance.

Temperature characterizations of silica asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometer chip for quantum key distribution

Quantum key distribution(QKD)system based on passive silica planar lightwave circuit(PLC)asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometers(AMZI)is characterized with thermal stability,low loss and sufficient integration scalability.However,waveguide stresses,both intrinsic and temperature-induced stresses,have significant impacts on the stable operation of the system.We have designed silica AMZI chips of 400 ps delay,with bend waveguides length equalized for both long and short arms to balance the stresses thereof.The temperature characteristics of the silica PLC AMZI chip are studied.The interference visibility at the single photon level is kept higher than 95%over a wide temperature range of 12℃.The delay time change is 0.321 ps within a temperature change of 40℃.The spectral shift is 0.0011 nm/0.1℃.Temperature-induced delay time and peak wavelength variations do not affect the interference visibility.The experiment results demonstrate the advantage of being tolerant to chip temperature fluctuations.

Physic, Chemical and Mineralogical Characterizations of Clays Used in the Making of Traditional Ceramics in the City of Katiola, C ôte d’Ivoire

In C ?te d’Ivoire, traditional ceramics are widely used in the form of pottery. The latter is used to store food, water and cereals. Analyzes (X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), inductive plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analysis thermal gravimetric (ATG)) were carried out to determine the morphology, the chemical, physical and pedological constituents of these raw materials. It appears from this study that the clays used in the Mangoro pottery of Katiola contain silica SiO2, alumina Al2O3 and iron oxide Fe2O3 as well as kaolinite, muscovite, smectite and quartz.

Characterizations and identification of the candidate gene of rice thermo-sensitive genic male sterile gene tms5 by mapping

Previous study indicated that the thermo-sensitive genic malesterile(TGMS) gene in rice was regulated by temperature.TGMS rice plays an important role in hybrid rice production,because the application of the TGMS system in two-line breeding is laborsaving,timesaving,simple,inexpensive,efficient,and eliminating the limitations of the cytoplasmic male sterility(CMS) system.'AnnongS' is the first discovered and deeply studied TGMS rice lines in China.'AnnongS-1' and 'Y58S',two derivatives of TGMS line AnnongS,were both controlled by a single recessive gene named tms5,which was genetically mapped on chromosome 2.In this study,three populations('AnnongS-1' × 'Nanjing11','Y58S' × 'Q611',and 'Y58S' × 'Guanghui122') were developed and used for the molecular fine mapping of the tms5 gene.By analyzing recombination events in the sterile individuals using a total of 125 probes covering the tms5 region,the tms5 gene was physically mapped to a 19-kb DNA fragment between two markers 4039-1 and 4039-2,which were located on the BAC clone AP004039.After the construction of the physical map between two markers 4039-1 and 4039-2,a member(ONAC023) of the NAC(NAM-ATAF-CUC-related) gene family was identified as the candidate gene of the tms5 gene.

In situ characterizations of solid-solid interfaces in solid-state batteries using synchrotron X-ray techniques

The solid-solid electrode-electrolyte interface represents an important component in solid-state batteries(SSBs),as ionic diffusion,reaction,transformation,and restructuring could all take place.As these processes strongly influence the battery performance,studying the evolution of the solid-solid interfaces,particularly in situ during battery operation,can provide insights to establish the structure-property relationship for SSBs.Synchrotron X-ray techniques,owing to their unique penetration power and diverse approaches,are suitable to investigate the buried interfaces and examine structural,compositional,and morphological changes.In this review,we will discuss various surface-sensitive synchrotron-based scattering,spectroscopy,and imaging methods for the in situ characterization of solid-solid interfaces and how this information can be correlated to the electrochemical properties of SSBs.The goal is to overview the advantages and disadvantages of each technique by highlighting representative examples,so that similar strategies can be applied by battery researchers and beyond to study similar solid-solid interface systems.

Toward Molecular Cytogenetical Characterizations in Cotton Genome

Cotton is viewed as the most important cash crop in the world,and sustains the agricultural economies of many nations by providing a sustainable fiber product for the textile industry.Due to

CHARACTERIZATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL SCALING FUNCTIONS AND WAVELETS

The objective of Ibis paper is to establish precise characterizations of scaling functions which are orthonormal or fundamental.A criterion for the corresponding wavelets is also given.

Chemical and mineralogical characterizations of a copper converter slag

A copper converter slag was examined chemically and mineralogically to determine its existing phases, in particular those containing Co and Cu. The slag consists predominantly of fayalite and magnetite, together with some glass, chalcocite, and metallic copper. Copper is entrapped in the slag mostly as chalcocite and metallic copper, as well as trace copper oxide. There was no indication of any independent Co mineral in the slag, but Co was found to be enriched in fayalite and megnetite as solid solution, although Co was detected in all the phases of the slag by SEM-EDX (scanning electron microscopy equipped with model EDAX-9100 energy dispersive spectrometer) and WDS (model WDX-2A X-ray wave-length dispersive spectrometer).

Effects of structural characterizations on fragility functions of bridges subject to seismic shaking and lateral spreading

This paper evaluates the seismic vulnerability of different classes of typical bridges in California when subjected to seismic shaking or liquefaction-induced lateral spreading. The detailed structural configurations in terms of superstructure type, connection, continuity at support and foundation type, etc. render different damage resistant capability. Six classes of bridges are established based on their anticipated failure mechanisms under earthquake shaking. The numerical models that are capable of simulating the complex soil-structure interaction effects, nonlinear behavior of columns and connections are developed for each bridge class. The dynamic responses are obtained using nonlinear time history analyses for a suite of 250 earthquake motions with increasing intensity. An equivalent static analysis procedure is also implemented to evaluate the vulnerability of the bridges when subjected to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading. Fragility functions for each bridge class are derived and compared for both seismic shaking （based on nonlinear dynamic analyses） and lateral spreading （based on equivalent static analyses） for different performance states. The study finds that the fragility functions due to either ground shaking or lateral spreading show significant correlation with the structural characterizations, but differences emerge for ground shaking and lateral spreading conditions. Structural properties that will mostly affect the bridges＇ damage resistant capacity are also identified.

Study on Syntheses and Characterizations of Polymethylphenethylsilane, Polymethylcyclohexylsilane and their Copolymers

The effects of adding cosolvents of diglyme and 15 crown 5 to the reaction mixture of Wurtz type coupling of dichlorosilanes on the yield and relative molecular mass dispersity of polymethylphenethylsilane(PMPES) were discussed. The results show that addition of 10% (volume ratio of diglyme to toluene) diglyme as a cosolvent to the reaction mixture leads to the yield increase of PMPES with a monomodal distribution of relative molecular masses. Adding 10% diglyme to the reaction mixtures, the yields of polymethylcyclohexylsilane(PMCS) and copolymers (polymethylphenethylsilane co methylcyclohexylsilane), (the molar ratios of methylphenethyldichlorosilane to methylcyclohexyldichlorosilane were 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5, and the copolymers were abbreviated by Copolymers Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, respectively) are 47%, 52%, 54%, 53%, respectively. Their relative molecular masses ( w ) almost reach 10 5. These polysilanes were characterized by 1H NMR, IR and UV absorption spectrum.

Characterizations of Sobolev spaces in Euclidean spaces and Heisenberg groups

Recently, many new features of Sobolev spaces W k,p ？RN ？ were studied in [4-6, 32]. This paper is devoted to giving a brief review of some known characterizations of Sobolev spaces in Euclidean spaces and describing our recent study of new characterizations of Sobolev spaces on both Heisenberg groups and Euclidean spaces obtained in [12] and [13] and outlining their proofs. Our results extend those characterizations of first order Sobolev spaces in [32] to the Heisenberg group setting. Moreover, our theorems also provide diff erent characterizations for the second order Sobolev spaces in Euclidean spaces from those in [4, 5].

ANOTHER CHARACTERIZATIONS OF MUCKENHOUPT A_p CLASS

This manuscript addresses Muckenhoupt Ap weight theory in connection to Mor- rey and BMO spaces. It is proved that a; belongs to Muckenhoupt Ap class, if and only if Hardy-Littlewood maximal function M is bounded from weighted Lebesgue spaces LP（w） to weighted Morrey spaces Mpq（ω） for 1 〈 q 〈 p 〈 ∞. As a corollary, if M is （weak） bounded on Mpq（ω）, then ω∈Ap. The Ap condition also characterizes the boundedness of the Riesz transform Rj and convolution operators Tε on weighted Morrey spaces. Finally, we show that ω∈Ap if and only if ω∈BMOp＇ （ω） for 1 ≤ p 〈 ∞ and 1/p ＋ 1/p＇ = 1.

Nitrogen-doped graphene:Synthesis,characterizations and energy applications

Nitrogen-doped（N-doped） graphene has attracted increasing attentions because of the significantly enhanced properties in physic, chemistry, biology and material science, as compared with those of pristine graphene. By date, N-doped graphene has opened up an exciting new field in the science and technology of two-dimensional materials. From the viewpoints of chemistry and materials, this article presents an overview on the recent progress of N-doped graphene, including the typical synthesis methods, characterization techniques, and various applications in energy fields. The challenges and perspective of Ndoped graphene are also discussed. We expect that this review will provide new insights into the further development and practical applications of N-doped graphene.

CHARACTERIZATIONS ON THE THIXOTROPY-LOOP TESTS USING UCM MODEL WITH A RATE-TYPE KINETIC EQUATION

The theoretical characterizations on the triangular-form thixotropy-loop tests of an LDPE melt （PE-FSB- 23D022/Q200） were conducted in the present paper by using a new thixotropy model, which is constituted by the upper convected Maxwell model and a rate-type kinetic equation. The new thixotropic Maxwell model can partially describe well three reported thixotropy-loop experiments by comparison with the previous calculations of the variant form of the thixotropy-type Huang model. It is noted that the stress deviations between the experiments and the predictions of the new thixotropic Maxwell model are much slighter than those deviations obtained by using the variant Huang model at the same condition, although both models include five parameters. The constitution of the new thixotropic Maxwell model is more reasonable than that of the variant Huang model.

Dynamic Mechanical Characterizations and Road Performances of Flame Retardant Asphalt Mortars and Concretes

To research the dynamic mechanical properties and road performances of flame retardant asphalt mortars and mixtures, four different asphalt mortars/mixtures were prepared: a reference group and three asphalt mortars/mixtures containing composite flame retardant materials(M-FRs) of different proportions. Temperature sweep, frequency sweep, repeated creep test, force ductility test and bending beam rheological test were carried out to research the dynamic mechanical properties of asphalt mortars containing M-FRs; wheeltracking test, low-temperature bending test and freeze-thaw split test were used to study the road performances of asphalt mixtures containing M-FRs. The results show that high-temperature performances of the three flame retardant asphalt mortars improve greatly, while low-temperature cracking resistances decline. Both hightemperature performances and water stabilities of asphalt mixtures containing M-FRs are quite good and exceed the specification requirements. However, their low-temperature performances decline in different degrees. In summary, besides their good flame retardancy, the flame retardant asphalt mortars and mixtures also exhibit acceptable road performance.

Electrolyte-dependent formation of solid electrolyte interphase and ion intercalation revealed by in situ surface characterizations

The formation of solid electrolyte interphase(SEI) and ion intercalation are two key processes in rechargeable batteries, which need to be explored under dynamic operating conditions. In this work, both planar and sandwich model lithium batteries consisting of Li metal | ionic liquid electrolyte | graphite electrode have been constructed and investigated by a series of in situ surface analysis platforms including atomic force microscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is found that the choice of electrolyte, including the concentration and contents, has a profound effect on the SEI formation and evolution, and the subsequent ion intercalation. A smooth and compact SEI is preferably produced in highconcentration electrolytes, with FSI^(-) salt superior to TFSI^(-) salt, facilitating the lithiation/delithiation to achieve high capacity and excellent cycle stability, while suppressing the co-intercalation of electrolyte solvent ions. The innovative research scenario of well-defined model batteries in combination with multiple genuinely in situ surface analysis methods presented herein leads to insightful results, which provide valuable strategies for the rational design and optimization of practical batteries, and energy storage devices in general.

Physico-Chemical and Mineralogical Characterizations of Two Togolese Clays for Geopolymer Synthesis

Geopolymers are an alternative to Portland cement, well known for their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Finding materials that can validly replace Portland cement is a challenge. It is in this logic that this work was undertaken with the objective of characterizing two local clay resources of Togo as raw materials for geopolymers. The physico-chemical properties of these clays were determined by characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric (TGA) and elemental analysis (ICP-OES). The results show that these clays contain kaolinite and therefore can be used in the formulation of geopolymers. The characterized clays underwent heat treatments transforming the crystalline phases into more reactive amorphous phases and then were activated by an alkaline solution in order to formulate the geopolymer materials. These elaborated materials were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared to identify the types of bonds formed. The results of these analyses show that these two local clays are well suited to be used in synthesizing geopolymers. Our future work will focus on the constraints of consolidation as well as the mechanical properties of these geopolymer materials.

Physicochemical and Mineralogical Characterizations of Wastes Coming from Phosphate Ore Processing of Hahotoéand KpogaméMines

In the framework of various phosphates discharges valorization, we have realized physicochemical and mineralogical characterizations of these discharges. We have undertaken the physicochemical and mineralogical characterizations of this waste by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis and Atomic Emission Spectrometry Coupled to an Inductive Plasma Source. The results of these analyze show that phosphate sludge and screen rejects could be used in ceramics, in the manufacture of aggregates, in agriculture and other fields. On the other hand, rich magnetic waste could be used in heterogeneous photocatalysis in waste liquids treatment.

In‐situ structural characterizations of electrochemical intercalation of graphite compounds

Graphite carbon has been successfully used for the anode materials of secondary ion batteries due to its capability of accommodating ions between graphite layers.The intercalation dynamics intrinsically determine the performance of the batteries.In this review,we summarize recent research progresses of structural characterizations on graphite intercalation in electrochemical devices,especially on the in‐situ study on the intercalations of Li/Na/K ions,AlCl4−and other anions,or solvents.These techniques,including X‐ray,electron microscopy,Raman,neutron scattering,nuclear magnetic resonance,and optical microscopy provide direct information of the reaction dynamics and help to understand the factors affecting the electrochemical performances of metallic ion batteries.