An insight into failure mechanism of NASICON-structured Na3V2（PO4）3 in hybrid aqueous rechargeable battery

NASICON (Na-super-ionic-conductors)-structured materials have attracted extensive research interest due to their great application potential in secondary batteries. However, the mechanism of capacity fading for NASICON-structured electrode materials has been rarely studied. In this paper, we synthesized the NASICON-structured Na3V2(PO4)3/C composite by simple sol-gel and high-temperature solid-phase method and investigated its electrochemical performance in Na-Zn hybrid aqueous rechargeable batteries. After characterizing the structure, morphology and composition variations as well as the interfacial resistance changes of Na3V2(PO4)3/C cathode during cycling, we propose a mechanical and interfacial degradation mechanism for capacity fading of NASICON-structured Na3V2(PO4)3/C in Na-Zn hybrid aqueous rechargeable batteries. This work will shed light on enhancing the mechanical and in terfacial stability of NASICON-structured Na3V2(PO4)3/C in Na-Zn hybrid aqueous rechargeable batteries.

Effect of Gasifying Medium on the Coal Chemical Looping Gasification with CaSO_4 as Oxygen Carrier

The chemical looping gasification uses an oxygen carrier for solid fuel gasification by supplying insufficient lattice oxygen. The effect of gasifying medium on the coal chemical looping gasification with Ca SO4 as oxygen carrier is investigated in this paper. The thermodynamical analysis indicates that the addition of steam and CO2 into the system can reduce the reaction temperature, at which the concentration of syngas reaches its maximum value.Experimental result in thermogravimetric analyzer and a fixed-bed reactor shows that the mixture sample goes through three stages, drying stage, pyrolysis stage and chemical looping gasification stage, with the temperature for three different gaseous media. The peak fitting and isoconversional methods are used to determine the reaction mechanism of the complex reactions in the chemical looping gasification process. It demonstrates that the gasifying medium(steam or CO2) boosts the chemical looping process by reducing the activation energy in the overall reaction and gasification reactions of coal char. However, the mechanism using steam as the gasifying medium differs from that using CO2. With steam as the gasifying medium, parallel reactions occur in the beginning stage, followed by a limiting stage shifting from a kinetic to a diffusion regime. It is opposite to the reaction mechanism with CO2 as the gasifying medium.

Alkaloids from an algicolous strain of Talaromyces sp.

Compounds isolated and identified in a culture of the alga-endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. cf- 16 included two naturally occurring alkaloids, 2-[（S）-hydroxy（phenyl）methyl]-3-mcthylquinazolin-4（3H）- one （la） and 2-[（R）-hydroxy（phenyl）methyl]-3-methylquinazolin-4（3H）-one （lb）, that were identified for the first time. In addition, seven known compounds （2-8） were obtained from the culture. Following chiral column chromatography, compounds la and lb were identified as enantiomers by spectroscopic analyses and quantum chemical calculations. Bioassay results showed that 5 was more toxic to brine shrimp than the other compounds, and that 3-6 could inhibit Staphylococcus aureus.

Application of AFLP markers for population genetic study on half-smooth tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis

The genetic diversity of wild and hatchery populations of half-smooth tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis, based on observation of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was described. Two hundred individuals from four wild populations, Laizhou (LZ), Weihai (WH), Qingdao (QD), Rizhao (RZ), and one hatchery population, Mingbo (MB), were screened using eight different AFLP primer combinations. A total of 384 loci were screened in the five studied populations. 48.4%, 51.3%, 50.7%, 49.3% and 45.8% of these loci were polymorphic among the individuals tested in the LZ, WH, QD, RZ and MB populations, respectively. The number of polymorphic loci detected by single primer combinations ranged from 17 to 35. The average heterozygosity of the LZ, WH, QD, RZ and MB populations was 0.072, 0.093, 0.092, 0.090 and 0.063, respectively. The WH population showed the highest genetic diversity in terms of total number of AFLP bands, total number of polymorphic bands, average heterozygosity and percentage of low frequency (0-0.2) polymorphic loci among all the populations, while the LZ population was the lowest among the wild populations. Compared with the wild populations, the hatchery population showed a low genetic viability.

Measurement of trace nitrate concentrations in seawater by ion chromatography with valve switching

An ion chromatographic method with a valve switching facility was developed to determine trace nitrate concentrations in seawater using two pumps, two different suppressors, and two columns. A carbohydrate membrane desalter was used to reduce the high concentrations of sodium salts in samples. In this method, trace nitrate was eluted from the concentrator column to the analytical columns, while the matrix fl owed to waste. Neither chemical pre-treatment nor sample dilution was required. In the optimized separation conditions, the method showed good linearity( R >0.99) in the 0.05 and 50 mg/L concentration range, and satisfactory repeatability(RSD<5%, n =6). The limit of detection for nitrate was 0.02 mg/L. Results showed that the valve switching system was suitable and practical for the determination of trace nitrate in seawater.

A ternary TiO_2/WO_3/graphene nanocomposite adsorbent: facile preparation and efficient removal of Rhodamine B

Ternary TiO2/WO3/graphene （TWG） nanocomposites were prepared by a facile salt-ultrasonic assisted hydrothermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption--desorption. Both anatase TiO2 and orthorhombic WO3 formed in the nanocomposites, along with a highly disordered overlay of individual graphene nanosheets. Polyhedral and spherical TiO/and WO3 nanoparticles of uniform size 10-30 nm were densely anchored to the graphene sheets. The maximum specific surface area of the products was 144.59 m2·g^-1. The products showed clear abilities for the removal of Rhodamine B in the absence of illumination. Furthermore, the adsorption activity of the products exhibited only a slight decrease after three successive cycles. The results demonstrate that the ternary nanocomposites could be used as a high-efficiency adsorbent for the removal of environmental contaminants.

Effect of Ca on microstructure and high temperature creep properties of AM60-1Ce alloy

A series of AM60-1Ce-xCa(x=0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5) magnesium alloys were prepared by gravity casting method and analyzed by means of XRD, DSC and SEM. The effects of Ca on normal temperature mechanical properties and high temperature creep behavior of alloys were characterized by tensile and constant creep test.Microstructure analysis indicated that Ca was preferentially combined with Al in the alloy to form the high melting point Al_2Ca phase at the grain boundary. The addition of Ca can refine the crystal grains and reduces the content of β-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase. With the increase of Ca content in the alloy, Al_2Ca phases at the grain boundary gradually changed to the network of lamellar structure, and replaced the β-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase as the main strengthening phase gradually. The creep resistance of the alloy continuously increases because the high-temperature stable phase Al_2Ca firmly nailed at grain boundaries impedes the sliding of grain boundaries. However, when the addition of Ca was more than 1.5%, mechanical properties of the alloy started to decrease, which was probably due to the large amount of irregularly shaped Al_2Ca phases at the grain boundary. Experimental results show that the optimal addition amount of Ca is 1.5 wt.%.

Pseudo-elastic Hysteresis Damping Characteristics of SMA Hybrid Composite Lamina

The longitudinal mechanical behavior of shape memory alloy （SMA） composite lamina subjected to longitudinally strain or stress controlled cyclic loading is investigated. The SMA is under pseudoelastic condition and the fibers are embedded （bonded） to the host material. The influences of temperature, volume fraction of SMA and longitudinal modulus of the host material on the stress-strain relation and energy dissipation of the SMA hybrid composite lamina are discussed. The results indicate that the stress-strain curve of the lamina per cycle shows a hysteresis loop. The hysteresis damping decreases with increasing temperature and with decreasing volume fractions of SMA. In addition, the hysteresis damping is nearly independent of the longitudinal modulus of the host material under strain controlled loading. However, it depends dramatically on the longitudinal modulus of the host material under stress controlled loading, which shows the SMA composite lamina has high pseudo-elastic hysteresis damping when the longitudinal modulus of the host material is low.

Characterization of a Bacteriocin-Like Substance Produced from a Novel Isolated Strain of Bacillus subtilis SLYY-3

In the present research, the strain SLYY-3 was isolated from sediments of Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China. The strain SLYY- 3, which produced a bacteriocin-like substance （BLS）, was characterized to be a strain of Bacillus subtillis by biochemical profiling and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. It is the first time to report that Bacillus subtilis from Jiaozhou Bay sediments could produce a BLS. The BLS of B. subtillis SLYY-3 exhibited strong inhibitory activity against gram-positive bacteria （including Staphylococcus aureus and B. subtillis） and some fimgi （including Penicillium glaucum, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus）. The antimicrobial activity was detected from culture in the exponential growth phase and reached its maximum when culture entered into stationary growth phase. It was thermo-tolerant even when being kept at 100~C for 60 min without losing any activity and stable over a wide pH range from 1.0 to 12.0 while being inactivated by proteolytic enzyme and trypsin, indicating the proteinaceous nature of the BLS. The BLS was purified by precipitation with hydrochloric acid （HC1） and gel filteration （Sephadex G-100）. SDS-PAGE analysis of the extracellular peptides of SLYY-3 revealed a bacteriocin-like protein with a molecular mass of 66 kDa. Altogether, these characteristics indicate the potential of the BLS for food industry as a protection against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms.

In vitro acute cytotoxicity of neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid to gill cell line of flounder Paralichthy olivaceus

In vitro acute cytotoxicity of neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid （IMI） to the gill cell line of flounder （FG） that collected in the gill ofParalichthys olivaceus, was examined by 3 widely used endpoint bioassays： NR （neutral red）, MTT （3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2, 5-diphenyltetrazoliurn bromide） and TCP （total cell protein）. The result shows that the IMI increased at concentrations ≥0.5 μg/ml. The ICs0 value of NR, MTT, and TCP was 41.86, 38.46, and 39.08 μg/ml, respectively. The ultrastructural observation revealed that the mitochondria of the cells exposed to 60 μg/ml IMI for 48 h were severely damaged, swollen or disrupted, while their nuclei and rough endoplasmic reticulurn （RER） remained normal. This would suggest that the mitochondria are probably the primary target of IMI.

Effects of vegetation on the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities in the Arctic tundra

The relatively simple vegetation of the Arctic tundra provides an ideal site in which to study the relationships between plants, bacterial communities and soil chemistry. Here, results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing of secondary Arctic brown soils collected from underneath colonies of Dryasoctopetala, Luzulaconfusa and Bistortavivipara in the Arctic tundra near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway, reveal significant differences in bacterial communities related to soil environmental properties. Redundancy analysis shows that all measured geochemical factors were significant in structuring microbiomes, with strong correlations related to soil pH and organic matter contents. Vegetation is likely to affect the physical and chemical properties of the soil, which in turn affects the bacterial community and composition of the soil.

Quantum Chemistry Based Computational Study on the Conformational Population of a Neodymium Neodecanoate Complex

The title complex is widely used as an efficient key component of Ziegler-Natta catalyst for stereospecific polymerization of dienes to produce synthetic rubbers. However, the quantitative structure-activity relationship（QSAR） of this kind of complexes is still not clear mainly due to the difficulties to obtain their geometric molecular structures through laboratory experiments. An alternative solution is the quantum chemistry calculation in which the comformational population shall be determined. In this study, ten conformers of the title complex were obtained with the function of molecular dynamics conformational search in Gabedit 2.4.8, and their geometry optimization and thermodynamics calculation were made with a Sparkle/PM7 approach in MOPAC 2012. Their Gibbs free energies at 1 atm. and 298.15 K were calculated. Population of the conformers was further calculated out according to the theory of Boltzmann distribution, indicating that one of the ten conformers has a dominant population of 77.13%.

Chemical Mechanism of Flocculation and Deposition of Clay Colloids in Coastal Aquifers

Seawater intrusion has become one of serious environmental problems in coastal areas. During the replacement of saline water by fresh water in the aquifers, in-situ clay could be released, transport and deposit in the porous media due to the change of hydrodynamic and geochemical conditions, which resulted in the increasing of particle size, plugging of pores and reduction of the permeability. Batch experiments and sand column experiments were explored to study the relationships between the flocculation of in-situ clay and geochemical conditions, by changing ionic strength and ionic type of clay suspension. Column outflow was analyzed for suspended particles and electrical conductivity. The total percentage of colloid straining and interception distribution in porous media was calculated. The results indicate that porous media had an effect on the interception of clay colloid particles with about 10 percent clay colloids captured due to the rough surfaces and spatial structure of porous media. Ionic strength played a key role on the permeability reductions. The higher ionic strength is, the greater the amount of colloidal particles trapped. Ionic type also had a significant effect on the interception of clay colloid particles. Ripening was the main mechanism for the interception within porous media when the bulk solution was potassium chloride while blocking happened when the bulk solution was sodium chloride. The distribution of clay colloids in porous media was heterogeneous. The closer to the sand column inlet was the less interception of clay colloids was. The results can provide the scientific basis for preventing the water sensitivity during the process of salty aquifer restoration.

The recognition of ocean red tide with hyper-spectral-image based on EMD

A new technique is introduced in this paper regarding red tide recognition with remotely sensed hyper-spectral images based on empirical mode decomposition （EMD）, from an artificial red tide experiment in the East China Sea in 2002. A set of characteristic parameters that describe absorbing crest and reflecting crest of the red tide and its recognition methods are put forward based on general pictre data, with which the spectral information of certain non-dominant alga species of a red tide occurrence is analyzed for establishing the foundation to estimate the species. Comparative experiments have proved that the method is effective. Meanwhile, the transitional area between red-tide zone and non-red-tide zone can be detected with the information of thickness of algae influence, with which a red tide can be forecast.

The Assembly of C60 in Semicrystalline PLLA Matrix

It has increasingly become a research focus to build higher structure composed of C60. However, there has been very few reports on the influence of polymer addition on the self-assembling behavior of fullerene in organic solvents. In this research, big needle-like C60 assemblings have been obtained in the form of PLLA/C60 composites. The largest C60 needles can be observed by naked eyes. The amount of C60 in the composite influences the length of C60 needles to some extent. DSC results indicate C60 accelerates the crystallization and lift the relative crystallinity of PLLA matrix. the results also imply the addition of semicrystalline PLLA influence the assembling behavior of C60. i.e., the crystallization of PLLA accelerated by C60 also act a driving force for the enriching and the linear assembling of C60 in PLLA matrix via Van der Waals force.

Preparation of Pickering Emulsion for Antibacterial, Anti-Inflammatory and Wound Healing

In recent years, natural biodegradable nanoparticles as stabilizers of Pickering emulsions have attracted extensive attention. In this work, a Pickering emulsion composed of chitosan/Arabic gum nanoparticles (CS/GA NPs), tea tree oil and vitamin E was formulated. Then the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing abilities of the emulsion were evaluated. Pickering emulsion encapsulated the tea tree oil strengthened antibacterial activity towards Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Besides, this multi-phase system offered a platform to load with vitamin E, which provides anti-inflammatory effects while antibacterial. Meanwhile, Pickering emulsion avoided contact between bacteria and skin when used in wound treatment.

Effect of high salinity on cell growth and protein production of Antarctic ice microalgae Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L

Antarctic ice microalgae Chlamydomonas sp.ICE-L can survive and thrive in Antarctic sea ice.In this study,Chlamydomonas sp.ICE-L could survive at the salinity of 132‰ NaCl.SDS-PAGE showed that the density of 2 bands（26 and 36 kD） decreased obviously at the salinity of 99‰ NaCl compared to at the salinity of 33‰ NaCl.The soluble proteins in Chlamydomonas sp.ICE-L grown under salinity of 33‰ and 99% NaCl were compared by 2-D gel electrophoresis.After shocking with high salinity,8 protein spots were found to disappear,and the density of 28 protein spots decreased.In addition,19 protein spots were enhanced or induced,including one new peptide（51 kD）.The changes of proteins might be correlated with the resistance for Chlamydomonas sp.ICE-L to high salinity.

The Chemical State of a Silver-Copper Complex Image Formed during the Electroless Copper Deposition

By means of electroless copper deposition method a complex image has been fabricated in a mixture of cupric sulphate and formaldehyde, the surface and subsurface properties of which has been studied in detail by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) combined with sputter depth profiling technique analyzing distribution and chemical state of copper and silver. Depth profiling by XPS in conjunction with Ar+ sputtering shows that the catalytic activity of silver persists, catalyzing reduction of copper. The integral areas of spectra Ag3d after electroless copper deposition for 5 min at different sputtering times demonstrate that the amount of silver at the surface is greater than that in the interior. And then, the quite likely reasonable explanations are provided for the result. Additionally, the chemical shift of Ag3d XPS and deconvolution of Ag3d XPS spectrum have been also analyzed respectively at length.

Analysis and Design of 4 ×4 MIMO-Antenna Systems in Mobile Phone

MIMO antenna systems can greatly improve the capacity and transmission rate of wireless communication. In this letter, two four-port multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems are proposed in mobile devices. An algorithm of calculating envelope correlation (ρe) between antenna units is also proposed. By this algorithm the ρe of the PIFA-MIMO antenna system has been calculated. First, a PIFA-MIMO antenna system is designed for ISM (2.4 GHZ) application. The slots are etched on the ground and the antenna units are placed in such a way that the polarization diversity is exploited to enhance the impedance matching and isolation. Based on this, a printed wideband MIMO antenna system is proposed for portable 3G and 4G applications by means of multi-branch and the defect of ground technology, increasing the bandwidth and reducing mutual coupling between the antennas. The simulation results show that the return loss and isolation of the two antenna systems can meet the performance requirements of the antennas in the mobile phone.

Man and Nature——A Comparative Study of Views Towards Nature Between Chinese and Westerners

Chinese and westerners, due to the different natural environment they are situated in and further due to different backgroundin history, economy, politics and culture, have made for differences in their ways of seeing nature and the relationship between man andnature, which substantially influences how Chinese and western societies proceed. This is a study on the similarities and differences onpeople's views of nature in the past and the reasons behind the differences.