Assessment of portable FTIR and Raman spectroscopy for the detection of 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane(DMDNB)in plastic explosives

The Marplex Convention was established to prevent the manufacture of unmarked plastic explosives and stipulates that a volatile detection agent must be added at the time of manufacture.However,to-date,laboratory testing remains the internationally accepted practice for identifying and quantifying the taggants stipulated in the Convention.In this project,portable FTIR and Raman instruments were tested for their ability to detect 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane(DMDNB),the chemical marker incorporated in plastic explosives that are manufactured within Australia.While both FTIR and Raman instruments detected solid DMDNB(98%purity),field analysis of plastic explosives at an Australian Defence establishment showed that both FTIR and Raman spectra were matched the relevant explosive(RDX or PETN),rather than the DMDNB taggant.For all three plastic explosives tested,the concentration of DMDNB was measured by SPME-GC-MS to be between 1.8 and 2%,greater than the minimum 1%concentration stipulated by the Marplex Convention.Additional testing with a plastic explosive analogue confirmed that the minor absorption peaks that would characterize low concentrations of DMDNB were masked by absorption bands from other compounds within the solid.Thus,while both FTIR and Raman spectroscopy are suitable for detection of plastic explosives,neither rely on the presence of DMDNB for detection.It is likely that similar results would be found for other taggants stipulated by the Marplex Convention,given they are also present in concentrations less than 1%.

Integrated adsorption and photocatalytic removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution by hierarchical Nb_(2)O_(5)@PAN/PVDF/ANO composite nanofibers

This work presents the development of hierarchical niobium pentoxide(Nb_(2)O_(5))-based composite nanofiber membranes for integrated adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue(MB)pollutants from aqueous solutions.The Nb_(2)O_(5) nanorods were vertically grown using a hydrothermal process on a base electrospun nanofibrous membrane made of polyacrylonitrile/polyvinylidene fluoride/ammonium niobate(V)oxalate hydrate(Nb_(2)O_(5)@PAN/PVDF/ANO).They were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD)analysis,and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy.These composite nanofibers possessed a narrow optical bandgap energy of 3.31 eV and demonstrated an MB degradation efficiency of 96%after 480 min contact time.The pseudo-first-order kinetic study was also conducted,in which Nb_(2)O_(5)@PAN/PVDF/ANO nanofibers have kinetic constant values of 1.29×10^(-2) min^(-1) and 0.30×10^(-2) min^(-1) for adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of MB aqueous solutions,respectively.These values are 17.7 and 7.8 times greater than those of PAN/PVDF/ANO nanofibers without Nb_(2)O_(5) nanostructures.Besides their outstanding photocatalytic performance,the developed membrane materials exhibit advantageous characteristics in recycling,which subsequently widen their practical use in environmental remediation applications.

Radicals on the silica surface:probes for studying dynamics by means of fast field cycling relaxometry and dynamic nuclear polarization

Determining the dynamics of adsorbed liquids on nanoporous materials is crucial for a detailed understanding of interactions and processes on the solid-liquid interface in many materials and porous systems.Knowledge of the influence of the presence of paramagnetic species on the surface or within the porous matrices is essential for fundamental studies and industrial processes such as catalysts.Magnetic resonance methods,such as electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR),nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)and dynamic nuclear polarization(DNP),are powerful tools to address these questions and to quantify dy-namics,electron-nuclear interaction features and their relation to the physical-chemical parameters of the system.This paper presents an NMR study of the dynamics of polar and nonpolar adsorbed liquids,represented by water,n-decane,deuterated water and nonane-d20,on the native silica surface as well as silica modified with vanadyl porphyrins.The analysis of the frequency dependence of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time is carried out by separating the intra-and intermolecular contributions,which were analyzed using reorientations mediated by translational displacements(RMTD)and force-free-hard-sphere(FFHS)models,respectively.

Genome-wide recombination variation in biparental segregating and reciprocal backcross populations provides information for introgression breeding in Brassica napus

Variation in patterns of recombination in plant genomes provides information about species evolution,genetic diversity and crop improvement. We investigated meiotic crossovers generated in biparental segregating and reciprocal backcross populations of the allopolyploid genome of rapeseed(Brassica napus)(AACC, 2n = 38). A structured set of 1445 intercrossed lines was derived from two homozygous de novo genome-assembled parents that represented the major genetic clusters of semi-winter Chinese and winter European rapeseeds, and was used to increase QTL resolution and achieve genomic reciprocal introgression. A high-density genetic map constructed with 6161 genetic bins and anchored centromere regions was used to establish the pattern of recombination variation in each chromosome. Around 93%of the genome contained crossovers at a mean rate of 3.8 c M Mb^(-1), with the remaining 7% attributed to centromeres or low marker density. Recombination hotspots predominated in the A genome, including two-thirds of those associated with breeding introgression from B. rapa. Genetic background might affect recombination variation. Introgression of genetic diversity from European winter to Chinese semi-winter rapeseed showed an increase in crossover rate under the semi-winter environment. Evidence for an elevated recombination rate having historically contributed to selective trait improvement includes accumulation of favorable alleles for seed oil content on hotspots of chromosome A10. Conversely, strong artificial selection may affect recombination rate variation, as appears to be the case with a coldspot resulting from strong selection for glucosinolate alleles on A09. But the cold region would be promptly reactivated by crossing design indicated by the pedigree analysis. Knowledge of recombination hotspots and coldspots associated with QTL for 22 traits can guide selection strategies for introgression breeding between the two gene pools. These results and rich genomic resources broaden our understanding of recombination behavior in allopolyploids and may advance rapeseed genetic improvement.

Interface Engineering of Fe_(7)S_(8)/FeS_(2) Heterostructure in situ Encapsulated into Nitrogen‑Doped Carbon Nanotubes for High Power Sodium‑Ion Batteries

Heterostructure engineering combined with carbonaceous materials shows great promise toward promoting sluggish kinetics,improving electronic conductivity,and mitigating the huge expansion of transition metal sulfide electrodes for high-performance sodium storage.Herein,the iron sulfide-based heterostructures in situ hybridized with nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes(Fe_(7)S_(8)/FeS_(2)/NCNT)have been prepared through a successive pyrolysis and sulfidation approach.The Fe_(7)S_(8)/FeS_(2)/NCNT heterostructure delivered a high reversible capacity of 403.2 mAh g^(−1) up to 100 cycles at 1.0 A g^(−1) and superior rate capability(273.4 mAh g^(−1) at 20.0 A g^(−1))in ester-based electrolyte.Meanwhile,the electrodes also demonstrated long-term cycling stability(466.7 mAh g^(−1) after 1,000 cycles at 5.0 A g^(−1))and outstanding rate capability(536.5 mAh g^(−1) at 20.0 A g^(−1))in ether-based electrolyte.This outstanding performance could be mainly attributed to the fast sodium-ion diffusion kinetics,high capacitive contribution,and convenient interfacial dynamics in ether-based electrolyte.

Responses of phytoplankton and its satellite bacteria to exogenous ethanol

The response of phytoplankton and its satellite bacteria to various concentrations(0.01%-10%v/v)of ethanol is studied.To elucidate the effect of ethanol,single-strains of phytoplankton(SSP)culture,pure strains of satellite bacteria isolated from nonaxenic SSP cultures,and Escherichia coli were screened.Results indicate that ethanol could promote the growth and photo synthetic efficiency(F_(v)/F_(m))of S SP at 0.01%and the growth of satellite bacteria at 0.01%-1%.Nevertheless,ethanol inhibited the growth and F_(v)/F_(m)of SSP at 0.1%-1%,and killed bacteria and SSP at 10% concentration.Further investigation on a satellite bacterium(Mameliella alba)revealed that ethanol promotes growth by serving as a growth stimulant rather than a metabolic carbon source.The 16 S rRNA gene amplicon indicated that all nonaxenic S SP cultures harbor distinct satellite bacteria communities where the SSP culture of Skeletonema costatum,Phaeodactylum tricornutum,and Dunaliella bardawil were dominated by bacteria genera of Marivita(~80%),Dinoroseobacter(~47%),and Halomonas(~87%),respectively,indicating that every SSP cultures have their own distinct satellite bacterial community.The bacteria family Rhodobacteraceae was dominant in the two marine diatoms,whereas Halomonadaceae was dominant in the saline green microalga.Compared to their respective controls,the supply of 0.5% ethanol to SSP cultures promoted the growth of the satellite bacteria but did not cause a significant difference in species composition of satellite bacteria.Therefore,a low concentration of ethanol can promote the growth of bacteria in a non-selective way.This study enriched our knowledge about the effect of ethanol on aquatic microbes and provided a baseline for basic and applied biotechnological re search in the aquatic environment in the future.

Dipolar NMR relaxation of adsorbates on surfaces of controlled wettability

In reservoir rocks,the term“ageing”refers to extended exposition to crude oil;a typically water-wet sandstone will then gradually become oil-wet as a consequence of the deposition of insoluble fractions of oil onto the surface grains.Rocks have been aged artificially by subjecting them to a bitumen solution at elevated temperature in order to achieve comparable surface properties for three different types of rock:Bentheimer,Berea Buff and Liege Chalk.Using saturated and aromatic model compounds as proxies for crude oil,the nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)relaxation dispersion in native and aged rocks was compared and correlated to the properties of paramagnetic impurities in these rock types.Perfluorated liquids were found to follow the same trend as deuterated and naturally occurring oil components,suggesting they can be used as suitable tracers for wettability studies since the ^(19)F nucleus is absent in natural sources.By combining electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)and dynamic nuclear polarization(DNP)it becomes possible to identify and quantify the origin of the dominating relaxation processes between native and aged rocks,providing an alternative approach to assess wettability in natural rocks.

Two-Stream Approximation to the Radiative Transfer Equation:A New Improvement and Comparative Accuracy with Existing Methods

Mathematical modeling of the interaction between solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere is formalized by the radiative transfer equation(RTE), whose resolution calls for two-stream approximations among other methods. This paper proposes a new two-stream approximation of the RTE with the development of the phase function and the intensity into a third-order series of Legendre polynomials. This new approach, which adds one more term in the expression of the intensity and the phase function, allows in the conditions of a plane parallel atmosphere a new mathematical formulation of γparameters. It is then compared to the Eddington, Hemispheric Constant, Quadrature, Combined Delta Function and Modified Eddington, and second-order approximation methods with reference to the Discrete Ordinate(Disort) method(δ –128 streams), considered as the most precise. This work also determines the conversion function of the proposed New Method using the fundamental definition of two-stream approximation(F-TSA) developed in a previous work. Notably,New Method has generally better precision compared to the second-order approximation and Hemispheric Constant methods. Compared to the Quadrature and Eddington methods, New Method shows very good precision for wide domains of the zenith angle μ 0, but tends to deviate from the Disort method with the zenith angle, especially for high values of optical thickness. In spite of this divergence in reflectance for high values of optical thickness, very strong correlation with the Disort method(R ≈ 1) was obtained for most cases of optical thickness in this study. An analysis of the Legendre polynomial series for simple functions shows that the high precision is due to the fact that the approximated functions ameliorate the accuracy when the order of approximation increases, although it has been proven that there is a limit order depending on the function from which the precision is lost. This observation indicates that increasing the order of approximation of the phase function of the RTE leads to a better precision in flux calculations. However, this approach may be limited to a certain order that has not been studied in this paper.

Reply to the note by Li Piani et al.

In 2017,a ballistic phenomenological model was proposed by the authors of Ref.[1] to numerically simulate the experimental depths of small caliber projectiles impacting walls made of adobe.The opportunity for a new model in the field revealed from the observation that two older models recently used by the authors of Ref.[2] shared a linear relationship between the penetration depth P and the impacting velocity v_(O).

Formation mechanism of hydrochemical and quality evaluation of shallow groundwater in the Upper Kebir sub-basin,Northeast Algeria

This study investigates the hydrochemical formation mechanism of shallow groundwater in the Upper Kebir upstream sub-basin(Northeastern Algeria).The objective is to evaluate water quality suitability for domestic purposes through the application of water quality index(WQI).A total of 24 water points(wells and borewells)evenly distributed in the basin were collected and analyzed in the laboratory for determining the major ions and other geochemical parameters in the groundwater.The groundwater hydrochemical types were identified as Cl–Na and Cl–HCO_(3)^(–)Na,with the dominant major ions were found in the order of Na^(+)>Ca^(2+)>Mg^(2+)for cations,and Cl^(−)>SO_(4)^(2−)>HCO_(3)^(–)>NO_(3)^(−)for anions.Results suggest that weathering,dissolution of carbonate,sulfate,salt rocks,and anthropogenic activities were the major contributors to ion content in the groundwater.The Water Quality Index(WQI)was calculated to assess the water quality of potable water.Approximately 50%of the sampled sites exhibited good water quality.However,the study highlights significant NO_(3)contamination in the study area,with 50%of samples exceeding permissible limits.Therefore,effective treatment measures are crucial for the safe consumption of groundwater.

Einstein Hybrid Structure of q-Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Soft Set and Its Application for Diagnosis of Waterborne Infectious Disease

This research is devoted to diagnosing water-borne infectious diseases caused by floods employing a novel diagnosis approach,the Einstein hybrid structure of q-rung orthopair fuzzy soft set.This approach integrates parts of fuzzy logic and soft set theory to develop a robust alternative for disease detection in stressful situations,especially in areas affected by floods.Compared to the traditional intuitionistic fuzzy soft set and Pythagorean fuzzy soft set,the q-rung orthopair fuzzy soft set(q-ROFSS)adequately incorporates unclear and indeterminate facts.The major objective of this investigation is to formulate the q-rung orthopair fuzzy soft Einstein hybrid weighted average(q-ROFSEHWA)operator and its specific characteristics.Moreover,our stated operator is implementing intelligentmulti-criteria group decision-making(MCGDM)methodology.Floods are severe natural catastrophes that raise the risk of diseases and epidemics,particularly those caused by contaminants in the water,such as gastrointestinal diseases,respiratory infections,vector-borne diseases,skin infections,and water-borne parasites.The designed MCGDM strategy tackles the prevalence of certain conditions in flood-affected patients.A comparative investigation determined that the suggested method for detecting water-borne infectious disease due to floods is more effective and productive than conventional methods because of its logical structure.

Application of novel constrained friction processing method to produce fine grained biomedical Mg-Zn-Ca alloy

In order to obtain Mg alloys with fine microstructures and high mechanical performances,a novel friction-based processing method,name as“constrained friction processing(CFP)”,was investigated.Via CFP,defect-free Mg-Zn-Ca rods with greatly refined grains and high mechanical properties were produced.Compared to the previous as-cast microstructure,the grain size was reduced from more than 1 mm to around 4μm within 3 s by a single process cycle.The compressive yield strength was increased by 350%while the ultimate compressive strength by 53%.According to the established material flow behaviors by“tracer material”,the plastic material was transported by shear deformation.From the base material to the rod,the material experienced three stages,i.e.deformation by the tool,upward flow with additional tilt,followed by upward transportation.The microstructural evolution was revealed by“stop-action”technique.The microstructural development at regions adjacent to the rod is mainly controlled by twinning,dynamic recrystallization(DRX)as well as particle stimulated nucleation,while that within the rod is related to DRX combined with grain growth.

Remote sensing of quality traits in cereal and arable production systems:A review

Cereal is an essential source of calories and protein for the global population.Accurately predicting cereal quality before harvest is highly desirable in order to optimise management for farmers,grading harvest and categorised storage for enterprises,future trading prices,and policy planning.The use of remote sensing data with extensive spatial coverage demonstrates some potential in predicting crop quality traits.Many studies have also proposed models and methods for predicting such traits based on multiplatform remote sensing data.In this paper,the key quality traits that are of interest to producers and consumers are introduced.The literature related to grain quality prediction was analyzed in detail,and a review was conducted on remote sensing platforms,commonly used methods,potential gaps,and future trends in crop quality prediction.This review recommends new research directions that go beyond the traditional methods and discusses grain quality retrieval and the associated challenges from the perspective of remote sensing data.

Control of the Dust Vertical Distribution over Western Africa by Convection and Scavenging

Saharan dust represents more than 50%of the total desert dust emitted around the globe and its radiative effect significantly affects the atmospheric circulation at a continental scale.Previous studies on dust vertical distribution and the Saharan Air Layer(SAL)showed some shortcomings that could be attributed to imperfect representation of the effects of deep convection and scavenging.The authors investigate here the role of deep convective transport and scavenging on the vertical distribution of mineral dust over Western Africa.Using multi-year(2006-2010)simulations performed with the variable-resolution(zoomed)version of the LMDZ climate model.Simulations are compared with aerosol amounts recorded by the Aerosol Robotic Network(AERONET)and with vertical profiles of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization(CALIOP)measurements.LMDZ allows a thorough examination of the respective roles of deep convective transport,convective and stratiform scavenging,boundary layer transport,and advection processes on the vertical mineral dust distribution over Western Africa.The comparison of simulated dust Aerosol Optical Depth(AOD)and distribution with measurements suggest that scavenging in deep convection and subsequent re-evaporation of dusty rainfall in the lower troposphere are critical processes for explaining the vertical distribution of desert dust.These processes play a key role in maintaining a well-defined dust layer with a sharp transition at the top of the SAL and in establishing the seasonal cycle of dust distribution.This vertical distribution is further reshaped offshore in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ)over the Atlantic Ocean by marine boundary layer turbulent and convective transport and wet deposition at the surface.

Adipose-derived stromal cell in regenerative medicine:A review

The application of appropriate cell origin for utilizing inregenerative medicine is the major issue. Various kinds of stem cells have been used for the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Such as, several stromal cells have been employed as treat option for regenerative medicine. For example, human bone marrow-derived stromal cells and adipose-derived stromal cells(ADSCs) are used in cell-based therapy. Data relating to the stem cell therapy and processes associated with ADSC has developed remarkably in the past 10 years. As medical options, both the stromal vascular and ADSC suggests good opportunity as marvelous cell-based therapeutics. The some biological features are the main factors that impact the regenerative activity of ADSCs, including the modulation of the cellular immune system properties and secretion of bioactive proteins such as cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, as well as their intrinsic anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatory potential. A variety of diseases have been treated by ADSCs, and it is not surprising that there has been great interest in the possibility that ADSCs might be used as therapeutic strategy to improve a wider range of diseases. This is especially important when it is remembered that routine therapeutic methods are not completely effective in treat of diseases. Here, it was discuss about applications of ADSC to colitis, liver failure, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, orthopaedic disorders, hair loss, fertility problems, and salivary gland damage.

Superconductivity at 55 K in Iron-Based F-Doped Layered Quaternary Compound Sm[O1-xFx]FeAs

我们在基于铁的 oxyarsenide Sm 报导超导性[O1-xFx ] FeAs，与在 55.0K 的发作抵抗力转变温度和在 54.6 K 的 Meissner 转变。这混合物与缩小的水晶格子作为 LaOFeAs 有一样的水晶结构，并且除铜氧化物以外在所有材料之中与最高批评的温度成为超导体直到现在。

Sensitivity of Exponents of Three-Power Laws to Hybrid Ratio in Weighted HUHPM

为到混合比率的节点度，节点力量和 edged 重量的三力量的法律的代表的敏感是学习经分解并且数字地在加权的和谐统一混合优先的模型(HUHPM ) ，它从我们以前建议了的未加权的混合优先的附件模型被扩大[下巴。Phys。Lett。22 (2005 ) 719 ] 。分别地，我们加 Barrat Barthelemy Vespignani 模型和交通驱动的进化模型的加权的 HUHPM 为 HUHPM 的示范和申请作为二个典型例子被拿。

Correlation of p53 over-expression and alteration in p53 gene detected by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism in adenocarcinoma of gastric cancer patients from India

AIM:To study the alterations in p53 gene among Indian gastric cancer patients and to correlate them with the various clinicopathological parameters. METHODS:A total of 103 gastric cancer patients were included in this study.The p53 alterations were studied by both immunohistochemical method as well as polymerase chain reaction(PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism(SSCP)analysis.We only studied four(exon 5,6,7,and 8)of the 11 p53 exons.The alterations in p53 were also correlated with respect to various clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS:Among 103 cases,p53 over-expression and alteration were detected in 37(35.92%)and 19(18.44%)cases,respectively.Most of the p53 alterations were found at exon 5(31.54%),followed by exon 6(26.31%),exon 7(21.04%)and exon 8(21.04%).A significant correlation of p53 over- expression was found with p53 alteration(P=0.000). Concordance between p53 alteration(as detected by SSCP)and over-expression[as detected by immunohistochemistry(IHC)]was found in 75%cases. We found that IHC-positive/SSCP-negative cases accounted for 21%of cases and IHC-negative/SSCP- positive cases accounted for remaining 4%cases. CONCLUSION:Our results show that p53 genemutations are significantly correlated with p53 protein overxpression,with 75%concordance in overexpression and alteration in the p53 gene,but 25% disconcordance also cautions against the assumption that p53 over-expression is always associated with a gene mutation.There may be other mechanisms responsible for stabilization and accumulation of p53 protein with no evidence of gene mutation that reflect an accumulation of a non-mutated protein,or a false negative SSCP result.

From the Gla domain to a novel small-molecule detector of apoptosis

Apoptosis 在众多的医药混乱的病原学或致病起一个枢轴的作用，并且这样， apoptotic 房间指向可以实质地推进耐心的照顾。在我们为为 apoptosis 的新奇 low-molecular-weight 探针的探索，我们集中了于不平常的氨基酸纬 - carboxyglutamic 酸(Gla ) ，它在 clotting 因素的绑定起一个重要作用到否定地控告的 phospholipid 表面。基于 Gla 的 alkyl-malonic 酸主题，我们开发了并且现在介绍 ML-10 (2-(5-fluoro-pentyl )-2-methyl-malonic 酸， MW=206 Da ) ， apoptosis 的小分子的察觉者的一个新奇家庭的原型的成员。ML-10 被发现在 apoptotic 房间执行选择举起和累积，当从可行或坏死的房间被排除时。有 caspase 激活， Annexin-V 绑定和 mitochondrial 膜潜力的混乱的 apoptotic 特点的 ML-10 举起相互关联。malonate 一半被发现为在 apoptosis 察觉的 ML-10 功能关键。ML-10 在早 apoptosis 对房间的特征的唯一的建筑群作出回应，包括膜潜力，房间膜和细胞质的永久使发酸，和膜正直的保藏的不可逆的损失。ML-10 因此是迄今为止知道的最紧缩的 apoptosis 探查。由于它的氟的符号原子， ML-10 对顺从与 18F 同位素标记收音机，向它为 apoptosis 的临床的正电子排放断层摄影术成像的潜在的未来使用。