Search

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of temperature on the quality attributes, particularly lipid oxidation and phospholipid molecular species, of Tai Lake whitebait during hot-air drying. Fresh samples of Tai Lake whitebait were subjected to heat treatment and were dried at temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C for 12 h. The results indicated significant and continuous increases in peroxide values (POV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and saturated fatty acids (SFA) contents during hot-air drying, but reductions in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). During the hot-air drying process, the mass fraction of triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid (PoL) decreased, while the fractions of diacylglycerol (DAG), monoacylglycerol (MAG) and free fatty acid (FFA) increased. Furthermore, the drying treatment led to a more pronounced reduction in Phosphocholine (PC) content compared to phoethanolamine (PE). A total of 17 phosphatidylcholines (PC), 18 phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), 7 phosphatidylinositol (PI), and 9 phosphatidylserine (PS) molecular species were identified. By comprehensively considering the drying time and quality attributes, 50 °C was selected the ideal temperature for drying. The findings of the investigation revealed that thermal drying significantly influenced the quality attributes and lipid oxidation of Tai Lake whitebait. The insights gained from this study are valuable for improving the drying process for Tai Lake whitebait and enhancing its overall quality. • Lipid oxidation of whitebait were significantly affected by hot-air-drying. • Lipid composition of the Tai Lake whitebait were analyzed comprehensively. • Phospholipid classes in lipid of Tai Lake whitebait was identified. • 50 °C was determined to be the ideal drying temperature for Tai Lake whitebait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the tensile behaviors and self-healing of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) under sulfate wet–dry cycles to reflect the durability. Four pretensile strain levels of 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% were designed. The uniaxial tensile test, three-point bending test, and single-crack tensile test were performed, along with the microscopic characterizations of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that the sulfate wet–dry cycle exposure had a positive effect on the tensile strength and initial cracking strength of the uncracked ECC, while that was negative on the tensile strain capacity. The insufficient margin of the σoc/σcr and Jb′/Jtip indices explained the lower tensile strain. The tensile strength and initial cracking strength of the cracked ECC with 1% pretensile strain surpassed those of the uncracked ECC after undergoing 80 sulfate wet–dry cycles (80 C), while that did not hold for the other cracked ECCs. All the cracked ECCs showed a similar tensile strain after undergoing 80 C. The crack with a width of less than 100 μm achieved complete self-healing. The self-healing products of ECC under sulfate wet–dry cycle exposure may comprise of calcium (alumino) silicate hydrate [C-(A)-S-H] gel, calcite, ettringite, and gypsum. The current findings could offer reference points for applying ECC use in coastal regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China experienced an overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic from middle December 2022 to middle January 2023 after lifting the zero-COVID-19 policy on December 7, 2022. However, the infection rate was less studied. We aimed to investigate the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in children shortly after discontinuation of the zero-COVID-19 policy. Methods: From February 20 to April 10, 2023, we included 393 children aged 8 months to less than 3 years who did not receive COVID-19 vaccination and 114 children aged 3 to 6 years who received inactivated COVID-19 vaccines based on the convenience sampling in this cross-sectional study. IgG and IgM antibodies against nucleocapsid (N) and subunit 1 of spike (S1) of SARS-CoV-2 (anti-N/S1) were measured with commercial kits (Shenzhen YHLO Biotech, China). Results: Of the 393 unvaccinated children (1.5 ± 0.6 years; 52.2% boys), 369 (93.9%) were anti-N/S1 IgG positive. Of the 114 vaccinated children (5.3 ± 0.9 years; 48.2% boys), 112 (98.2%) were anti-N/S1 IgG positive. None of the unvaccinated or vaccinated children was anti-N/S1 IgM positive. The median IgG antibody titers in vaccinated children (344.91 AU/mL) were significantly higher than that in unvaccinated children (42.80 AU/mL) (P < 0.0001). The positive rates and titers of anti-N/S1 IgG had no significant difference between boys and girls respectively. Conclusion: Vast majority of children were infected with SARS-CoV-2 shortly after ending zero-COVID-19 policy in China. Whether these unvaccinated infected children should receive COVID-19 vaccine merits further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dihydrochalcones (DHCs) constitute a specific class of flavonoids widely known for their various health-related advantages. Melatonin (MLT) has received attention worldwide as a master regulator in plants, but its roles in DHC accumulation remain unclear. Herein, the elicitation impacts of MLT on DHC biosynthesis were examined in Lithocarpus litseifolius, a valuable medicinal plant famous for its sweet flavor and anti-diabetes effect. Compared to the control, the foliar application of MLT significantly increased total flavonoid and DHC (phlorizin, trilobatin, and phloretin) levels in L. litseifolius leaves, especially when 100 μM MLT was utilized for 14 days. Moreover, antioxidant enzyme activities were boosted after MLT treatments, resulting in a decrease in the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Remarkably, MLT triggered the biosynthesis of numerous phytohormones linked to secondary metabolism (salicylic acid, methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA), and ethylene), while reducing free JA contents in L. litseifolius. Additionally, the flavonoid biosynthetic enzyme activities were enhanced by the MLT in leaves. Multiple differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in RNA-seq might play a crucial role in MLT-elicited pathways, particularly those associated with the antioxidant system (SOD, CAT, and POD), transcription factor regulation (MYBs and bHLHs), and DHC metabolism (4CL, C4H, UGT71K1, and UGT88A1). As a result, MLT enhanced DHC accumulation in L. litseifolius leaves, primarily by modulating the antioxidant activity and co-regulating the physiological, hormonal, and transcriptional pathways of DHC metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of the low integration of the current power information system security assessment method with classified protection 2.0, strong subjectivity, and the vague quantification of objective indexes, this article proposes to establish a safety index system suitable for the electric power information system with the existing safety inspection standards for power systems on the basis of the classified protection 2.0 evaluation system. Additionally, it quantifies each index through a quantitative method combining subjective and objective methods and uses the analytic hierarchy process entropy method to obtain the combined weight of the evaluation index system. Finally, this paper summarizes the expert scores and the graded protection evaluation reports of the six systems into the original data for comprehensive weight calculation and analyzes the rationality of the weight change. The comparison and analysis of the closeness of the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) and the evaluation score of the equal guarantee have confirmed the scientificity and rationality of the evaluation model. It provides a reasonable logical idea for the implementation of the classified protection 2.0 system in the power information system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the global goal of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", new power system is facing a new energy development trend of increasing the capacity of new energy and reducing the capacity and quantity of coal power. Furthermore, new power systems are also moving towards new models such as the Energy Internet and energy storage diversification. This paper combines the needs of new power systems' "source-load interaction" and a differentiated analysis of the specific carbon emission characteristics of each subject of the Energy Internet "source-network-load-storage". This paper analyzes the energy efficiency coefficient and carbon emission factors of each link of "source-grid-load-storage". Therefore, the paper proposes a carbon control model for the Energy Internet. This paper focuses on the characteristics of coal power with the largest carbon reduction. Therefore, this article constructs a multi-dimensional low-carbonization evaluation index system for coal-fired power plants. In addition, this article designs a fusion weight calculation method for subjective and objective indicators based on CRITIC-G1. Additionally, this paper uses the ideal solution–gray relational method to evaluate the specified samples. Finally, this article verifies the effectiveness and feasibility of the implementation of the low-carbonization evaluation index system for coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolithic integrated mode converters with high integration are essential to photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and they are widely used in next-generation optical communications and complex quantum systems. It is expected that PICs will become more miniaturized, multifunctional, and intelligent with the development of micro/nano-technology. The increase in design space makes it difficult to realize high-performance device design based on traditional parameter sweeping or heuristic design, especially in the optimal design of reconfigurable PIC devices. Combining the mode coupling theory and adjoint calculation method, we proposed a design method for a switchable mode converter. The device could realize the transmission of TE0 mode and the conversion from TE0 to TE1 mode with a footprint of 0.9 × 7.5 μm2 based on the phase change materials (PCMs). We also found that the mode purity could reach 78.2% in both states at the working wavelength of 1.55 μm. The designed method will provide a new impetus for programmable photonic integrated devices and find broad application prospects in communication, optical neural networks, and sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low symmetric two dimensional (2D) semiconductors are of great significance for their potential applications in polarization‐sensitive photodetection and quantum information devices. However, their real applications are limited by their photo‐detecting wavelength ranges, which are restricted by their fundamental optical bandgaps. Recently, intercalation has been demonstrated to be a powerful strategy to modulate the optical bandgaps of 2D semiconductors. Here, the authors report the self‐driven oxygen (O2) intercalation induced bandgap reduction from 1.75 to 1.19 eV in gallium telluride (GaTe) in air. This bandgap shrinkage provides the long‐wavelength detection threshold above ≈1100 nm for O2 intercalated GaTe (referred to as GaTeO2), well beyond the cut‐off wavelength at ≈708 nm for pristine GaTe. The GaTeO2 photodetectors have a high photoresponsivity, and highly anisotropic photodetection behavior to even sub‐waveband radiation. The dichroic ratio (Imax/Imin) of photocurrent is about 1.39 and 2.9 for 600 nm and 1100 nm, respectively. This findings demonstrates a broadband photodetector utilizing GaTe after breaking through its bandgap limitation by self‐driven O2 intercalation in air and further reveal its photoconductivity anisotropic nature. This provides design strategies of 2D materials‐based high‐performance broadband photodetectors for the exploration of polarized state information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current development of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC) mainly relies on intensive experiments. The main purpose of this study is to develop a machine learning method for effective and efficient discovery and development of HPFRCC. Specifically, this research develops machine learning models to predict the mechanical properties of HPFRCC through innovative incorporation of micromechanics, aiming to increase the prediction accuracy and generalization performance by enriching and improving the datasets through data cleaning, principal component analysis (PCA), and K-fold cross-validation. This study considers a total of 14 different mix design variables and predicts the ductility of HPFRCC for the first time, in addition to the compressive and tensile strengths. Different types of machine learning methods are investigated and compared, including artificial neural network (ANN), support vector regression (SVR), classification and regression tree (CART), and extreme gradient boosting tree (XGBoost). The results show that the developed machine learning models can reasonably predict the concerned mechanical properties and can be applied to perform parametric studies for the effects of different mix design variables on the mechanical properties. This study is expected to greatly promote efficient discovery and development of HPFRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High refractive index polyimides with as high as more than 1.8 of RI value were developed. • Solubility was greatly improved realizing the use of easy processing method. • PI showed high-low-high cycles of RI in film state under redox condition. Soluble high refractive index polyimides have extensive applications in optical devices due to their ease of processing and versatility. In this work, selenide-containing polyimides were designed and synthesized via amine-dianhydride polycondensation. Two selenide containing diamines, e.g. bis(3-trifluoromethyl-4-aminophenyl)selenide (BTFAPS) and bis(4-aminophenyl)selenide (BAPS) were reacted with 4,4′-(Hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) for the preparation of selenide containing polyimides. Comparison with its oxygen and sulfur counterparts, the selenide-containing PIs have better solubility, higher refractive index, and can bring redox responsiveness. This is due to the trifluoromethyl base, which possesses a large free volume, and the selenium element, which has a higher molar refraction and redox activities than even sulfur. Various techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and wide angle X-ray diffraction were used for characterizing the polymers structure. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the properties of the polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auxin is involved in different aspects of plant growth and development by regulating the expression of auxin-responsive family genes. As one of the three major auxin-responsive families, GH3 (Gretchen Hagen3) genes participate in auxin homeostasis by catalyzing auxin conjugation and bounding free indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) to amino acids. However, how GH3 genes function in responses to abiotic stresses and various hormones in maize is largely unknown. Here, the latest updated maize ( Zea mays L.) reference genome sequence was used to characterize and analyze the ZmGH3 family genes from maize. The results showed that 13 ZmGH3 genes were mapped on five maize chromosomes (total 10 chromosomes). Highly diversified gene structures and tissue-specific expression patterns suggested the possibility of function diversification for these genes in response to environmental stresses and hormone stimuli. The expression patterns of ZmGH3 genes are responsive to several abiotic stresses (salt, drought and cadmium) and major stress-related hormones (abscisic acid, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid). Various environmental factors suppress auxin free IAA contents in maize roots suggesting that these abiotic stresses and hormones might alter GH3-mediated auxin levels. The responsiveness of ZmGH3 genes to a wide range of abiotic stresses and stress-related hormones suggested that ZmGH3s are involved in maize tolerance to environmental stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Broadband Photodetectors b In article number 2103429, Xiangang Luo and co-workers report a broadband photodetector utilizing GaTe after breaking through its bandgap limitation by self-driven O SB 2 sb intercalation in air and further reveal its anisotropic nature of both intrinsic and extrinsic photoconductivity. This provides design strategies of 2D materials-based high performance broadband photodetectors for the exploration of the polarized state information. Breaking the Cut-Off Wavelength Limit of GaTe through Self-Driven Oxygen Intercalation in Air (Adv. Sci. 9/2022). [Extracted from the article]

Alternative low-carbon cements could contribute significantly to CO 2 reduction in the cement industry. However, the existing methods require the input of the actual production data, and thus cannot be used to calculate CO 2 emissions of alternative low-carbon cements that are not yet produced in cement plants. This study aims to develop a model to analyze the theoretical CO 2 emissions of alternative low-carbon cements. The novelty of this model is that it can be used to calculate the fuel consumed in the production of new low-carbon cements based on the theory of heat balance, and then predict their CO 2 emissions. The model is used to calculate CO 2 emissions of several low-carbon binders and ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The results show that the direct CO 2 emissions of OPC clinker calculated by this model approach the value derived from the cement plants and the Cement Sustainability and Initiative (CSI). Calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) clinker has the direct CO 2 emissions of 0.540 kg/kg, 34% lower than OPC clinker, while its cost of raw materials is over four times that of OPC clinker. High-belite calcium sulfoaluminate (HB-CSA) clinker, with the direct CO 2 emissions comparable to CSA clinker, lowers its cost of raw materials by half as it requires less expensive bauxite. Moreover, CO 2 emissions from HB-CSA cement production can be further reduced by the use of high volume of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The knowledge gained provides a valuable reference for the design of new low-carbon binders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations in the cement industry strive towards achieving an eco-friendly alternative to traditional cement. A low-carbon cement, calcium sulfoaluminate-activated supersulfated cement (CSA-SSC), has been recently developed. This cement consists of 80% granulated blastfurnace slag (GBFS), 15% anhydrite, and 5% high-belite calcium sulfoaluminate cement (HB-CSA) clinker. The hydration mechanism of CSA-SSC was experimentally investigated using isothermal calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, and was numerically studied using thermodynamic modeling. CSA-SSC shows a moderate compressive strength at the early stage, which is mainly attributed to the rapid formation of ettringite from the hydration of C 4 A 3 S ¯ with CaSO 4 in HB-CSA clinker. Meanwhile, the hydration of f-CaO in HB-CSA clinker supplies an alkaline environment for the dissolution of GBFS and the formation of more ettringite. In the late stage, apart from ettringite, the hydration of GBFS forms C–S–H, leading to the continuous increase in late strength. A statistical analysis reveals that the high volume of GBFS in CSA-SSC results in a very low direct CO 2 emission, which is only 8.7% of that of Portland cement. [Display omitted] • CSA-SSC is comprised of 80% GBFS, 15% anhydrite and 5% HB-CSA clinker. • The carbon dioxide emission of CSA-SSC is 72.0 kg/t, 8.7% of that of PC. • CSA-SSC shows relatively higher compressive strength than PC and other types of SSCs. • The hydration of CSA-SSC produces ettringite from beginning and C–S–H at later stage. • CSA-SSC has a high ratio of compressive strength to amount of non-evaporable water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new abietane diterpenoids (1,2), along with five known diterpenoids (3–7), were first isolated and purified from the stems of Clerodendrum bracteatum. The structures of the new compounds were established by extensive analysis of mass spectrometric and 1-D, 2-D NMR spectroscopic data. Their antioxidant activities were determined on DPPH radical scavenging and ABTS. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of the compounds were evaluated against the HL-60 and A549 cell lines by the MTT method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an important economic crop and there is obvious heterosis in cotton, fertility has played an important role in this heterosis. However, the genes that exhibit critical roles in anther development and fertility are not well understood. Here, we report an acyl-CoA N-acyltransferase (EC2.3; GhACNAT) that plays a key role in anther development and fertility. Suppression of GhACNAT by virus-induced gene silencing in transgenic cotton (G. hirsutum L. cv. C312) resulted in indehiscent anthers that were full of pollen, diminished filaments and stamens, and plant sterility. We found GhACNAT was involved in lipid metabolism and jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis. The genes differentially expressed in GhACNAT-silenced plants and C312 were mainly involved in catalytic activity and transcription regulator activity in lipid metabolism. In GhACNAT-silenced plants, the expression levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism and jasmonic acid biosynthesis were significantly changed, the amount of JA in leaves and reproductive organs was significantly decreased compared with the amounts in C312. Treatments with exogenous methyl jasmonate rescued anther dehiscence and pollen release in GhACNAT-silenced plants and caused self-fertility. The GhACNAT gene may play an important role in controlling cotton fertility by regulating the pathways of lipid synthesis and JA biogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]