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Multilingual pretrained language models (mPLMs) have shown their effectiveness in multilingual word alignment induction. However, these methods usually start from mBERT or XLM-R. In this paper, we investigate whether multilingual sentence Transformer LaBSE is a strong multilingual word aligner. This idea is non-trivial as LaBSE is trained to learn language-agnostic sentence-level embeddings, while the alignment extraction task requires the more fine-grained word-level embeddings to be language-agnostic. We demonstrate that the vanilla LaBSE outperforms other mPLMs currently used in the alignment task, and then propose to finetune LaBSE on parallel corpus for further improvement. Experiment results on seven language pairs show that our best aligner outperforms previous state-of-the-art models of all varieties. In addition, our aligner supports different language pairs in a single model, and even achieves new state-of-the-art on zero-shot language pairs that does not appear in the finetuning process., Published at Findings of EMNLP 2022

Vision-language navigation is a task that requires an agent to follow instructions to navigate in environments. It becomes increasingly crucial in the field of embodied AI, with potential applications in autonomous navigation, search and rescue, and human-robot interaction. In this paper, we propose to address a more practical yet challenging counterpart setting - vision-language navigation in continuous environments (VLN-CE). To develop a robust VLN-CE agent, we propose a new navigation framework, ETPNav, which focuses on two critical skills: 1) the capability to abstract environments and generate long-range navigation plans, and 2) the ability of obstacle-avoiding control in continuous environments. ETPNav performs online topological mapping of environments by self-organizing predicted waypoints along a traversed path, without prior environmental experience. It privileges the agent to break down the navigation procedure into high-level planning and low-level control. Concurrently, ETPNav utilizes a transformer-based cross-modal planner to generate navigation plans based on topological maps and instructions. The plan is then performed through an obstacle-avoiding controller that leverages a trial-and-error heuristic to prevent navigation from getting stuck in obstacles. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. ETPNav yields more than 10% and 20% improvements over prior state-of-the-art on R2R-CE and RxR-CE datasets, respectively. Our code is available at https://github.com/MarSaKi/ETPNav., Comment: Project page: https://github.com/MarSaKi/ETPNav

Objectives: To investigate the therapeutic effect of Echinacoside on uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury and explore the specific molecular mechanism and role of α-Klotho. Methods: SD rats were given continuous gavage of adenine to prepare a uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury model. The model was given either Echinacoside or α-Klotho by gavage. Histopathological changes of kidney and sciatic nerve were detected by H&E staining. The changes of creatinine, urea nitrogen, and urine protein were detected by biochemical detection. The changes of IL-1β and IL-18 were detected by ELISA. Nerve activity-related indicators were detected by biochemical detection. Changes in related mRNA and protein expression were detected by qPCR and western blot. Results: Creatinine, urea nitrogen, urine protein, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the model group were significantly increased and inhibited by Echinacoside and α-Klotho treatment with Echinacoside dose-dependence. Meanwhile, the activities of ATP concentration, potassium adenosine triphosphate (Na+, K+ ATPase), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed opposite trends. Conclusions: Echinacoside can significantly relieve uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury in rats. Its specific molecular mechanism is related to the inhibition of the classical cellular pyroptosis pathway, which is likely achieved by promoting α-Klotho expression.

Since the rise of vision-language navigation (VLN), great progress has been made in instruction following -- building a follower to navigate environments under the guidance of instructions. However, far less attention has been paid to the inverse task: instruction generation -- learning a speaker~to generate grounded descriptions for navigation routes. Existing VLN methods train a speaker independently and often treat it as a data augmentation tool to strengthen the follower while ignoring rich cross-task relations. Here we describe an approach that learns the two tasks simultaneously and exploits their intrinsic correlations to boost the training of each: the follower judges whether the speaker-created instruction explains the original navigation route correctly, and vice versa. Without the need of aligned instruction-path pairs, such cycle-consistent learning scheme is complementary to task-specific training targets defined on labeled data, and can also be applied over unlabeled paths (sampled without paired instructions). Another agent, called~creator is added to generate counterfactual environments. It greatly changes current scenes yet leaves novel items -- which are vital for the execution of original instructions -- unchanged. Thus more informative training scenes are synthesized and the three agents compose a powerful VLN learning system. Extensive experiments on a standard benchmark show that our approach improves the performance of various follower models and produces accurate navigation instructions., Accepted to CVPR 2022

With the emergence of varied visual navigation tasks (e.g, image-/object-/audio-goal and vision-language navigation) that specify the target in different ways, the community has made appealing advances in training specialized agents capable of handling individual navigation tasks well. Given plenty of embodied navigation tasks and task-specific solutions, we address a more fundamental question: can we learn a single powerful agent that masters not one but multiple navigation tasks concurrently? First, we propose VXN, a large-scale 3D dataset that instantiates four classic navigation tasks in standardized, continuous, and audiovisual-rich environments. Second, we propose Vienna, a versatile embodied navigation agent that simultaneously learns to perform the four navigation tasks with one model. Building upon a full-attentive architecture, Vienna formulates various navigation tasks as a unified, parse-and-query procedure: the target description, augmented with four task embeddings, is comprehensively interpreted into a set of diversified goal vectors, which are refined as the navigation progresses, and used as queries to retrieve supportive context from episodic history for decision making. This enables the reuse of knowledge across navigation tasks with varying input domains/modalities. We empirically demonstrate that, compared with learning each visual navigation task individually, our multitask agent achieves comparable or even better performance with reduced complexity., Comment: Accepted to NeurIPS 2022; Code: https://github.com/hanqingwangai/VXN

Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of depression and antidepressant therapies. Astragalin (AST) is a bioactive flavonoid that possesses an anti-inflammatory property. However, the antidepressant action of astragalin has not been addressed. In this study, we explored the antidepressant effects of astragalin and its underlying mechanism. Our results showed that AST significantly improved the behavioral defects in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model, promoted SIRT1 expression, and decreased the protein levels of NF-κB p65, NLRP3, cleaved capase-1, cleaved IL-1β and cleaved gasdermin D in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemistry revealed AST mitigated CUMS-induced microglia overactivation. In vitro, AST profoundly increased the cell viability in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) treated BV2 cells, with upregulated SIRT1 expression and downregulated protein levels of nuclear NF-κB p65, NLRP3, cleaved capase-1, and cleaved gasdermin D. Declined cleavage of gasdermin D was observed after AST administration in immunocytochemistry. Nevertheless, the in vivo and in vitro effects of AST were compromised by SIRT1 inhibitor EX-527. These results indicated that AST possessed an antidepressant property, which was dependent on SIRT1 signaling modulated NLRP3 inflammasome deactivation.

Scene Rearrangement Planning (SRP) is an interior task proposed recently. The previous work defines the action space of this task with handcrafted coarse-grained actions that are inflexible to be used for transforming scene arrangement and intractable to be deployed in practice. Additionally, this new task lacks realistic indoor scene rearrangement data to feed popular data-hungry learning approaches and meet the needs of quantitative evaluation. To address these problems, we propose a fine-grained action definition for SRP and introduce a large-scale scene rearrangement dataset. We also propose a novel learning paradigm to efficiently train an agent through self-playing, without any prior knowledge. The agent trained via our paradigm achieves superior performance on the introduced dataset compared to the baseline agents. We provide a detailed analysis of the design of our approach in our experiments., 7 pages, 4 figures

Background The NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis, which could be regulated by miRNA-27a, is a key player in the development of depression. Isoliquiritin is a phenolic flavonoid compound that has been demonstrated to suppress NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. However, it is still unknown whether isoliquiritin could confer antidepressant activity via decreasing NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis by stimulating miRNA-27a. Thus, in the current study, we explored the antidepressant activity of isoliquiritin and its underlying mechanism. Methods Expression of miRNA-27a in depressed patients or mice was measured using qRT-PCR. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to illustrate the link between miRNA-27a and SYK. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) depression models were established to investigate the antidepressant actions of isoliquiritin. Changes in miRNA-27a/SYK/NF-κB axis and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis were also examined. The role of miRNA-27a in isoliquiritin-related antidepressant effect was further investigated by using miRNA-27a inhibitors and mimics of miRNA-27a. Results Our results showed the miRNA-27a expression was downregulated in the serum of depressed patients, and decreased serum and hippocampus expression of miRNA-27a were observed in rodent models of depression. SYK gene expression was significantly reduced by miRNA-27a mimic incubation. Isoliquiritin profoundly attenuated LPS or CSDS-induced depressive symptoms, as well as CSDS-induced anxiety behavior. In the hippocampus, LPS and CSDS decreased miRNA-27a mRNA expression; increased the protein levels of SYK, p-NF-κB, and NLRP3: cleaved Caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD-N: and elevated the concentration of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, which were all restored by isoliquiritin administration. Meanwhile, isoliquiritin upregulated the hippocampal NeuN protein level, improved the survival and morphology of neurons, and decreased pyroptosis-related neuronal cell death. Moreover, isoliquiritin protected primary microglia against LPS and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) elicited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in vitro, evidenced by declined protein levels of p-NF-κB, NLRP3; cleaved Caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD-N; upregulated miRNA-27a mRNA expression; and decreased the mRNA and protein levels of SYK. Nevertheless, miRNA-27a inhibitors significantly reversed isoliquiritin-generated therapeutic efficacy in CSDS mice and in vitro. Furthermore, the cytoprotective effect of isoliquiritin was similar to that of miRNA-27a mimics in LPS and ATP-treated primary microglia. Taken together, these findings suggest that isoliquiritin possesses potent antidepressant property, which requires miRNA-27a/SYK/NF-κB axis controlled decrease of pyroptosis via NLRP3 cascade.

International audience; This paper is on the subject of sensor development and sensor-set size optimization approaches for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) system in Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) applications. Sensors are classified as physical sensors and gas sensors. Physical sensors are used to detect signals (pressure, mass flow, etc.) which are related to PEMFC system operating state and control. Gas sensors consist of the hydrogen leakage detector for safety reasons and the environment sensor system which is built with various gas sensors to detect gas contaminations (CO

A CFD (computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation model of the porous ceiling radiant air-conditioning system was established to study the influence of the ceiling temperature and envelope temperature (including the temperature of the walls and the floor of a room) on the thermal environment in the room equipped with such a system. The results showed that, for the summer condition, higher ceiling temperatures would result in higher indoor air temperature and higher Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD), which meant potential discomfort of occupants in the room. For the winter condition, however, a higher ceiling temperature within 28°C would result in a lower PPD, thus improved the thermal comfort. Considering the energy-conservation, the thermal comfort could be assured if the ceiling temperature was not more than 28°C. As for the effect of envelope temperature, the result showed that the increase in the envelope temperature during summer could result in a higher indoor air temperature, but the thermal comfort of occupants could still be ensured under such condition. Considering both the thermal comfort and the energyconservation, a ceiling temperature of 18°C (underside surface temperature of the ceiling) and an envelope temperature between 26°C and 32°C were proved appropriate for the summer. Similarly, based on the simulation results, a ceiling temperature of 26°C, and an envelope temperature between 8°C and 11°C were found appropriate for the winter. The results indicated that for the porous ceiling radiant air-conditioning system, ceiling temperature should be controlled to increase the ratio of radiant heat transfer in the summer, and the envelope temperature should be lowered to improve the energy-conservation of the system. In the winter, the heat transfer by radiation of the porous ceiling would account for a larger ratio, therefore the system showed good heating capacity and energyconservation performance in winter.

Vision-language navigation (VLN) is the task of entailing an agent to carry out navigational instructions inside photo-realistic environments. One of the key challenges in VLN is how to conduct a robust navigation by mitigating the uncertainty caused by ambiguous instructions and insufficient observation of the environment. Agents trained by current approaches typically suffer from this and would consequently struggle to avoid random and inefficient actions at every step. In contrast, when humans face such a challenge, they can still maintain robust navigation by actively exploring the surroundings to gather more information and thus make more confident navigation decisions. This work draws inspiration from human navigation behavior and endows an agent with an active information gathering ability for a more intelligent vision-language navigation policy. To achieve this, we propose an end-to-end framework for learning an exploration policy that decides i) when and where to explore, ii) what information is worth gathering during exploration, and iii) how to adjust the navigation decision after the exploration. The experimental results show promising exploration strategies emerged from training, which leads to significant boost in navigation performance. On the R2R challenge leaderboard, our agent gets promising results all three VLN settings, i.e., single run, pre-exploration, and beam search., Comment: ECCV2020 (changed with improved perfromance on Pre-Explore and Beam Search settings); website: https://github.com/HanqingWangAI/Active_VLN

Introduction Different parts of Sophora alopecuroides L. (Fabaceae) have historically been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of dysentery and enteritis. This plant is also utilised as an important resource for industrial preparation of quinolizidine alkaloidal pharmaceuticals. Objective Establish a reliable, simple and fast analytical method for the quantitative determination of the quinolizidine-type alkaloids and extend understanding of the metabolism of quinolizidine-type alkaloids in S. alopecuroides. Methods Hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-TQ-MS/MS) in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode were used to determine seven quinolizidine-type alkaloids and their biosynthetic precursor, lysine, in S. alopecuroides. Results A good separation was obtained on an ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) amide column within 7 min. The overall limits of detection (LODs) were between 1.13 and 2.81 ng/ml, and limits of quantitation (LOQs) were between 3.80 and 8.48 ng/ml. The developed method was successfully applied to 21 samples of S. alopecuroides. The seeds had the highest concentration of alkaloids among the different plant parts. Oxymatrine and oxysophocarpine were the two most abundant alkaloids in all of the different parts and at different phenological growth stages. The contents of quinolizidine alkaloids showed correlations with lysine. Conclusion A rapid and sensitive analytical method was established for the simultaneous determination of seven quinolizidine-type alkaloids and their biosynthetic precursor, lysine, in S. alopecuroides; the content of lysine may be used as a marker to predict alkaloid production.

Quinolizidine alkaloids are the main bioactive components in Sophora alopecuroides L. This study reports a novel ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis method for the extraction of these important alkaloids. Box-Behnken design, a widely used response surface methodology, was used to investigate the effects of process variables on ultrasound bath-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis (UAEH) extraction. Four independent variables, pH, extraction temperature (°C), extraction time (min) and solvent-to-material ratio (mL/g), were studied. For the extraction of sophocarpine, oxysophocarpine, oxymatrine, matrine, sophoramine, sophoridine and cytisine, the optimal UAEH condition was found to be a pH of 5, extraction temperature of 54 °C, extraction time of 60 min and solvent-to-material ratio of 112 mL/g. The experimental values obtained under optimal conditions were fairly consistent with the predicted values. UAEH extraction was then compared with reflux heating, enzymatic extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Of these extraction methods, UAEH extraction under optimal conditions produced the highest yield for seven types of alkaloids. In addition, UAEH extraction resulted in lower ingredient degradation than reflux heating extraction.

Licorice is known as a botanical source in medicine and a sweetening agent in food products. Commercial licorice is from the source of wild and cultivated G. uralensis. It was recognized that the material basis of wild and cultivated licorice is different. This study systematically investigated the difference between them by multidimensional analysis technology. The results showed that the content of starch grain, total dietary fibre (TDF), and 11 secondary metabolite components was significantly different in wild and cultivated licorice. principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least square (OPLS-DA) analyses showed that the wild and cultivated licorice samples could be clearly separated based on the acquired data of microscopic, macromolecular substance and secondary metabolite analysis. The main markers were starch grain, isoliquiritin apioside, liquirtin apioside and TDF. Additionally, NIR spectroscpy combined with PLS-DA has demonstrated a suitable, fast and nondestructive methodology for authentication of wild and cultivated licorice.

Capillary number theory is very important for chemical flooding enhanced oil recovery. The difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one is easy to confuse. After decades of development, great progress has been made in capillary number theory and it has important but sometimes incorrect application in EOR. The capillary number theory was based on capillary tube bundles and Darcy’s law hypothesis, and this should always be kept in mind when used in chemical flooding EOR. The flow in low permeability porous media often shows obvious non-Darcy effects, which is beyond Darcy’s law. Experiments data from ASP flooding and SP flooding showed that remaining oil saturation was not always decreasing as capillary number kept on increasing. Relative permeability was proved function of capillary number; its rate dependence was affected by capillary end effects. The mobility control should be given priority rather than lowering IFT. The displacement efficiency was not increased as displacement velocity increased as expected in heavy oil chemical flooding. Largest capillary number does not always make highest recovery in chemical flooding in heterogeneous reservoir. Misuse of CDC in EOR included the ignorance of mobility ratio, Darcy linear flow hypothesis, difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one, and heterogeneity caused flow regime alteration. Displacement of continuous oil or remobilization of discontinuous oil was quite different.

The objective of this thesis work is devoted to the design and control of a DC/DC boost converter for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) application. A 6-phase Interleaved Boost Converter (IBC) based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors and inversed coupled inductors of cyclic cascade structure is proposed. The input current ripple is reduced significantly and the lifespan of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) can be extended. Low power losses, good thermal performance and high switching frequency have been gained by the selected SiC-based semiconductors. The volumes of passive components (inductors and capacitors) are reduced. Thanks to the inverse coupled inductors, the core losses and copper losses are decreased and the compact magnetic component is achieved.Sliding-Mode Control (SMC) strategy is developed due to its high robust to parameter variations. on-line Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) detection functionality is successfully integrated with SMC. No additional equipment and sensor is required.The real-time Hardwar In the Loop (HIL) validation of the proposed converter is achieved by implement the power part into the FPGA and the control into the microprocessor in the MicroLabBox prototyping system from dSPACE. The comparison between off-line simulation and HIL validation demonstrated the dynamic behavior of the proposed converter and validated the implementation of the control into a real time controller before future tests on experimental test bench.; Cette thèse traite l’étude et le contrôle d’un hacheur élévateur à 6 phases entrelacées basé sur des semi-conducteurs en carbure de silicium (SiC) et des inductances couplées inverses pour véhicules électriques à pile à combustible (FCEV). . L'ondulation du courant dans la pile est combustible est considérablement réduite et la durée de vie de celle-ci peut être prolongée. Les semi-conducteurs en SiC, en raison de leurs faibles pertes, permettent de meilleures performances thermiques et une fréquence de commutation plus élevée. Les volumes des composants passifs (inductances et condensateurs) sont ainsi réduits. Grâce aux inductances à couplage inverse, les pertes du noyau magnétique et du bobinage sont réduites.La stratégie de contrôle par mode glissant est développée en raison de sa grande robustesse face aux variations de paramètres. La fonctionnalité de détection en ligne de spectroscopie d'impédance électrochimique (SIE) est intégrée avec succès à l’algorithme de contrôle par mode glissant.La validation HIL (Hardware In the Loop) en temps réel du convertisseur proposé est obtenue en implémentant la partie puissance dans le FPGA et la partie commande dans le microprocesseur du système de prototypage MicroLabBox de dSPACE. La comparaison entre la simulation hors ligne et la validation HIL a démontré le comportement dynamique du convertisseur proposé et validé la mise en œuvre du contrôle dans un contrôleur en temps réel avant de futurs tests sur un banc d'essai expérimental à échelle réduite.

The objective of this thesis work is devoted to the design and control of a DC/DC boost converter for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) application. A 6-phase Interleaved Boost Converter (IBC) based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors and inversed coupled inductors of cyclic cascade structure is proposed. The input current ripple is reduced significantly and the lifespan of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) can be extended. Low power losses, good thermal performance and high switching frequency have been gained by the selected SiC-based semiconductors. The volumes of passive components (inductors and capacitors) are reduced. Thanks to the inverse coupled inductors, the core losses and copper losses are decreased and the compact magnetic component is achieved.Sliding-Mode Control (SMC) strategy is developed due to its high robust to parameter variations. on-line Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) detection functionality is successfully integrated with SMC. No additional equipment and sensor is required.The real-time Hardwar In the Loop (HIL) validation of the proposed converter is achieved by implement the power part into the FPGA and the control into the microprocessor in the MicroLabBox prototyping system from dSPACE. The comparison between off-line simulation and HIL validation demonstrated the dynamic behavior of the proposed converter and validated the implementation of the control into a real time controller before future tests on experimental test bench.; Cette thèse traite l’étude et le contrôle d’un hacheur élévateur à 6 phases entrelacées basé sur des semi-conducteurs en carbure de silicium (SiC) et des inductances couplées inverses pour véhicules électriques à pile à combustible (FCEV). . L'ondulation du courant dans la pile est combustible est considérablement réduite et la durée de vie de celle-ci peut être prolongée. Les semi-conducteurs en SiC, en raison de leurs faibles pertes, permettent de meilleures performances thermiques et une fréquence de commutation plus élevée. Les volumes des composants passifs (inductances et condensateurs) sont ainsi réduits. Grâce aux inductances à couplage inverse, les pertes du noyau magnétique et du bobinage sont réduites.La stratégie de contrôle par mode glissant est développée en raison de sa grande robustesse face aux variations de paramètres. La fonctionnalité de détection en ligne de spectroscopie d'impédance électrochimique (SIE) est intégrée avec succès à l’algorithme de contrôle par mode glissant.La validation HIL (Hardware In the Loop) en temps réel du convertisseur proposé est obtenue en implémentant la partie puissance dans le FPGA et la partie commande dans le microprocesseur du système de prototypage MicroLabBox de dSPACE. La comparaison entre la simulation hors ligne et la validation HIL a démontré le comportement dynamique du convertisseur proposé et validé la mise en œuvre du contrôle dans un contrôleur en temps réel avant de futurs tests sur un banc d'essai expérimental à échelle réduite.

Quinolizidine alkaloids, a main form of alkaloids found in the genus Sophora, have been shown to have many pharmacological effects. This review aims to summarize the photochemical reports and biological activities of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora. The collected information suggested that a total of 99 quinolizidine alkaloids were isolated and detected from different parts of Sophora plants, represented by lupinine-type, cytisine-type, sparteine-type, and matrine-type. However, quality control needs to be monitored because it could provide basic information for the reasonable and efficient use of quinolizidine alkaloids as medicines and raw materials. The nonmedicinal parts may be promising to be used as a source of quinolizidine alkaloid raw materials and to reduce the waste of resources and environmental pollution. In addition, the diversity of chemical compounds based on the alkaloid scaffold to make a biological compound library needs to be extended, which may reduce toxicity and find new bioactivities of quinolizidine alkaloids. The bioactivities most reported are in the fields of antitumor activity along with the effects on the cardiovascular system. However, those studies rely on theoretical research, and novel drugs based on quinolizidine alkaloids are expected.

International audience; Declining reserves of the crude oil and increasingly serious environmental pollution have emphasized the requirement of a suitable substitute to our actual petroleum-based automobile market. An environmentally-friendly and efficient power generation device based on a sustainable energy source is attractive to settle this issue and realize cleaner production. Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), which achieves zero emission, modular construction, high energy conversion ratio and etc., has been treated as one of the most promising solution for automobile applications. Nevertheless, many technical restrictions such as relatively short life cycle have still to be conquered before satisfying the requirements of large-scale commercialization.Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is an effective technique for fault detection of electrochemical system. This paper presents an on-line EIS detection strategy based on the proposed fuel cell stack connected step-up converter. No additional equipment is required compared with conventional detection process. Furthermore, the proposed 6-phase Interleaved Boost Converter (IBC) based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors and inverse coupled inductors has achieved low input current ripple, high efficiency, high voltage gain ratio, high compactness and high redundancy. Benefiting from these advantages, the lifespan of fuel cell stack can be extended. The proposed online EIS detection has been realized and the results have been compared with theoretical analysis.

To study the air exchange efficiency of rooms while air conditioning equipment are running and window is open, this paper used the experiments of tracer gas CO2 to measure its concentration variations indoor after opening window. At the same time, the corresponding cases were simulated numerically with computational fluid dynamic (CFD). The experimental results showed that after opening window, the combined action of wind pressure and pressure due to the differences of the air density can cause obvious air exchange between the indoor and the outdoor. Indoor CO2 concentration was continuously reduced as proceeding of the air infiltration and there is an optimized width of window opening which resulted in a fastest decay rate of CO2 concentration. Furthermore, results of simulation and experiment indicated that larger temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor lead to faster indoor CO2 exhausted rates. Air exchange rate of air-conditioned rooms is affected by the types, opening degrees and the relative locations of the window as well. Natural ventilation by reasonable window opening can enhance the air quality if the outside air is not polluted. It should be noticed that optimized width and relative location of the window opening exist if economy is to be considered.

The paint spraying waste gas contains a large amount of paint mist, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other hazardous materials, which seriously affects human health and atmospheric environment. Paint mist cannot be separated from paint spraying waste gas effectively by the existing dry filtration methods because of the filter blocking. A new separation process and a novel coupling device with high separation efficiency have been developed. A numerical model was established to optimize the structure and operation parameters of the baffle interceptor by hydrodynamics method which verified by the coupling device experiment. From the simulating results, when plate spacing was 20 mm, folding angle was 90° and airflow velocity was up to 8 m/s, the separation efficiency of paint mist with the diameter of 15 μm was 84.7% and the pressure drop of the baffle interceptor was 220.2 Pa. Experiment was conducted under the above-optimized conditions, and the results showed that the pressure drop of the baffle interceptor was 303.33 Pa, and the paint mist separation efficiencies of the baffle interceptor and the interception-filtration coupling device were 78.34% and 96.38%, respectively.

The performance of pollutant removals, activated sludge characteristics, and microbial communities of two biofilm membrane bioreactors coupled with pre-anoxic tanks (BF-AO-MBRs) (one using fiber bundle bio-carriers (FB-MBR) and the other using suspended bio-carriers (MB-MBR)) were compared at the salinity between zero and 60 g/L. At all salinities, three bioreactors showed good COD average removal efficiencies (>94.1%), and FB-MBR showed the best TN removal efficiency (90.4% at 30 g/L salinity). Moreover, FB-MBR had the faster process start-up time and better salt shock resistance. At high salinities (30–60 g/L), more extracellular polymeric substances were produced by the BF-AO-MBRs to avoid the penetration of salt and protect the bacterial community. Because of the different attachment patterns of biofilms, the microbial community structure in the FB-MBR exposed to 30 g/L salinity had higher nitrite-oxidizing/ammonia-oxidizing bacteria ratio (6.44) with more abundance of denitrifiers, which contribute to higher TN removal efficiency and lower nitrite accumulation.

Hesperidin, a kind of citrus bioflavonoid distributed in foods including grapefruits, oranges and lemons, has many pharmacological activities. This study was aimed to evaluate the anti-depressant-like effect of hesperidin on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced mice. Depressive-like behavior was detected by the sucrose preference test (SPT), tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). A 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed to assess the cell viability of corticosterone-induced PC12 cells. The serum, hippocampal and cell supernatant concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) commercial kits. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE)/NF-κB and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) pathway in the hippocampus and corticosterone-induced PC12 cells were detected by Western blot. Our results showed that hesperidin (100, 200 mg/kg) significantly relieved depressive-like behaviors, including decreased sucrose consumption in sucrose preference test (SPT), immobility in the forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test, and locomotor activity in the open field test (OFT). Hesperidin reduced inflammatory cytokine levels by attenuating the HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB signaling pathway and BDNF/TrkB pathway both in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, hesperidin possessed efficient neuroprotective effects on depression, which was associated with neuroinflammation mediated by the HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB and BDNF/TrkB pathways.

International audience; Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), which is treated as one of the most attractive green power source, features different characteristics such as zero pollution, low operating temperature, fast start-up, long cell and stack life [1]. So far, general lifespan of PEMFC cannot reach the expectation of commercial application. For example, a typical life expectancy of the PEMFC under actual transportation constraints is around 3000 h, whereas transportation applications require at least 5000 h [2]. Hence, the operating conditions of PEMFC are essential to be monitored and controlled for the purpose of expending lifespan of power source. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is established as a powerful characterization tool to detect different failure mechanisms occurring in a fuel cell. As a high-current low-voltage power source, PEMFC system’s output voltage must be increased to approximately a few hundred volts to be suitable with vehicle powertrains. EIS detection based on fuel cell connected converter is an attractive method which is possible to realize on-line detection without any additional equipment. In light of these mentioned previously, a 6-Phase Interleaved Boost Converter (IBC) is selected as the power conversion interface of PEMFC for FCEV application. Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors are selected for the purpose to operate at high switching frequency and good thermal performance. Inverse coupled inductors are introduced to achieve a more compact system, which is an important point for automotive applications, and meanwhile, the core losses can be decreased compared with uncoupled inductor. Furthermore, Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is utilized to satisfy the strict control requirements of the coupled inductor currents. Meanwhile, DC bus voltage can be well controlled either under nominal condition or diagnosis condition. Small sinusoidal perturbation is superposed with the current reference signal and in this way AC perturbation can be added to fuel cell voltage and current. The detected AC components of fuel cell voltage and current are analyzed by Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and the impedance spectrums are obtained. Therefore, EIS has been achieved by the proposed DC/DC converter without additional hardware, cost and volume. The proposed process allows real time using of EIS results for embedded diagnosis of PEMFC.

Lycium ruthenicum has been used as ethnic medicine and nutraceutical food. Existing studies of L. ruthenicum can be classifies into three areas: (1) those in which molecular biology methods were used to study its origin, genetic variation and relationships with other species; (2) those in which phytochemical methods were used to extract, isolate, and identify compounds; and (3) those in which pharmacological methods were used to study active compounds. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of L. ruthenicum studies. This review will provide a useful bibliography for further investigations and applications of L. ruthenicum in medicines and foods.

Ligand receptor interactions mediate a great number of biological events such as cell-cell communication, pathogen invasion, or cell growth. Thus it is of great interest to investigate ligand receptor interactions in order to gain a deeper knowledge about their biological function. Such information can then also be applied to derive new and optimized ligands e.g. to block natural ligand receptor interactions in therapeutical applications such as pathogen inhibition. Today, there already exists a great number of theoretical models as well as experimental methods to evaluate the binding of ligands and receptors e.g. in terms of their binding thermodynamics or binding affinities. However, most of these methods are focused on a single ligand receptor pair interaction, or completely dissolved ligand receptor systems. In nature, ligand receptor interactions often take place at soft interfaces such as the cell surface where not a single but assemblies of ligands and receptors interact simultaneously. Recently, a novel method, soft colloidal probe - reflection interference contrast microscopy (SCP-RICM), was developed to study ligand receptor interactions at soft interfaces. In this technique, poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) based hydrogel microparticles are functionalized with ligands or receptors as a highly simplified model of the extracellular matrix. As counterpart, glass slides are functionalized with the corresponding receptors or ligands. Upon incubation of the SCPs on the glass slide, ligand receptor binding takes place leading to adhesion of the SCPs on the glass slide. As the SCPs are soft, they can deform to further maximize the contact area and thereby the ligand receptor interactions. Through analysis and read- out of the contact area with RICM and by applying a modified Hertzian elastic contact model, the Johnson, Kendall, and Roberts (JKR) model, the specific adhesion energy between ligands and receptors at the interface can be quantified. The aim of this work was to further develop the SCP-RICM method and apply the system to investigate ligand receptor interactions at soft, biomimetic interfaces. Specifically, there are three main aspects that were investigated in this work: I) the influence of mechanical properties or flexibility of the anchoring surface (Young’s modulus of SCP material), II) the influence of ligand concentration at the interface (degree of functionalization of SCPs), III) the influence of ligand type (weak vs. strong ligand receptor pairs) attached to the soft interface. In the first part, the synthesis of SCPs with different Young’s modulus was established. There are two approaches: I) By using a mixture of PEG-based macromonomers and crotonic acid during polymerization, the degree of cross-linking can be tuned and thus SPCs with different Young’s modulus in a range of 16 kPa to 319 kPa were obtained. II) As an alternative to PEG SCPs, PAA SCPs were synthesized through inverse suspension polymerization and the degree of cross-linking was controlled by the cross-linker/monomer ratio. The Young’s modulus of PAA SCPs were varied in a range of 7 kPa to 53 kPa. In the second part, the functionalization of SCPs with different ligands and controlling the degree of functionalization was investigated. PEG SCPs with various Young’s moduli were functionalized with crotonic acid via benzophenone photochemistry, and then further reacted with aminoethyl linked biotin and mannose via amide coupling. PEG SCPs with various Young’s moduli but similar degree of functionalization of mannose and biotin were obtained. This gave access to study the influence of mechanical properties and flexibility of the anchoring surface, as well as the influence of ligand type on ligand receptor interactions at biomimetic interfaces. PAA SCPs were functionalized with aminoethyl linked mannose via amide coupling and the degree of functionalization of mannose was varied by coupling mixtures of mannose ligand and non-ligand compound monoethanolamine (MEA) in a range of 0 mmol/g to 12.99 mmol/g. This gave access to study the influence of degree of functionalization of ligand on ligand receptor interactions at soft biomimetic interfaces. In the third part, influence of Young’s modulus, ligand concentration, and type were investigated through SCP- RICM experiments using the previously synthesized SCPs. Applying PAA-Man SCPs, it was found that higher ligand concentration leads to a higher overall adhesion energy. However, adhesion seems to reach a plateau when one of the binding partners (ligand or receptor) is saturated due to excess of the opposite binding partner. Investigating the adhesion of PEG-Man SCPs, it was found that higher Young’s moduli of SCPs lead to increased adhesion most likely due to entropic effects. However, for PEG-biotin SCPs no dependency on the Young’s modulus was observed. Potentially, here a cooperative binding of biotin on softer SCPs overcompensates for the loss of entropy in comparison to the harder SCPs. Cooperative binding in case of PEG-biotin was more likely compared to PEG Man SCPs due to the very large half-life of the biotin - avidin complex. In order to investigate these effects further, negatively charged PEG-CA SCPs were incubated on cationic polyelectrolyte surfaces. For such electrostatic interactions, it was found that higher Young’s moduli of SCPs lead to stronger adhesion for PEG-CA SCPs in presence of salt while this effect is reversed in water. In absence of salt, charged groups undergo long range interactions and only the softer SCPs allow for more charged groups to interact with the surface. For the same system in the presence of salt, charges are now screened and similar to the results for the mannose system, entropy favours the adhesion of less flexible SCPs. Overall, this thesis showed the Young’s modulus and ligand functionalization degree can be controlled for PEG and PAA SCPs. The influences of Young’s modulus, ligand concentration, and type on ligand receptor interaction were investigated. These new insights into ligand receptor interactions at soft interfaces will also promote the understanding of ligand receptor interactions in biological systems and to potentially design novel therapeutic strategies e.g. in antibacterial or anticancer therapy in the future., Ligand-Rezeptor-Wechselwirkungen bilden die Grundlage für eine Vielzahl biologischer Prozesse wie zum Beispiel der Zell-Kommunikation, der Invasion durch Krankheitserreger oder dem Zellwachstum. Daher ist es von großem Interesse diese Wechselwirkungen zu untersuchen und das Wissen über ihre biologische Funktion zu vertiefen. Diese Erkenntnisse können bei der Entwicklung und Optimierung von neuartigen Liganden eingesetzt werden, um natürliche Ligand-Rezeptor-Wechselwirkungen wie zum Beispiel den Befall durch Krankheitserreger zu inhibieren. Es existieren sowohl eine Vielzahl von theoretischen Modellen, aber auch experimentelle Methoden, um die Wechselwirkung zwischen Liganden und Rezeptoren, zum Beispiel bezüglich der Thermodynamik oder Bindungsaffinitäten, zu untersuchen. Jedoch lassen diese Methoden häufig nur Aussagen über die Interaktion zwischen einzelnen Ligand- Rezeptor-Paaren oder vollständig in Lösung befindlichen Ligand-Rezeptor- Systemen zu In der Natur finden diese Wechselwirkungen jedoch sehr häufig an weichen Oberflächen wie beispielsweise an Zelloberflächen statt, wo nicht nur eine, sondern eine Vielzahl von Liganden und Rezeptoren gleichzeitig interagieren. Eine neuartige Methode, die sogenannte soft colloidal probe - reflection interference contrast microscopy (SCP-RICM), ermöglicht es, die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Liganden und Rezeptoren auf weichen, biomimemtischen Oberflächen zu untersuchen. Bei dieser Methode werden Mikrogele auf Basis von Polyethylenglycol (PEG) mit Liganden oder Rezeptoren funktionalisiert und dienen als stark vereinfachtes Modell der extrazelluären Matrix. Die korrespondierenden Liganden beziehungsweise Rezeptoren werden auf Glasoberflächen immobilisiert und bilden den Bindungspartner zur SCP. Nach Zugabe der SCPs auf die Glassoberfläche findet eine Bindung zwischen Liganden und Rezeptoren statt, welche zur Adhäsion der SCPs auf der Glasoberfläche führt. Da die SCPs weich sind, wird die Kontaktfläche durch die Deformation erhöht, in der die Liganden und Rezeptoren Wechselwirkungen eingehen. Durch die Analyse der Kontaktfläche mit dem von Johnson, Kendall und Roberts (JKR) modifizierten Modells der Kontaktmechanik, kann die spezifische Adhäsionsenergie zwischen Liganden und Rezeptoren an der Grenzfläche quantifiziert werden. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand darin, die SCP-RICM Methode weiterzuentwickeln und sie zur Untersuchung der folgenden Parameter von Ligand-Rezeptor-Wechselwirkungen an weichen, biomimetischen Oberflächen anzuwenden: 1\. Der Einfluss der mechanischen Eigenschaften der verankernden Oberfläche (Elastizitätsmodul nach Young der SCPs) auf die Adhäsion. 2\. Der Einfluss der Ligandenkonzentration an der Grenzfläche (Funktionalisierungsgrad der SCPs) auf die Adhäsion. 3\. Der Einfluss der Art des Liganden (schwache bzw. starke Ligand-Rezeptor Paare), welche an den SCPs gebunden sind, auf die Adhäsion. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wurde hierzu die Synthese von SCPs mit verschiedenen Elastizitätsmodulen (E-Modul) etabliert. Dabei wurden zwei Ansätze verfolgt: I) Durch den Einsatz von Makromonomeren auf PEG-Basis und Zusatz von Crotonsäure während der Polymerisation, konnte der Vernetzungsgrad variiert werden, wodurch SCPs mit E-Modulen zwischen 16 kPa und 319 kPa synthetisiert wurden. II) Als Alternative zu PEG-SCPs wurden SCPs auf Basis von Polyacrylsäure (PAA) durch inverse Suspensionspolymerisation hergestellt. Der Vernetzungsgrad wurde durch das Verhältnis von Vernetzer zu Monomer kontrolliert. Das E Modul der PAA-SCPs konnte in einem Bereich von 7 kPa bis 53 kPa variiert werden. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde die Funktionalisierung der SCPs mit verschiedenen Liganden, sowie deren Funktionalisierungsgrad untersucht. PEG-SCPs mit verschiedenen E-Modulen wurden mittels Benzophenon-basierter Photochemie mit Crotonsäure funktionalisiert. Anschließend wurden Mannose und Biotin, nach vorheriger Modifizierung mit einer Aminoethyl-Gruppe, durch eine Amidkupplung kovalent an die SCPs gebunden. Dadurch wurden PEG-SCPs mit verschiedenen E-Modulen, aber dem gleichen Funktionalisierungsgrad erhalten. Auf dieser Grundlage konnte der Einfluss der mechanischen Eigenschaften oder der Flexibilität der verankernden Oberfläche, sowie der Einfluss der Art des Liganden auf die Ligand-Rezeptor- Wechselwirkungen an weichen Oberflächen untersucht werden. PAA-SCPs wurden mit Aminoethyl-Mannose durch eine Amidkupplung funktionalisiert, wobei der Funktionalisierungsgrad der Mannose durch die Zugabe von verschiedenen Mengen (0 mmol/g bis 12,99 mmol/g) Monoethanolamine (MEA) zur Reaktionslösung variiert wurde. Mit Hilfe der so erhaltenen PAA-SCPs konnte der Einfluss des Funktionalisierungsgrades auf die Ligand-Rezeptor-Wechselwirkungen an weichen, biomimetischen Oberflächen untersucht werden. Im dritten Teil der Arbeit wurden der Einfluss des E-Moduls, der Ligandenkonzentration und Art des Liganden mittels SCP-RICM untersucht. Am Beispiel der PAA-SCPs konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine höhere Ligandenkonzentration eine größere Adhäsionsenergie zur Folge hat. Allerdings scheint die Adhäsion ein Plateau zu erreichen, sobald die Sättigung eines Bindungspartners (Ligand oder Rezeptor) durch einen Überschuss des gegenteiligen Bindungspartners erreicht ist. Bei der Untersuchung der Adhäsion der PEG-Man-SCPs konnte beobachtet werden, dass ein größeres E-Modul der SCPs zu einer höheren Adhäsion führt, was mutmaßlich auf entropische Effekte zurückzuführen ist. Für die PEG-Biotin SCPs konnte kein Einfluss des E-Moduls beobachtet werden. Es ist möglich, dass eine kooperative Bindung von Biotin auf weicheren SCPs die entropischen Effekte auf härteren SCPs überkompensiert. Im Fall der Biotin-SCPs sind kooperative Bindungen wahrscheinlich, da der Biotin / Avidin-Komplex eine sehr hohe Halbwertszeit aufweist. Um diesen Effekt tiefergehend zu untersuchen, wurden anionisch geladene PEG-CA SCPs auf einer kationischen Oberfläche inkubiert. Bezüglich der elektrostatischen Wechselwirkungen konnte festgestellt werden, dass ein größeres E-Modul zu einer stärkeren Adhäsion für PEG-CA SCPs in Anwesenheit von Salz führt, während der umgekehrte Effekt ohne Salz beobachtet wurde. Ohne Zusatz von Salz gehen die geladenen Gruppen weitreichende Wechselwirkungen ein und lediglich weichere SCPs ermöglichen es, dass mehrere Gruppen an der Oberfläche interagieren. Zusammenfassend wurde im Rahmen dieser Arbeit gezeigt, dass das E-Modul und der Funktionalisierungsgrad der Liganden bei PEG und PAA SCPs kontrolliert werden kann. Mit Hilfe der so erhaltenen Modellsysteme wurde dann der Einfluss des E-Moduls, der Ligandenkonzentration und der Art des Liganden bei Ligand-Rezeptor Wechselwirkungen an weichen Oberflächen untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass alle drei Parameter Ligand-Rezeptor vermittelte Adhäsion beeinflussen und insbesondere die Art des Liganden und der Einfluss des E-Moduls eng miteinander verknüpft sind. Diese neuen Erkenntnisse bezüglich Ligand-Rezeptor-Wechselwirkungen an weichen Oberflächen ermöglichen somit potenziell neuer Erkenntnis auch in biologischen Systemen und könnten bei der Entwicklung neuartiger Therapiemethoden z.B. antibakterieller Therapien helfen.

Scutellaria baicalensis is a common and important medicinal plant in China, facing with reducing sharply in wild resources. To meet the needs in Chinese herbwouls medicine market and clinical application, S. baicalensis has been widely cultivated in Ningxia, Hebei, Shanxi, and Gansu et al. HPLC finger-print and near-infrared were studied in the research to evaluate quality difference of S. baicalensis in four districts. The results showed that the similarity of HPLC finger-print of 12 cultivated S. baicalensis and reference crude herb is more than 0.961, and the other is more than 0.983. On the other hand, paired sample t-test indicated there has no significant difference between the common peaks' area of 12 cultivated S. baicalensis and reference crude herb. It was verified that 12 cultivated S. baicalensis has highly consistency with reference crude herb. On the basis of chromatographic finger-print and near-infrared spectrum, the study applied paired sample t-test to verify analysis results, which could avoid erroneous judgment induced by indefinite threshold values in the similarity of chromatographic finger-print and provide reliable basis for the analysis results. Meanwhile, it also provides a new idea for improving the quality control method of Chinese medicinal materials by comparative study about two comprehensive detection means.

The distribution information of Glycyrrhiza uralensis was collected by interview investigation and field survey, and 46 related environmental factors were collected, some kinds of functional chemical constituents of G.uralensis were analyzed. Integrated climate, topography and other related ecological factors, the habitat suitability study was conducted based on Arc geographic information system(ArcGIS),and maximum entropy model. The AUC of ROC curve was both above 0.95, indicating that the predictive results with the maximum model were highly precise. The results showed that 5 major ecological factors have obvious influence on ecology suitability distributions of G. uralensis, including July average temperature, soil sub category, Dec precipitation, vegetation types and standard deviation of seasonal variation in temperature, et al. It is suitable for the living habits of the G. uralensis, adequate light, low rainfall, summer heat and large temperature difference between day and night, which is suitable for distribution in the northern temperate plains and mountains. In addition, the ecological suitability regionalization based on the chemical constituents of G.uralensis also provides a new suitable distribution area other than the traditional distribution area, which provides a scientific basis for the reasonable introduction of G.uralensis.

The present study was designed to investigate the protective effect of Sophoraflavanone G (SG) on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with STZ (35mg/kg). 7days later, the rats were intragastrically administered with Metformin (MET, 150mg/kg), SG (20mg/kg) or SG (40mg/kg) once daily for consecutive 30 days. The animals were anaesthetized, the blood and liver samples were also collected for further assay. SG significantly decreased the serum levels of glucose, insulin, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT). In addition, SG increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and inhibited malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum. SG also ameliorated the histopathological condition. Furthermore, SG attenuated the expressions of thioredoxin (Trx), thioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip) and the phosphorylations of inhibitory kappa B kinase (IKK)α, IKKβ, nuclear factor-κB inhibitory proteins (IκB)α, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). These findings demonstrated that SG showed beneficial effects on STZ-induced diabetic rats.

The distribution information of Lycii Fructus was collected by interview investigation and field survey, and 46 related environmental factors were collected, some kinds of functional chemical constituents the of Lycii Fructus were analyzed. Integrated climate, topography and other related ecological factors, the habitat suitability study was conducted based on Arc geographic information system(ArcGIS),and maximum entropy model. The AUC of ROC curve was both above 0.95, indicating that the predictive results with the maximum model were highly precise. The results showed that 5 major ecological factors had obvious influence on ecology suitability distributions of Lycii Fructus, including soil pH, soil subclass, vegetation type and in August the average temperature et al. It is suitable for the living habits of the Lycii Fructus, dry, cool weather, more hardy, drought-resistant, alkali soil, which is suitable for distribution in the northern temperate plains. In addition, the ecological suitability regionalization based on the chemical constituents of Lycii Fructus also provides a new suitable distribution area other than the traditional distribution area, which provides a scientific basis for the reasonable introduction of Lycii Fructus.

Crocetin ester (CE) is the active ingredient of Crocus sativus L. stigmas and Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fruit. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of CE on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) through Rho/ROCK/NF-κB pathway and explore its underlying mechanism. Administration of CE (25 and 50 mg/kg) could significantly reduce the serum contents of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In addition, pretreatment with CE attenuated the contents of creatine kinase (CK), malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum. Treatment with CE also improved the histopathological alteration and decreased the ST elevation. Furthermore, CE could ameliorate the cardiac expressions of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1), MDA5, Rho, ROCK, p-IκB and p-NF-κBp65 in ISO-induced rats. It was assumed that CE might be a new therapeutic candidate for the treatment of AMI possibly through the inhibition of Rho/ROCK/NF-κB pathway.

Methyl 3-deoxy-3-(diphenylphosphino)-4,6-O-benzylidene-α-D-altropyranoside (1) and methyl 2-deoxy-2-(diphenylphosphino)-4,6-O-benzylidene-α-D-altropyranoside (2) were prepared from methyl 2,3-anhydro-4,6-O-benzylidene-O-D-mannopyranoside and methyl 2,3-anhydro-4,6-O-benzylidene-α-D-allopyranoside, respectively, via regioselective and stereospecific ring-opening reactions in high yields. Compounds 1 and 2 were oxidized to give the corresponding phosphine oxides (S and 4).

In this paper, based upon Fanger's thermal comfort concept, several concepts, which utilize computing results obtained from the large eddy simulation (LES), are put forward, such as thermal comfort index based on time-averaged parameters, instantaneous thermal index, time-averaged thermal comfort index and time-averaged thermal comfort index along walking routes. Also their discrepancies and calculation methods are discussed in the paper. Apart from these, we have calculated PD value as an example, whose results indicate that the distributions of four indices are obviously different. Therefore, it is suggested to distinguish different cases and select correspondingly thermal comfort evaluation indices while considering the question of thermal comfort.

Ardisia plant species have been used in traditional medicines, and their bioactive constituents of 13,28-epoxy triterpenoid saponins have excellent biological activities for new drug development. In this study, a fast and simple method based on ultrafast liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS) was developed to simultaneously identify and quantitatively analyze triterpenoid saponins in Ardisia crenata extracts. In total, 22 triterpenoid saponins, including two new compounds, were identified from A. crenata. The method exhibited good linearity, precision and recovery for the quantitative analysis of eight marker saponins. A relative quantitative method was also developed using one major saponin (ardisiacrispin B) as the standard to break through the choke-point of the lack of standards in phytochemical analysis. The method was successfully applied to quantitatively analyze saponins in commercially available plant samples. This study describes the first systematic analysis of 13,28-epoxy-oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins in the genus Ardisia using LC-ESI-MS. The results can provide the chemical support for further biological studies, phytochemotaxonomical studies and quality control of triterpenoid saponins in medicinal plants of the genus Ardisia.

The polymerization kinetics of acrylamide was investigated in the system of cetyltrimethyltetrammonium bromide-water micelles. The maximal polymerization rate was found at the second critical micelle concentration. A square-root dependence of the polymerization rates, R p , on the initiator concentrations was obtained. Polymerization in microemulsions was also investigated to establish a connection between the structures of microemulsions and polymerization reaction rate. The microemulsions consisted of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, n-butanol, n-octane and water. Their structures were determined by conductivity measurements. Our results showed that maximal polymerization rates occurred at two transition points from water in oil (W/O) to bicontinuous (BC) and from bicontinuous (BC) to oil in water (O/W). At the same time, we also found that the polyacrylamide molecular weights depended on the structures of microemulsions.

The paper presents the design, fabrication and test of a 118GHz sub-harmonic mixer based on Schottky Diode. The co-simulation between HFSS and ADS was applied to the modeling of the mixer. After test, much analysis and adjusting was made on the mixer, and, consideration of the technics, the design was modified. The final test result indicates that the single side band(SSB) conversion loss of the mixer is lower than 9.3dB within 103GHz to 132GHz, and the best conversion loss is 3.6dB.

The load-carrying capacity, friction reduction and antiwear properties of two benzotriazole derivatives containing the R 2 NC(=S)S- group, added in liquid paraffin under boundary lubrication conditions were evaluated using a Seta-Shell Four-ball lubrication machine and an optimal SRV tester. Their anticorrosive and antioxidative properties, and thermal stabilities were also examined. The results when compared with those of zinc butyloctyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) show that the two novel compounds possess an excellent load-carrying capacity similar to ZDDP and better antiwear and antioxidative properties than ZDDP. Besides that, they have good anticorrosive properties and high thermal stabilities. The rubbed surfaces were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis analytical tools. The extreme-pressure, antiwear and antioxidative mechanisms were discussed.

The ion implantation of N + B (3.1 × 10 17 N ions cm -2 at 90 keV followed by 3.2 × 10 17 B ions cm -2 at 90 keV) into GCrl15 bearing steel was carried out. The phase structure and the distribution and binding energy of elements in the implanted layer were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The dry sliding friction and wear behaviour of the implanted layer and GCr15 bearing steel substrate was also examined in detail using a friction and wear machine. It is found that a surface layer with a lower friction coefficient and a higher wear resistance than the substrate was obtained by implanting N + B into GCr15 bearing steel. Because of dispersion strengthening of the hexagonal BN phase and e-Fe 2 N-Fe 3 N phase and solid solution strengthening of B atoms, the surface hardness of the implanted layer is increased. As a result of the increased hardness and the existence of a graphite-like carbon film on the surface of the implanted layer, the antiadhesive and antiabrasive properties of the implanted layer were considerably enhanced. the friction coefficient was reduced from 0.60 to 0.20 and the wear resistance was also greatly improved.