Melting Characteristics and Wettability of Binding Phase in Sinter

The melting characteristics and wettability of the binding phase in high basicity sinter were studied. By changing nCaO∶nFe2O3 （molar ratio of CaO to Fe2O3） as well as the percentage of MgO,SiO2,and Al2O3,the melting characteristics and wettability of the binding phase were discussed. The results indicated that the characteristic melting temperature was the lowest and wettability was the best at nCaO∶nFe2O3=1∶1 （without addition）; the addition of MgO increased the characteristic melting temperature and contact angles; when the percentage of SiO2 or Al2O3 was 3%,the characteristic melting temperature was the lowest,whereas the contact angles increased with an increase in SiO2 and Al2O3 contents.

The Adelphocoris lineolatus OBP4: Support for evolutionary and functional divergence of a mirid pheromone-binding protein from that found in lepidopteran moths

Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) have been extensively investigated in lepidopteran moths, but their evolution and function in hemipteran species remain unclear. Our previous study demonstrated that an odorant-binding protein, OBP4, of the mirid bug Adelphocoris lineolatus functions as a candidate hemipteran PBP but clustered with lepidopteran antennae-binding proteins (ABPs) rather than in the PBP/general odorant-binding protein (GOBP) clade. In this study, we hypothesized that origin and function of PBPs in hemipteran bugs may differ from those of lepidopteran moths. To test this hypothesis, we first constructed a phylogenetic tree using insect OBPs from sister hemipteran and holometabolous lineages, and the results indicated that neither OBP4 nor other types of candidate PBPs of mirid bugs clustered with the lepidopteran PBP/GOBP clade. Then, a fluorescence competitive binding assay was employed to determine binding affinities of recombinant OBP4 protein to host plant volatiles, with functional groups different from A. lineolatus sex pheromone components. The results revealed that OBP4 highly bound the female adult attractant 3-hexanone and 15 other mirid bug biologically active plant volatiles. Finally, we examined cellular expression profiles of OBP4 in putative antennal sensilla that are related to female A. lineolatus host plant location. The fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunocytochemical labeling assay showed that the OBP4 gene was highly expressed in the multiporous olfactory sensilla medium-long sensilla basiconica rather than in the short sensilla basiconica or uniporous sensilla chaetica. These results, together with those of our previous studies, indicate that OBP4 not only functions in recognition of bug-produced sex pheromones in males, but is probably involved in detection of host plant volatiles in both A. lineolatus sexes. Our findings support the hypothesis that the origin and function of PBPs in hemipteran bugs differ from those of well-known PBPs in lepidopteran moths, which provides a novel perspective on evolutionary mechanisms of sex pheromone communication across insect orders.

Metallized siligraphene nanosheets （SiC7） as high capacity hydrogen storage materials

A planar honeycomb monolayer of siligraphene （SIC7） could be a prospective medium for clean energy storage due to its light weight, and its remarkable mechanical and unique electronic properties. By employing van der Waals- induced first principles calculations based on density functional theory （DFT）, we have explored the structural, electronic, and hydrogen （H2） storage characteristics of SiC7 sheets decorated with various light metals. The binding energies of lithium （Li）, sodium （Na）, potassium （K）, magnesium （Mg）, calcium （Ca）, scandium （Sc）, and titanium （Ti） dopants on a SiC7 monolayer were studied at various doping concentrations, and found to be strong enough to counteract the metal clustering effect. We further verified the stabilities of the metallized SiC7 sheets at room temperature using ab initio molecular dynamics （MD） simulations. Bader charge analysis revealed that upon adsorption, due to the difference in electronegativity, all the metal adatorns donated a fraction of their electronic charges to the SiC7 sheet. Each partially charged metal center on the SiC7 sheets could bind a maximum of 4 to 5 H2 molecules. A high H2 gravimetric density was achieved for several dopants at a doping concentration of 12.50%. The H2 binding energies were found to fall within the ideal range of 0.2-0.6 eV. Based on these findings, we propose that metal-doped SiC7 sheets can operate as efficient H2 storage media under ambient conditions.