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In this work, we modified nylon 6 with liquid rubber by in-situ polymerization. The infrared analysis suggested that HDI urea diketone is successfully blocked by caprolactam after grafting on hydroxyl of HTPB, and the rubber-modified nylon copolymer is generated by the anionic polymerization. The impact section analysis indicated the rubber-modified nylon 6 resin exhibited an alpha crystal form.With an increase in the rubber content, nylon 6 was more likely to generate stable α crystal. Avrami equation was a good description of the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of nylon-6 and rubber-modified nylon-6 resin. Moreover, it is found that the initial crystallization temperature of nylon-6 chain segment decreased due to the flexible rubber chain segment. n value of rubber-modified nylon-6 indicated that its growth was the coexistence of two-dimensional discoid and three-dimensional spherulite growth. Finally, the addition of the rubber accelerated the crystallization rate of nylon 6.

With the exploitation of rare earth elements (REE) in southern China, desertification has become a serious ecological problem in this region. To accurately understand the desertification process in mining areas and formulate targeted ecological restoration programs, taking the Lingbei mining area in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province as the study area, we explored desertification information extraction methods, desertification dynamics monitoring, and desertification drivers in REE mining areas using multisource data from 1986 to 2021. The results show that from the method of extracting desertification information, Random Forest is the prominent (83.33%), followed by Albedo–NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) space (74.44%), and thirdly Linear Spectral Mixture Model (65.56%). From 1986 to 2021, the desertification land area in Lingbei mining areas first increased and then decreased, showing a reverse trend, but it has not recovered to the pre‐mining level. The government's ecological reclamation measures are the key factors for the restoration of desertification land. There are still 17.81 km2 areas that have not been restored, of which 2.16 km2 are at the level of severe desertification. Moderate desertification and light desertification have not been completely curbed, which needs continuous attention. Vegetation coverage has the highest explanatory power to the distribution of land desertification in mining areas, followed by land use classification, indicating that human activities have a great influence on the spatial differentiation of land desertification in mining areas, and it is necessary to pay attention to regional balanced and sustainable development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten disulfide nanosheets(WS2) and dandelion-like platinum–silver nanoparticles(PtAg NCs) were synthesized by hydrothermal method and seed-mediated growth approach, and a novel dopamine(DA) electrochemical sensor based on PtAg/WS2/GCE was developed and a new method for detecting DA was established. The investigation of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) exhibited that dandelion-like PtAg NCs were successfully dispersed on the surface of WS2 nanosheets with the size about ~ 10 nm and the thickness of WS2 nanosheet could be estimated to be 3.1 ± 0.02 nm with a lattice constants of 0.6 ± 0.03 nm, X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) patterns proved PtAg exists as alloy form and both were metallic phases. The electrochemical results revealed the obtained sensors possessed ideal electrocatalytic activity toward DA with a wide linear range of 0.6 μM to 1 mM(R2 = 0.9991), high sensitivity (348.8 μA·mM−1·cm−2), low detection limit 0.2 μM (S/R = 3), the relative standard deviation (RSD) was estimated to be 2.3%, current respond toward DA remains 92.79% after several day, showing a good stability, repeatability and selectivity. Moreover, compared with other similar DA sensors, the linear range of the sensor was 2 orders of magnitude wider, and the detection limit was 5 times lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen fertilizer and planting density are two crucial factors that affect the yield of common buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum M.). Youqiao2, a common buckwheat cultivar with high photosynthetic capacity and planted widely in local production was used to investigate the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density on the leaf photosynthetic characteristics, agronomic traits, and grain yield in common buckwheat by a split plot design. The main plots were assigned to three nitrogen fertilizer rates: 0, 45, and 90 kg ha −1 , and the subplots were assigned to three planting densities: 60, 90, and 120 plants m −2 . Results showed that the grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with net photosynthesis rate (P n ), stomatal conductance (G s ), transpiration rate (T r ), stomatal limitation value (L s ), chlorophyll content (SPAD value), leaf area index (LAI), plant height, stem diameter, branch number, internode number, grain number per plant, and 1000-grain weight, while significantly and negatively correlated with intercellular CO 2 concentration (C i ) and water-use efficiency (WUE). The P n , G s , T r , L s , SPAD, LAI, grain yield, stem diameter, branch number, internode number, grain number per plant, and 1000-grain weight increased and then decreased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density, and their maximum values appeared in the nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 treatment. The C i and WUE decreased and then increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density, and their minimum values appeared in the nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 treatment. The plant height increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer, while decreased with the increase of planting density. These results suggested that nitrogen fertilizer and planting density had significant effects on the leaf photosynthetic capacity, agronomic traits, and grain yield of common buckwheat, and the combination of nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 is recommended for common buckwheat planting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy on the burden, positive experience, and life satisfaction of older spouse caregivers and the life satisfaction of stroke survivors.Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial by using 75 older stroke couples recruited from communities in Zhengzhou, China. We randomly assigned participants to 1 of 3 groups: Group 1 (G1 , 25 couples, all attend intervention) and Group 2 (G2 , 22 couples, only caregivers attend intervention), who participated in a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy, and a waiting list (control) group (G3 , 28 couples). Interviewers blinded to treatment group assignment administered the life satisfaction to both stroke survivors and caregivers, caregiver burden, and positive experience for caregivers, at preintervention, immediately postintervention, and at 1 month and 3 months after cessation of the intervention.Results: We found a statistically significant interaction between treatment groups and assessment time points for the 4 outcome measures (P < .001). Although the effects were decreased after intervention at 1 month, the improvement in caregivers' positive experience, life satisfaction, burden, and life satisfaction of stroke survivors were still significant (P < .001).Conclusions: The use of a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy in this study sample improved the life satisfaction of stroke survivors and their spouse caregivers, improved the positive experience of caregivers, and decreased the burden of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To identify whether benefit finding is a mediator or moderator in the relationship between caregiver burden and psychological well‐being (anxiety and depression) in Chinese family caregivers of community‐dwelling stroke survivors. Background: Family caregivers not only bear a heavy burden, a high level of anxiety and depression, but also experience benefit finding (positive effects result from stressful events). However, the relationships among benefit finding, caregiver burden and psychological well‐being in Chinese family caregivers are not well known. Design: This study was a cross‐sectional correlational design. Methods: Caregivers (n = 145) of stroke survivors were recruited from two communities in Zhengzhou, China. Data were collected by face‐to‐face interviews with structured questionnaires, examining caregiver burden, benefit finding and psychological well‐being of caregivers. A hierarchical regression analysis explored whether caregiver burden and benefit finding were associated with anxiety and depression of caregivers. The moderator role of benefit finding was examined by testing the significance of the interaction between caregiver burden and benefit finding. A mediational model was used to test benefit finding as a mediator between caregiver burden and psychological well‐being of caregivers using process in spss 21.0. Results: Caregiver burden and benefit finding were significantly associated with both anxiety and depression of caregivers. Benefit finding did not portray a moderating role, but portrayed the mediator role in the relationship between caregiver burden, anxiety and depression in caregivers. Conclusion: This study provides the preliminary evidence to nurses that intervention focus on benefit finding may help improve the psychological well‐being of caregivers. Relevance to clinical practice: This study offers nurses rational for assessing caregiver's negative emotions and benefit finding. By targeting benefit finding, the nurse may guide caregivers in benefit identification and implement interventions to reduce anxiety, depression and caregiver burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adult Carer Quality of Life questionnaire (AC-QoL) is a reliable and valid instrument used to assess the quality of life (QoL) of adult family caregivers. We explored the psychometric properties and tested the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the AC-QoL with reliability and validity testing in 409 Chinese stroke caregivers. We used item-total correlation and extreme group comparison to do item analysis. To evaluate its reliability, we used a test-retest reliability approach, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), together with Cronbach’s alpha and model-based internal consistency index; to evaluate its validity, we used scale content validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) via principal component analysis with varimax rotation. We found that the CFA did not in fact confirm the original factor model and our EFA yielded a 31-item measure with a five-factor model. In conclusions, although some items performed differently in our analysis of the original English language version and our Chinese language version, our translated AC-QoL is a reliable and valid tool which can be used to assess the quality of life of stroke caregivers in mainland China. Chinese version AC-QoL is a comprehensive and good measurement to understand caregivers and has the potential to be a screening tool to assess QoL of caregiver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxisome is one of the important organelles for intracellular lipid metabolism in plant cells and β-oxidation of fatty acids in peroxisomes provides the energy for oil-containing seed germination. In this study, we identified an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene, GmABCA7 from soybean, which is highly expressed in the different developmental stages of seeds. Transient expression of GmABCA7 in tobacco epidermal cells showed that GmABCA7 was specifically localized at the peroxisomes. Overexpression of GmABCA7 in Arabidopsis does not change seed phenotypes, or the overall levels of lipid, protein and sugar stored in the seeds; however, the transgenic seeds produced more gluconeogenic pathway precursors such as succinate and malate and germinated earlier compared to the wild type seeds. These results suggest that GmABCA7 may affect the β-oxidation of fatty acids and play an important role in seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of moxifloxacin over a aminobenzaldehyde grafted graphitic carbon nitride. [Display omitted] Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) has been demonstrated to be a potential visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating organic pollutants. However, its practical application is limited by low photocatalytic efficiency originating from high recombination of photogenerated charges. In this work, the electronic structure of GCN was regulated by doping aminobenzaldehyde (ABA) into the skeleton through a solid-state Schiff base reaction. Photoelectrochemical characterizations illustrated that the obtained catalyst (CNABA) exhibited narrower band gap, lower recombination rate of photoinduced electron-hole pair and higher charge transfer ability than the pristine GCN, further indicating its excellent photocatalytic activity. Using moxifloxacin (MOX) as a model pollutant, the ABA doping content was firstly optimized and the optimal activity of the CNABA photocatalyst was 3.1 times higher than that of the GCN. Subsequently, the effects of pH value, photocatalyst dosage and MOX concentration on the photocatalytic behavior were also studied. Superior stability and photocatalytic reusability were confirmed by five repeated tests. By substituting tap water/natural lake water for deionized water and sunlight for xenon light, the CNABA also exhibited high elimination efficiency, implying its good practicability. Superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and photogenerated hole were identified as the main active species to degrade MOX. Finally, possible degradation pathways for MOX to mineralize small molecules were proposed by determining intermediate products during photocatalysis. This work provides a solid-state method to rationally design aromatic system-modified GCN photocatalysts, and the obtained CNABA is a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]