Slippery hydrogel with desiccation-tolerant‘skin’for high-precision additive manufacturing

Hydrogels inevitably undergo dehydration,structural collapse,and shrinkage deformation due to the uninterrupted evaporation in the atmosphere,thereby losing their flexibility,slipperiness,and manufacturing precision.Here,we propose a novel bioinspired strategy to construct a spontaneously formed‘skin’on the slippery hydrogels by incorporating biological stress metabolites trehalose into the hydrogel network,which can generate robust hydrogen bonding interactions to restrain water evaporation.The contents of trehalose in hydrogel matrix can also regulate the desiccation-tolerance,mechanical properties,and lubricating performance of slippery hydrogels in a wide range.Combining vat photopolymerization three-dimensional printing and trehalose-modified slippery hydrogels enables to achieve the structural hydrogels with high resolution,shape fidelity,and sophisticated architectures,instead of structural collapse and shrinkage deformation caused by dehydration.And thus,this proposed functional hydrogel adapts to manufacture large-scale hydrogels with sophisticated architectures in a long-term process.As a proof-of-concept demonstration,a high-precision and sophisticated slippery hydrogel vascular phantom was easily fabricated to imitate guidewire intervention.Additionally,the proposed protocol is universally applicable to diverse types of hydrogel systems.This strategy opens up a versatile methodology to fabricate dry-resistant slippery hydrogel for functional structures and devices,expanding their high-precision processing and broad applications in the atmosphere.

Desiccation Alters the Stability and Distribution of Pea Seed_borne Mosaic Virus in Pea (Pisum sativum) Cotyledon Cells

As a seed transmitted pathogen, pea seed_borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) not only replicates in embryonic cells but can also withstand seed desiccation. To understand the mechanism of PSbMV tolerance to seed desiccation, the authors compared the stability of viral coat protein (CP) and the distribution of viral particles in the cotyledon cells of pea (Pisum sativum L.) embryos collected before and after the dehydration process. Before dehydration, when the embryo was fresh and immature, degradation of CP was observed and a predominantly perinuclear distribution of viral particles in the cotyledon cells was evident. After dehydration, when the embryo was dry and mature, degradation of CP did not occur and the perinuclear viral distribution disappeared. Instead, aggregates containing PSbMV CP were found in the cytoplasm. Electron microscopy showed that these aggregates were composed of PSbMV particles. The formation of PSbMV particle aggregates is apparently triggered by seed dehydration and may be favorable to the virus survival in the desiccated embryonic cells.

Study on Desiccation and Collection Models for Banana Stems

In this study, 8 kinds of desiccation models and 3 kinds of collection models were studied for banana stems. The results showed that the crushing-com- pression-air drying processing model showed the best desiccation effect for banana stems. Under this desiccation model, the moisture content was reduced from 90.5% to 19.93% with weight reduced by 75.2%; after 3 to 6 months of storage, the mois- ture content was still remained within 17%-20%, and the volume was decreased to 30%-40% of the original volume of fresh banana stems. This desiccation model made banana stems basically meet the requirements by drying storage. The plant- cutting down-crushing-compression-transportation-desiccation-storage production model was initially developed for desiccation and collection of banana stems, which would lay a certain foundation for the utilization of banana stem resource by enterprises.

Desiccation tolerance in bryophytes： the rehydration proteomes of Bryum argenteum provide insights into the resuscitation mechanism

Bryum argenteum Hedw. is a desiccation tolerant bryophyte and belongs to one of the most important components of the biological soil crusts （BSCs） found in the deserts of Central Asia. Limited information is available on rehydration-responsive proteins in desiccation tolerant plants. As a complement to our previous research analyzing the rehydration transcriptome, we present a parallel quantitative proteomic effort to study rehydration-responsive proteins. Bryophyte gametophores were desiccated （Dry） and rehydrated for 2 h （R2） and 24 h （R24）. Proteins from Dry, R2 and R24 gametophores were labeled by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation （iTRAQ） to determine the relative abundance of rehydration-responsive proteins. A total of 5503 non-redundant protein sequences were identified and 4772 （86.7%） protein sequences were annotated using Gene Ontology （GO） terms and Pfam classifications. Upon rehydration 239 proteins were elevated and 461 proteins were reduced as compared to the desiccated protein sample. Differentially up-regulated proteins were classified into a number of categories including reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes, detoxifying enzymes, Late Embryogenesis Abundant （LEA） proteins, heat shock proteins, proteasome components and proteases, and photosynthesis and translation related proteins. Furthermore, the results of the correlation between transcriptome and proteome revealed the discordant changes in the expression between protein and mRNA.

Electron paramagnetic resonance study of amphiphiles partitioning behavior in desiccation-tolerant moss during dehydration

Desiccation tolerance is a crucial characteristic for desert moss surviving in arid regions. Desiccation procedure always induces amphiphiles transferring from the polar cytoplasm into lipid bodies. The behavior of amphiphiles transferring can contribute to the enhancement of desiccation tolerance and the reduction of plasma membrane integrity simultaneously. The effects of amphiphiles partitioning into the lipid phase during water loss has been studied for pollen and seeds using electron paramagnetic resonance （EPR） spectroscopy. However, desiccation-tolerant high plants occur among mosses, several angiosperms and higher plants seeds or pollens. They have different strategies for survival in dehydration and rehydration. A desiccation-tolerant moss Tortula desertorurn was used to investigate the behaviors of amphiphilic molecules during drying by spin label technology. There are small amount of amphiphilic probes partitioning into membrane during moss leaves dehydration, comparing with that in higher plants. Cytoplasm viscosity changed from 1.14 into glass state only dehydration less than 60 min. Moss leaves lost plasma membrane integrity slightly,from 0.115 to 0.237, occurred simultaneously with amphiphiles partition. The results showed the more advantages of mosses than higher plants in adapting fast dehydration. We propose that EPR spin label is feasible for studying the amphiphiles partitioning mechanisms in membrane protection and damage for desiccation-tolerant mosses.

Rates of oxygen consumption and tolerance of hypoxia and desiccation in Chinese black sleeper(Bostrichthys sinensis)and mudskipper(Boleophthalmus pectinirostris)embryos

The rates of oxygen consumption, tolerance of hypoxia and desiccation of the Chinese black sleeper （ Bostrichthys sinensis） and mudskipper （Boleophthalmus pectinirostris） embryos were investigated. The pattern of oxygen consumption of the Chinese black sleeper embryos was similar to that of the mudskipper ones. The lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （ 1.65 ±0. 66） nmol/ （ind. ·h） ] of the Chinese black sleeper embryos 16 h after fertilization and the lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （0.79± 0.08 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） ] of the mudskipper embryos 6 h after fertilization were recorded, respectively. Then the rates of oxygen consumption of these two species embryos increased gradually until hatching [ （8.26 ± 1.70 ） nmolf（ ind.· h） in the Chinese black sleeper, （2.69 ± 0.23 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） in mudskipper]. After exposure to hypoxia water （0.16 mg/dm^3）, bradycardia of the embryos occurred in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper. However, the Chinese black sleeper embryos survived approximately 45 min longer than the mudskipper ones. After exposure to desiccation at a relative humidity of 58%, bradycardia of the embryos was observed in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper, and the Chinese black sleeper embryos lived approximately 9 min longer than the mudskipper ones.

Somatic embryogenesis and peroxidase activity of desiccation tol-erant mature somatic embryos of loblolly pine

White, translucent, glossy mucilaginous callus was initiated from the mature zygotic embryos explants on callus induction medium with 2,4-D, BA, and kinetin in the 3-9th week of culture. This type of callus induction occurred at a lower fre-quency with either a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or IBA (both 8 mg/L). White, translucent, glossy mucilaginous callus was embryogenic and mainly developed from the cotyledons of the mature zygotic embryo. Somatic embryos were formed on dif-ferentiation medium. Desiccation tolerance can be induced by culturing somatic embryos of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) on medium supplemented with 50 mm abscisic acid (ABA) and/or 8.5% polyethylene glycol (PEG6000). Scanning electron micros-copy of desiccated somatic embryos showed that the size and external morphology of the desiccation tolerant somatic embryos recovered to the pre-desiccation state within 24-36 h, whereas the sensitive somatic embryos did not recover and remained shriveled, after the desiccated somatic embryos had been rehydrated. Peroxidase activity of desiccated somatic embryos in-creased sharply after 3 days of desiccation treatment, and desiccation tolerant somatic embryos had higher peroxidase activity compared to sensitive somatic embryos. Higher peroxidase activity of desiccation tolerant somatic embryos was possibly ad-vantage of catalyzing the reduction of H2O2 which was produced by drought stress, and protecting somatic embryos from oxida-tive damage.

Effects of leachate infiltration and desiccation cracks on hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay

Both cracks in clay liner and the complex composition of landfill leachate might have effects on the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay liner. In this study, the hydraulic conductivities of natural clay and bentonite-modified clay with and without desiccation cracks were measured, respectively, using three types of liquids as permeating liquid： 2 500 mg/L acetic acid solution, 0.5 mol/L CaCl2 solution, and tap water. When tap water was adopted as the permeating liquid, desiccation cracks resulted in increases in the average value of hydraulic conductivity： a 25-fold increase for the natural clay and a 5.7-fold increase for the bentonite-modified clay. It was also found out that the strong selfhealing capability of bentonite helped to reduce the adverse impact of cracks on hydraulic performance. In contrast to tap water, simulated leachates（acetic acid and CaCl2 solutions） show no adverse effect on the hydraulic conductivities of natural and bentonite-modified clays. It is concluded that desiccation cracks and bentonite have more significant effects on hydraulic performance than simulated leachates.

Influence of Desiccation Time on Survival and Regeneration of Embryonic Axes of Groundnut (<i>Arachis hypogaea</i>L.) Immersed in Liquid Nitrogen

Cryopreservation, the storage of biological materials in liquid nitrogen (LN), is a useful method for long term conservation of plant germplasm. This study was carried out with the objective of establishing an efficient desiccation technique for successful cryopreservation and recovery of embryonic axes of groundnut. Embryonic axes of four groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes were evaluated. The excised embryonic axes were dehydrated by air current of a laminar air flow cabinet for different duration (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 hrs) before being plunged in LN (-196℃) and held for 1 hr. Samples were thawed in water bath at 40℃?for 2 min, thereafter cultured on MS medium supplemented with 15 mg/L BAP for recovery. Highest survival (96.67%-100%) and shoot formation (91.67%-96.67%) were obtained at an average moisture content of 17% after 4-5 hr desiccation. Among the genotypes evaluated, Samnut 22 and Samnut 23 recorded the highest survival and shoot formation. This technique therefore appears promising for cryopreservation of groundnut germplasm.

Desiccation versus Re-Flooding: Heavy Metals Mobilization—Part 1

From the restoration point of view, heavy metals distribution and seasonal variation were studied in the re-flooded marshes of the Mesopotamia, southern Iraq. As part of the ecological recovery assessment of these newly inundated marshes, it is important to investigate the extend impact of 13 years of desiccation after five years of inundation on the heavy metals mobilization from the marshland downstream into the Shatt Al-Arab River and examine whether these marshlands retain their role of acting as sink of metals. The result shows significant differences between the re-flooded marshes versus the reference marsh, which indicates that desiccation cased changes in environmental variables and divided the one homogeneous system of the Mesopotamia into separated systems. In addition, the special distribution of heavy metals show that Al-Hawizeh and Al-Hammar marshlands were efficient for metals reduction, especially for Ni, while the Central marshland has the major contribution as source to metals. As a conclusion, the recovery potential of three marshlands is strongly controlled by the hydrological status of the marshland and the degree of the desiccation impact. The environmental status of the semidried marshes, Al-Souda north and Um Al-Niaaj, as well as the completely Abu Zarag dried marsh are exhibiting a positive recovery degree than the other monitored marshes in the Mesopotamia in comparison to the reference marsh.

Effect of Desiccation of Marine Environment on Beam Structure

This paper presents the study on the effect of desiccation for different part of offshore structure corresponding to the water level. A coupled elastoplastic damage model is proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of cement-based materials under external loading and desiccation, in which both the plastic and damage behaviors under multi-axial stress are considered in composition with the desiccation effect. The comparison between numerical simulation and experimental data indicates that the proposed model can well predict the mechanical characteristics of cement-based materials with different saturations. In addition, a series of small beams subjected to desiccation are further analyzed to reveal the response of structure in the drying process.

Ultrastructural analysis of the loss of desiccation tolerance in germinating Eremanthus erythropappus seeds

Eremanthus erythropappus(DC.)MacLeish is an important forest species native to the Brazilian savanna biome,an environment with well-defined rainy and dry seasons.Its seeds are desiccation tolerant,non-dormant and dispersed at the end of dry season.This exposes them to the first sporadic rains that can trigger germination but the subsequent dry days can compromise survival of the newly germinated seed.This study evaluates if the damages caused by drying of germinating E.erythropappus seeds,at the stage when they have lost desiccation tolerance,are lethal.The percentage of normal seedlings was evaluated when seeds with different imbibition times were dried to their initial water content and then pre-humidified and rehydrated.Desiccation tolerance was fully lost after 0.5 mm of hypocotyl-radicle protrusion(approximately 72 h)when the radicle had root hairs,a possible indicator of sensitivity to desiccation.Disintegration of cell contents and ultrastructural damage to the seeds subjected to drying were observed by electron scanning microscope.Root hairs disappeared after drying,reappearing after pre-humidification,possibly an attempt to increase the surface area of the radicle for water uptake.However,the hypocotylradicle axis became darkened,probably by antioxidant system failure,causing seed death.

Effect of high light and desiccation on photosystem Ⅱ in the seedlings and mature plants of tropical seagrass Enhalus acoroides during low tide

During low tide,the intertidal seagrass Enhalus acoroides is often exposed to high light and desiccation,which can seriously threaten its survival,at least partly by inhibiting photosystem Ⅱ(PSⅡ)activity.The response of leaves of E.acoroides to high light and desiccation was compared for seedlings and mature plants.Results show that the resistance of seedling and mature leaves to high light was quite similar,but to desiccation was very different.Seedling leaves were more sensitive to desiccation than the mature plant leaves,but had better water retention.The damage of desiccation to seedling leaves was mainly caused by dehydration,whereas that to mature plant leaves was caused by hypersaline toxicity.The recovery rate of PSⅡ of seedling leaves was significantly slower than that of the mature plants after the stresses disappeared,which may at least partly contribute to seedling mortality in the wild.In addition,compared to high light,desiccation seriously inhibited the recovery rate of PSⅡ activities even if the leaves became fully rehydrated to their normal relative water content(RWC)in the following re-immersion.Desiccation inhibited the recovery rate of RC/CS_(M)(reaction center per cross section(at t=t_(Fm)))to decrease the production of assimilatory power,which maybe the cause of the slower PSⅡ recovery in desiccation treatments.This study demonstrates that desiccation particularly coupling with high light have a very negative ef fect on the PSⅡ of E.acoroides during low tide and the sensitivity of seedlings and mature plants to desiccation is significantly different,which have important reference significance to choose an appropriate transplanting depth where seedlings and mature plants of E.acoroides not only receive sufficient light for growth,but also that minimize desiccation stress during low tide.

Self-desiccation Effect of High Performance Concrete

Effects of water to binder ratio (m(W)/m(B)), types and addition content of mineral admixtures ont he autogenous relative humidity (ARH) change of concrete resulting from self-desiccation were studies. The parameters of coefficient of mineral self-desiccation-effect ka nd efficient water to binder ratio r(e) were proposed, and experimental results were fitted non-linearly and analyzed using these proposed parameters. The experimental results indicate that ARH reduction of concrete at different ages increases with the decrease of m(W)/m(B). The ARH changes laws of concrete with m(W)/m(B) lower than 0.4 can be expressed with a non-linear equation. The extent of the effect of types and addition content of mineral admixures on ARH reduction of concrete resulting from self-desiccation can be reflected by the non-linear equation with the parameter of efficient water to binder ratio r(e) effectively.

Effect of desiccation on regeneration frequency of green plantlets and some biochemical properties of calli of wild rice

Wild rice is an important resource of usefulgenes to rice breeders. However, low regener-ation frequency is an obstacle to use the valu-able genes. We used desiccation to improve theregeneration frequency and studied the bio-chemical changes of calli of wild rice after des-iccation.Materials used in this experiment werewild species O. rufipogon, O. meyeriana, O.alta, and O. brachyantha. Young panicles(0.1-0. 5 cm in length of the inflorescence)

Performance analysis of three-stage liquid desiccant deep dehumidification processor driven by heat pump

A new type of a heat pump driven three-stage lithium bromide liquid desiccant deep dehumidification processor is presented,which can dehumidify the outdoor humid air to a rather dry state,even when there is no available indoor exhaust air.The test results show that with an outdoor air temperature of 28 to 31 ℃ and an outdoor air humidity ratio of 11 to 14 g/kg,the supply air temperature and the supply air humidity ratio are 1.6 to 2.6 ℃ and 2.6 to 3.0 g/kg,respectively,and the coefficient of performance（COP）of the processor is 1.8.During the test,a liquid pipeline link problem leading to mixture losses of hot and cold liquid desiccants is found.These pipelines are modified.Then,the performance of the modified processor is investigated.And the experimental results show that with an outdoor air temperature of 25 to 32 ℃ and an outdoor air humidity ratio of 18 to 21 g/kg,the supply air temperature and the supply air humidity ratio are 3.2 to 4.0 ℃ and 3.4 to 3.6 g/kg,respectively,and the COP is 2.8.Finally,a mathematical model of the processor is established.The comparison of the simulation results and the test results of the processor exhibits that the pipeline modification improves the performance by about 20%.

Properties of Advanced Adsorbent for Solid Desiccant Cooling

Characteristics of 13x molecular sieve, silica gel and DH 5 and DH 7 prepared by authors, were investigated for the solid desiccant cooling system. The adsorption isotherms of DH 5 and DH 7 were experimentally determined. The performance parameters of adsorption capacity, air humidity, regeneration temperature and cooling volume were tested and discussed in detail. The results show that the properties of new adsorbents DH 5 and DH 7 on desiccant cooling are much better than those of common desiccants. The maximum adsorption volumes of water on DH 5 and DH 7 are 0.72?kg/kg and 0.73 ?kg/kg, respectively. The desiccant cooling volumes of DH 7and DH 5 are 2.2 and 1.3 times larger than those of silica gel and 13x(molecular sieve), respectively, after regeneration at 100?℃. The cooling volume per mass unit of DH 5 is 1.9 times larger that of 13x.

Liquid drying of BeO gelcast green bodies using ethanol as liquid desiccant

BeO gelcast green bodies were dried by liquid drying method with liquid desiccant ethanol.Effects of ethanol concentration,solids loading and aspect ratio of green body on the moisture and shrinkage of green bodies were studied through measuring mass and dimension.Additionally,liquid drying stress was analyzed and a model of the initial stage drying stress was established.The results show that higher ethanol concentration,lower solids loading and higher aspect ratio of gelcast green bodies increase the drying rate.Increasing the ethanol concentration decreases the shrinkage rate.Liquid drying stress is generated due to a non-uniform drying rate.During the process of liquid drying,the inner drying stress of the green body changes from compressive stress to tensile stress,while the outer drying stress changes from tensile stress to compressive stress.

Performance analysis on a novel water chiller using liquid desiccant

A new type of liquid desiccant water chiller for applications on air-conditioning and refrigeration is introduced.The system can be driven by low-grade heat sources with temperatures of 60 to 80 ℃,which can be easily obtained by a flat plat solar collector,waste heat,etc.A numerical model is developed to study the system performance.The effects of different parameters on performance are discussed,including evaporating temperature,regenerating temperature,ambient condition,and mass flow rates of closed moist air and regenerating air.The results show that an acceptable performance of a cooling capacity of 2.5 kW and a coefficient of performance of 0.37 can be achieved in a reference case.The regenerating temperature and the humidity ratios of ambient air are two main factors affecting system performance,while the temperature of ambient air functions less.In addition,the mass flow rate of regenerating air and closed moist air should be carefully determined for economical operation.

Solid Desiccant Dehumidification Techniques Inspired from Natural Electroosmosis Phenomena

Electroosmosis has been shown to be an effective means of different applications in various fields such as Micro-Electro-Mechanical systems （MEMS） and biomimetics applications. This paper aims to prove the concept that the electroosmosis phenomena can also be cooperated into larger scale applications in the building service industry like dehumidification or damping proof. The electroosmotic flow inside a porous medium is validated experimentally to further understand the dehumidification mechanism of combined techniques. An experimental test validates that the condensation from the porous medium can be obtained by electroosmotic force generated by external electric field, especially for specific desiccant powders like zeolite and diatomaceous earth. With a range of volts from 5 V to 20 V applying between the testing plates, the maximum flow rate through the cross section in the testing plate achieved during the peak period is 1.35 laL＇min 1. These promising phenomena can act as an alternative way for energy choice in dehumidification industrial field. Further researches on new regeneration methods for solid desiccant dehumidification are required to make the system simple, energy-saving and suitable for small air conditioning units.