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Primula filchnerae, an endangered plant endemic to China, has drawn people's attention in recent years due to its ornamental value in flower. It was rarely recorded since being described in 1902, but it was rediscovered in 2009 and is now known from a limited number of sites located in Hubei and Shaanxi Provinces. Since the species is still poorly known, a number of unanswered questions arise related to it: How has P. filchnerae responded to past climate change and how might it respond in the future? Why was P. filchmerae so rarely collected during the past century? We assembled geographic coordinates for P. filchnerae through the field surveys and website searches, and then used a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to simulate its potential suitable distribution in six periods with varied carbon emission levels by combining bioclimatic and environmental factors. MaxEnt showed that Min Temperature of the Coldest Month (bio6) and Precipitation of the Coldest Quarter (bio19) affected P. filchnerae's distribution most, with an aggregate contribution >60% and suitable ranges above −5 °C and below 40 mm, respectively. We also analyzed potential habitat distribution in various periods with differing impacts of climate change compared to today's suitable habitats, and in most cases, Shaanxi and Sichuan remained the most stable areas and with possible expansion to the north under various carbon emission scenarios, but the 2050s SSP5-8.5 scenario may be an exception. Moreover, we used MaxEnt to evaluate population shifts, with various scenarios indicating that geometric center would be concentrated in Sichuan Province in China. Finally, conservation strategies are suggested, including the creation of protected areas, long-term monitoring, raising public awareness of plant conservation, situ conservation measures, assisted migration, and species introduction. This study demonstrates how P. filchnerae may have adapted to changes in different periods and provides a scientific basis for germplasm conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the efficacy and safety of Dermalax in the correction of moderate to severe nasolabial folds (NLFs) compared to Restylane. A total of 324 subjects with moderate to severe NLFs were enrolled in this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled clinical study. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to the test group received Dermalax injection (n = 162) or control group received Restylane injection (n = 162). Clinical efficacy and safety were assessed based on the Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS) and the Global Esthetic Improvement Scale(GAIS) at weeks 2, 8, 16, 24, 36 and 48 weeks after injection. At week 24, similar improvements of effective rate were obtained on the Dermalax group (93.75%) and Restylane group (89.44%). Significances were found at 36 weeks and 48 weeks after injection, Dermalax seemed be better than Restylane in maintaining the effect in the later period. The improvement of mean WSRS score for test group was superior to that of control group with significance. GAIS scores rated at week 24 were 1.65 VS 1.94 (p <.001) and 2.10 VS 2.27 (p =.060), seperately. Dermalax was no inferior to or better than that of the control filler Restylane in correcting of moderate to severe NLFs in Chinese subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two series of inorganic melamine salts containing a tungstate or molybdate were synthesized as a flame retardant and smoke suppressant for flexible PVC, and their flame retardancy and smoke suppression were studied by limiting oxygen index (LOI), smoke density rating (SDR) test, cone calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It can be found that the presence of melamine tungstate or melamine molybdate causes an obvious increase in LOI and a decrease in SDR. The cone calorimeter results reveal that melamine tungstate or melamine molybdate can clearly change the decomposition behavior of PVC and form a char layer on the surface of the composites, consequently resulting in efficient reduction of the flammability parameters, such as heat release rate, smoke production rate, total smoke production, and so on. The TGA and SEM results demonstrate that melamine tungstate can delay the degradation of PVC and improve the stability of the char residue. Moreover, melamine molybdate and the PVC matrix form a novel intumescent flame retardant and smoke suppression system, in which the PVC matrix acts as the carbonization agent and molybdate as the acid source (Lewis acid). Molybdate can catalyze the dehydrochlorination reaction and promote the crosslinking reaction of PVC effectively. Melamine (MA) and the released hydrogen chloride can act as the blowing agent, which enhance the intumescence of the char. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:529–536, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new complexes [Ni(phen)(H2O)4] · (atda)(H2O)5 (1) and [Ni2(4,4' -bipy)2(H2O)8] · (atda)2 (2) (where H2atda = (4-amino-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diyldithio)diacetic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, 4,4' -bipy = 4,4' -bipyridine) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction technique. X-ray structural analyses reveal that the two complexes are both three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular structures and possess similar structural characters. The Ni(II) centers are both in distorted octahedral coordination environments, six-coordinated by four water molecules and two nitrogen atoms from a 1,10-phenanthroline molecule or two 4,4' -bipyridine molecules. The atda2 - ligands do not coordinate to the Ni(II) centers, but only exist as counter anions, forming hydrogen bonds with coordinated or uncoordinated water molecules. Various hydrogen-bonding interactions play an important role in the assembly of three-dimensional supramolecular architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of fangchinoline with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by use of fluorescence quenching spectra, synchronous fluorescence spectra, and ultraviolet spectra. It was shown that fangchinoline has a strong ability to quench the fluorescence of HSA. The Stern-Volmer curves based on the quenching of the fluorescence of HSA by fangchinoline indicated that the quenching mechanism of fangchinoline on HSA was static quenching and non-radiation energy transfer. Based on the Förster theory of non-radiation energy transfer, the binding distances (r) and the binding constants (KA) between fangchinoline and HSA were found. The thermodynamic parameters obtained revealed that the interaction between fangchinoline and HSA was mainly driven by hydrophobic force. The conformational changes of HSA were investigated by use of synchronous fluorescence. The result indicates that an ionic electrostatic interaction between fangchinoline and HSA could not be excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]