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The fungal community structure, the relationship between fungal flora and physicochemical factors, and the prediction of fungal function in pit muds from different spatial positions of 10- and 50-year-old cellars at Jinhui liquor Co. Ltd. were studied by using Illumina NovaSeq high-throughput sequencing, redundancy analysis and Fungi Functional Guild (FUNGuild). The results showed that the fungal diversity and richness of the 10-year-old pit mud decreased with increasing depth; the fungal diversity of the 50-year-old pit mud showed an overall increasing trend, while the fungal richness initially decrease and then increased. Moreover, for the 10-year-old pit, the fungal diversity and richness of the upper layer of the pit wall were significantly higher than those of the other positions (P < 0.05), while for the 50-year-old cellar, the fungal diversity and richness of the bottom layer were significantly higher than those of the other locations (P < 0.05). The fungal diversity and richness were significantly higher in the wall of the 10-year-old cellar than the 50-year-old cellar (P < 0.05), but were significantly higher in the bottom of the 50-year-old cellar than the 10-year-old cellar (P < 0.05). A total of 21 fungal phyla and 520 genera were detected in all pit mud samples, the relative abundance of four dominant phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota and Rozellomycota) and most dominant genera such as Aspergillus and Kazachstania showed significant changes among pit ages and spatial locations (P < 0.05). Fusarium, Aspergillus, Saccharomyces and Monascus were positively correlated with the contents of water, humus, K+ and Ca2+, while Cladosporium and Vishniacozyma were positively correlated with pH. Seven nutritional modes of fungi were observed, mainly including saprophytic and pathological-saprophytic-symbiotic nutritional modes, and four single and seven mixed functional groups were determined. This study provides a theoretical basis for clarifying the structure and spatial distribution of fungal community in Jinhui Baijiu pit mud.

In order to provide valuable information on the current status of research and the hot topics in the field of Baijiu pit mud, a comprehensive bibliometric visual analysis was carried out on 522 pieces of Chinese literature and 112 pieces of English literature in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases published from 1980 to 2021. Knowledge graph analysis from the perspectives of annual publication volume, authors and their institutions, highly cited articles and keywords was conducted to summarize recent progress and to predict future trends in this field. Research on Baijiu pit mud is of great significance for the high-quality development of the Baijiu industry and Baijiu quality improvement. The amount of research literature in the field of Baijiu pit mud has shown a trend of fluctuating growth over the past one decade, but it has not yet reached a mature stage, which still has broad development prospects. Chinese scholars are the main force in the field of Baijiu pit mud research. The literature published by the major contributors to this field such as Zhang Wenxue, Tang Yuming, Zhou Rongqing, Wu Chongde, and Xu Yan has a great influence and high academic value. The major institutions that have researched Baijiu pit mud include Sichuan University, Sichuan University of Science Engineering, and Jiangnan University. The research hotspots mainly focus on microbial communities, artificial pit mud, organic acids, butyric acid bacteria, functional bacteria, and so on. The information presented in this paper can help researchers in understanding the current trends and future directions in Baijiu pit mud research and in conducting scientific research and academic exchanges.

2-(diisopropylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DIPEMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GlyMA) were used for the investigation of the redox-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization, by using poly (ethylene oxide)-4-(4-Cyanopentanoic acid) dithiobenzoate (mPEG-CPADB) as the macro-chain-transfer agent (macro-CTA). The particle growth process study indicated that the particles changed from spheres to worms, and then to vesicles during the polymerization process. The degree of polymerization (DP) of the hydrophobic block P(DIPEMA-co-GlyMA) affected the particle morphology, particle diameter and molecular weight significantly. Pure polymeric vesicles could be obtained when DP was equal to or higher than 60, and with increasing of the DP of the hydrophobic block, the diameter and the molecular weight of the particles both increased.

Polypropylene (PP) composite materials were prepared through two molding methods of injection and compression molding, taking PP, FG as the matrix and thermal conductive filler. The effects of molding methods and FG content on the thermal conductivity of composite materials were studied, and the SEM, XRD, and thermal expansion properties of the materials were further analyzed. Results showed that thermal conductivity of the composite material increases with increasing of the FG content. When the FG content was 75 wt%, the average thermal conductivity of the composite materials prepared by injection molding and compression molding is 9.88 W·m-1·K-1 and 6.03 W·m-1·K-1, respectively. The axial thermal conductivity is 16.6 W·m-1·K-1 and 1.35 W·m-1·K-1, and the radial thermal conductivity is 5.88 W·m-1·K-1 and 26.9 W·m-1·K-1, respectively. In composite materials formed by injection molding, the flaky FG is mainly oriented vertically, while in compression molding, the flaky FG is mainly oriented horizontally.

A polyethylenimine adjuvant modified by mannose, which may be used in the study of vaccine adjuvant, was prepared in this paper. Its structure was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and its micromorphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy. A series of mannose-modified polyvinylimine were prepared according to the molar ratio of primary amine groups between mannose and polyvinylimine, and their storage stability was observed at 4°C. In addition, the cytotoxicity of modified and unmodified polyethylenimine was also tested, and the results showed that the modified polyethylenimine was less toxic than unmodified polyethylenimine.

Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a kind of medical polymer material with good biodegradability and histocompatibility, which is widely used in postoperative anti-adhesion materials. In this paper, PLGA microfiber membrane was successfully prepared with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) as the main material by electrospinning technology. The surface morphology, wettability, dimensional stability and mechanical properties of PLGA microfiber films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing machine. The results show that the average diameter of the prepared PLGA fiber is 2.218~2.313 μm, the elongation at break of the fiber film is up to 193%, and the dimensional stability and wettability of the fiber film are maintained at 37°C. The degradation cycle is 2~3 months.

PP/FG composite materials were prepared by compressing moulding under high temperature through high-speed mixer, mixing mill and vulcanization machine taking PP as the matrix resin, FG as the thermal conductive filler, and NDZ-201 as the coupling agent. Effects of PP proportion, FG content and particle size on the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of composite materials were studied. Results showed that PP proportion has little effect on the thermal conductivity of PP/FG composite materials, but it greatly affects the mechanical properties of the composite materials. Overall, the quality ratio of PP230 to K-4038 at 50:50 is more suitable. With the increasing of FG content, the thermal conductivity increases, and a significant critical value appears when the FG content is 50 wt%; The strength of the composite material first decreases and then increases, with an increase in modulus and a decrease in strain. As the FG particle size increases, the thermal conductivity of the composite material increases and the mechanical properties decrease.

Polymeric vesicles with tertiary amine and epoxy functional groups were fabricated via the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization of 2-(diisopropylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DIPEMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GlyMA) in an ethanol-water mixture by using poly (ethylene oxide)-4-(4-Cyanopentanoic acid) dithiobenzoate (mPEG45-CPADB) as the macro-chain-transfer agent (macro-CTA). Biocompatible polymer mPEG45 with molecular weight of 2000 and 4-(4-Cyanopentanoic acid) dithiobenzoate (CPADB) were used for the macro-CTA synthesizing via the esterification reaction. Investigation of the degree of polymerization (DP) of the hydrophobic block P(DIPEMA-co-GlyMA) and the solid content indicated that both have significant effect on the particle morphology and particle diameter. 1H NMR and FTIR analysis indicated the existing of tertiary amine and epoxy functional groups on the produced vesicles.

Silver/polymeric vesicle composite nanoparticles with good antibacterial properties were fabricated in this study. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared in situ on cross‐linked vesicle membranes through the reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) via coordination bonding between the Ag+ ions and the nitrogen atoms on the vesicles. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy (UV‐vis), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed the formation of AgNPs on the vesicles. The antibacterial test demonstrated good antibacterial activity against both Gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and Gram‐positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) for the produced AgNP‐decorated vesicles. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the AgNP‐decorated vesicles for E. coli and S. aureus were 8.4 and 9.6 μg/mL, respectively. Cell viability analysis on the A549 cells indicated that the toxicity was low when the AgNP concentrations did not exceed the MIC values, and the wound healing test confirmed the good antibacterial properties of the AgNP‐decorated vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (TiNbZrCr)Nx high-entropy nitride films (HENFs) were prepared by high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS). The effect of the N2 flow rate (FN) on the HPPMS plasma discharge, film composition, microstructure, residual stress, tribological properties, and corrosion resistance was investigated. Results show that, with the increase in FN, plasma discharge is enhanced. Firstly, the introduced N atoms react with Ti, Nb, Cr, and Zr to form an FCC nitride phase structure. Then, with the increase in plasma bombardment on the deposited film, the HENFs undergo amorphization to form an FCC+ amorphous structure, accompanied by a decrease in grain size and a change in the preferred orientation from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0). The HENFs deposited at FN = 8 sccm show the highest hardness of 27.8 GPa. The HENFs deposited at FN = 12 sccm present the best tribological properties, with a low wear rate of 4.0 × 10−6 mm3N−1m−1. The corrosion resistance of the (TiNbZrCr)Nx HENFs shows a strong correlation with the amorphous phase. The corrosion resistance of the FCC nitride film is the worst, and the corrosion resistance gradually increases with the amorphous transformation of the film. Based on the above results, nanocomposite high-entropy films can be prepared using HPPMS technology and exhibit excellent, comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory investigation was carried out to assess the effect of amino-alcohol-based corrosion inhibitors on concrete durability, and the inhibition mechanism in concrete was analyzed. Both admixed type and surface-applied type corrosion inhibitors were studied by chloride penetration test, saturation test, scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the anti-penetrability, compactness, and hydration of concrete were improved after the two types of corrosion inhibitors were applied. The use of corrosion inhibitors mitigated the penetration of chloride ions and water into concrete, which effectively delayed corrosion of the reinforcing bar. The surface-applied corrosion inhibitor showed better efficiency in the concrete specimens compared to the admixed type. Moreover, there was a better synergy between the two agents and the best performance when the two agents were applied to the concrete simultaneously. Key words: corrosion inhibitor, concrete, durability, inhibition mechanism. Des recherches en laboratoire ont ete effectuees afin d'evaluer l'effet des inhibiteurs de corrosion a base d'alcool amine sur la durabilite du beton, et le mecanisme d'inhibition dans le beton a ete analyse. Les inhibiteurs de corrosion de type adjuvante et de type applique en surface ont ete etudies par essai de penetration du chlorure, essai de saturation, au microscope electronique a balayage et par diffraction des rayons X. Les resultats ont montre que les proprietes d'anti-penetrabilite, de compacite et d'hydratation du beton se sont ameliorees apres l'application des deux types d'inhibiteurs de corrosion. L'utilisation d'inhibiteurs de corrosion a attenue la penetration des ions chlorure et de l'eau dans le beton, ce qui a effectivement retarde la corrosion de la barre d'armature. L'inhibiteur de corrosion applique en surface sur des echantillons de beton a montre une meilleure efficacite par rapport a l'inhibiteur de corrosion de type melange. De plus, il y avait une meilleure synergie entre les deux agents et un meilleur rendement lorsque les deux agents etaient appliques simultanement dans le beton. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: inhibiteur de corrosion, beton, durabilite, mecanisme d'inhibition., Introduction The problem of insufficient durability of reinforced concrete structures in marine environments is attracting more and more attention, and reinforcement corrosion caused by chloride ions is one of the [...]

In the field of rock engineering, complexity of stress environment is an important factor affecting its stability. Thus, in view of fracture mechanism of rock under different loading rates within the scope of quasi-static strain rate, four groups of uniaxial compression tests with different strain rates were carried out on sandstone specimens, and strength, deformation, failure modes and acoustic emission characteristics of specimens were compared and analyzed. Furthermore, the fracture mechanism was discussed from the perspective of fracture characteristics based on fractal dimension, crack propagation law inverted through acoustic emission b-value, and micro fracture morphology. The results showed that as the strain rate increased from 10 to 5 s-1 to 10-2 s-1, the fractal dimension of rock fragments increased, and the fractal dimension of rock fragments increased by 9.66%, 7.32%, and 3.77% successively for every 10 times increase in strain rate, which means that the equivalent size of fragments was getting smaller, and the fragmentation feature was becoming increasingly prominent. The crack propagation process based on acoustic emission b-value showed that with the increase of loading rate, the specimen entered the rapid crack propagation stage earlier, in order of 68%, 66%, 29%, and 22% of peak stress. Moreover, the microscopic fracture morphology showed that with the increase of loading rate, transgranular phenomenon was clear, and the fracture morphology changed from smooth to rough. That meant that the fracture of sandstone rock at high loading rates was mainly caused by the propagation of large cracks, which was different from the slow process of initiation, convergence and re-propagation of small cracks at low strain rates. Due to warm and humid air currents of the Indian Ocean and the southwest monsoon, the Palong Zangbo catchment in southeastern Tibet has developed oceanic glaciers in the valley, and the activity of glacial debris flows has been gradually intensified under neotectonic activity, frequent earthquakes, climate change, and extreme rainfall. In this paper, the topographic and morphological data of the debris flow basin, the dynamic evolution characteristics of glaciers and glacial lakes were analyzed by using multisource long-term series of remote sensing images. Simultaneously, the distribution of moraines and landslide sources were extracted based on satellite image. In addition, climate change in the study area was analysed using temperature and rainfall data from the last 40 years, revealing that the average temperature in the study area from May to October presented a fluctuating tendency as a whole, especially after 2013, when the temperature gradually increased. As these temperature changes led to continuous melting of the glaciers in the study area, the glacier area decreased from 8,300 km2 in 1988-4,584 km2 in 2019, which decreased nearly 45%. However, the number and area of glacial lakes in the study area gradually increased under a power-law trend, which further led to a significant increase on the possibility of glacial lake rupture in the study area. Due to the joint effects of earthquakes, glacier melting and glacial lake collapse, the debris flows in the study area were well developed, and a total of 122 debris flows were found with varying channel lengths, areas and material sources. Importantly, the characteristics of the glaciers, glacial lakes and climate change in the study area have indicated that the glaciers have retreated, the number of glacial lakes has increased, and the risk of debris flow in this basin will increase in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen monitoring and early warnings on floods due to glacial lake collapses and debris flows in the study area to improve the risk management of debris flows and floods and the prevention and mitigation of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-encapsulation and release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) through cell-like transmission functions of polymeric vesicles were studied using cross-linked pH-responsive polymeric vesicles. The vesicles were fabricated for the first time via the redox-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer dispersion polymerization in ethanol-water mixture, using 2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate, and the vesicle membrane was modified post-cross-linking by using ethylenediamine. A phase diagram was constructed for reproducible fabrication of the polymeric vesicles, and well-shaped vesicles were formed when the target degree of polymerization of the hydrophobic polymer chains was equal to or higher than 50 with solid content in the range of 10–30 wt%. The cross-linked vesicle membrane served as a gate enabling "open" and "closed" states in response to pH stimulation. Up to 50% drug loading efficiency and 39% drug loading content could be achieved, and in vitro release of the DOX-loaded vesicles in aqueous buffer solutions showed a much faster DOX release rate at pH 5.0 than at pH 6.5. The polymeric vesicles were of very low cytotoxicity to A549 cells up to the concentration of 2 mg/mL, and the IC50 of DOX-loaded vesicles were higher than that of the free DOX. The intracellular DOX release study indicated higher cellular uptake capability for DOX-loaded vesicles than that of free DOX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium thin films are particularly important as electrode layers, barrier layers, or intermediate buffer layers in the semiconductor industry. In order to improve the quality of Ti thin films and the adhesion and diffraction abilities of irregular parts, this paper used high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS/HiPIMS) to prepare titanium thin films. The effects of different trigger voltages (700 V, 800 V, and 900 V) on plasma properties were studied, and the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the films were also studied. The results showed that as the voltage increased, the grain size of the thin films gradually increased. The residual stress of the titanium films changed from compressive stress (−333 MPa) to tensile stress (55 MPa) and then to low compressive stress (−178 MPa). The hardness values were 13 GPa, 9.45 GPa and 6.62 GPa, respectively. The wear resistance of the films gradually decreased, while the toughness gradually increased. The corrosion resistance of the films decreased as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes a polymer potentially used as a vaccine adjuvant. We first synthesized a novel polyacrylic acid modified by perfluorinated butanol—a bioactive compound that is biocompatible. The main aim was to functionalize the polyacrylic acid by fluorine. This functionalization could offer a permanent graft by an esterification reaction. The chemical structure of the polymer has been characterized by the hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum (1H-NMR) and fourier transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR). Thermal analysis showed that the esterification reaction was successful on the polyacrylic acid. Viscosity testing showed that the viscosity of the sample aqueous solution increases along with esterification. The surface tension of the polymer was also tested. The results show that the surface tension of the polyacrylic acid markedly decreased when modified by fluorine. Finally, the interaction of these materials with macrophages was tested on cell test. Results showed that the modified polyacrylic acid performed better improve the activation effect than pure polyacrylic acid in 1L-1β.

Poly (DL-lactide)/Poly (ethylene glycol) diblock copolymer is successfully synthesized with mPEG and DL-LA as main raw materials, and the residual monomers of the polymer were removed by recrystallization. FT-IR is used to characterize the structure of the polymer. Gas chromatography is used to determine the residual monomers and residual solvent of the polymer. The solubility of polymer in different solvents was determined, and the effect of different solvent systems on the removal of residual monomers in copolymer were discussed. The results showed that the Poly(DL-lactide)/Poly(ethylene glycol) diblock copolymer was recrystallized with acetone/ isopropyl ether solvent system has the best ability to remove residual monomers, and the residual monomers of the obtained polymer are less than 0.01 wt%, the total residual solvent is only 0.24 wt%, and the productivity is as high as 95.5 wt%.

The surface modified flake graphite (FG) was filled into polypropylene (PP) and mixed by a double-roll open mill. FG/PP composites with high thermal conductivity were prepared by compression molding. Studies had shown that the modification of FG by coupling agent was beneficial to the dispersion in FG/PP composites. The effect was better when the amount of NDZ-201 was 0.7wt%. With the increase of FG particle size, the thermal conductivity of FG/PP composites increased obviously. Compared with 17μm FG, the average, vertical and parallel thermal conductivity of FG/PP composites prepared with 148μm FG increased by 65.9%, 87.7% and 47.0% respectively. The thermal conductivity of FG/PP composites were improved with the increase of FG content. When FG content was 70wt%, the thermal conductivity increased significantly, the average, vertical and parallel thermal conductivity reached 4.16 W·m-1·K-1, 0.938 W·m-1·K-1 and 18.4 W·m-1·K-1.

Simple Summary: Considering the shortage of conventional feeds, such as corn and soybeans, researchers have gradually started to develop and apply unconventional feed resources. As an unconventional feed resource, Amaranthus hypochondriacus is a potential high-quality feed resource. Hence, this study applied different proportions of Amaranthus hypochondriacus stem and leaf powder in experimental diets to assess its nutritional value for broilers. This experiment aimed to study the effects of different proportions of Amaranthus hypochondriacus stem and leaf powder (AHSL) on the growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, carcass traits, meat quality, and blood biochemical parameters of broilers from day 1 to day 42. The experiment utilized a single-factor experimental design, with a total of 216 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) randomly assigned to three dietary treatment groups (eight replicate cages of nine birds per cage). The dietary treatments included a control diet, a 3% AHSL diet and a 6% AHSL diet for days 0–21. Then, the 3% and 6% AHSL diets were changed to 5% and 10% AHSL for days 22–42. The results showed that the inclusion levels of AHSL did not affect growth performance, carcass traits, or meat quality on days 21 and 42 (p > 0.05). However, the inclusion levels of AHSL decreased the apparent nutrient digestibility (AND) of dry matter (DM) (p ˂ 0.001) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (p ˂ 0.001) and increased the serum concentration of phosphorus (p ˂ 0.001) on day 21. On day 42, the inclusion levels of AHSL decreased the AND of DM (p = 0.025) and NDF content (p ˂ 0.001), but increased the AND of crude protein (CP) (p = 0.004). In particular, the diet containing 10% AHSL significantly increased the serum enzyme activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (p = 0.046) and the serum concentration of total protein (TP) (p ˂ 0.001) on day 42. Overall, AHSL can be used as a new and effective feed ingredient in broiler diets. It can replace part of the corn–soybean meal diet without any adverse effects, which is beneficial for conserving feed resources. Additionally, AHSL can be included at a level of up to 10% during the broiler growth period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The service life of an artificial hip joint is limited to 10–15 years, which is not ideal for young patients. To extend the lifespan of these prostheses, the coefficient of friction and wear resistance of metallic femoral heads must be improved. In this study, a Cu‐doped titanium nitride (TiNX–Cu) film with "autoantifriction" properties is deposited on a CoCrMo alloy via magnetron sputtering. When delivered in a protein‐containing lubricating medium, the Cu in TiNX–Cu quickly and consistently binds to the protein molecules in the microenvironment, resulting in the formation of a stable protein layer. The proteins adsorbed on the TiNX–Cu surface decompose into hydrocarbon fragments owing to the shear stress between the Al2O3/TiNX–Cu tribopair. The synergistic effect of the catalysis of Cu and shear stress between the Al2O3/TiNX–Cu tribopair transforms these fragments into graphite‐like carbon tribofilms with an antifriction property. These tribofilms can simultaneously reduce the friction coefficient of the Al2O3/TiNX–Cu tribopair and enhance the wear resistance of the TiNX–Cu film. Based on these findings, it is believed that the autoantifriction film can drive the generation of antifriction tribofilms for lubricating and increasing the wear resistance of prosthetic devices, thereby prolonging their lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been a remarkable success, the heterogeneous individual antibody generation and decline over time are unknown and still hard to predict. In this study, blood samples were collected from 163 participants who next received two doses of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac®) at a 28-day interval. Using TMT-based proteomics, we identified 1,715 serum and 7,342 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proteins. We proposed two sets of potential biomarkers (seven from serum, five from PBMCs) at baseline using machine learning, and predicted the individual seropositivity 57 days after vaccination (AUC = 0.87). Based on the four PBMC's potential biomarkers, we predicted the antibody persistence until 180 days after vaccination (AUC = 0.79). Our data highlighted characteristic hematological host responses, including altered lymphocyte migration regulation, neutrophil degranulation, and humoral immune response. This study proposed potential blood-derived protein biomarkers before vaccination for predicting heterogeneous antibody generation and decline after COVID-19 vaccination, shedding light on immunization mechanisms and individual booster shot planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]