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The plant growth regulator mepiquat chloride (MC) has been widely used to regulate cotton growth and development worldwide. However, little is known about whether MC application during cotton growing season affects defoliation efficiency of the harvest aids (TE), a novel product with the mixture of 10% thidiazuron and 40% ethephon. Here, a 3-year (2018–2020) field experiment was carried out in Hejian, Hebei province, China, involving six treatments as three different MC rates (MC free, farmers' practice-conventional amount, high MC amount) and two defoliant rates (0 ml ha−1 [CK] and 2250 ml ha−1 [TE]). High MC rate delayed cotton leaf abscission and decreased the defoliation percentage at 7 days after TE treatment, but hardly affected harvest aids efficacy at harvest time. The delay of leaf abscission was due to an increase in auxin and cytokinin concentration of cotton leaves in MC treatment. The MC treatment accelerated the natural maturation of cotton, achieving a higher boll-opening percentage before defoliant spraying, and increased cotton lint yield. Over the 3-year period, compared to CK, the defoliant application TE increased the defoliation percentage by 43.4%, the boll-opening percentage by 10.4%, and the cotton lint yield by 9.1% due to an increase in opened boll number per unit land area. We concluded that the optimal MC dose (about 200 g ha−1) would decrease the risk of reducing defoliation and achieve higher cotton lint yield. • Applying mepiquat chloride (MC) only delayed cotton leaf abscission in the early stage of defoliation. • MC application increased auxin and cytokinin concentration in cotton leaf. • Applying MC accelerated cotton maturation and achieved a higher boll-opening percentage. • The optimal MC dose decreased the risk of decreasing defoliation and enhanced cotton lint yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are no reports on combination therapies of compound danshen dripping pill and azilsartan. • We investigated the effect of compound danshen dripping pill on the pharmacokinetics of azilsartan. • Effects of compound danshen dripping pill on mRNA and protein expression of azilsartan metabolic enzymes were evaluated. • There may be potential herb-drug interactions between the two drugs. Combination therapies of compound danshen dripping pill (CDDP) and Azilsartan (AZ) represent a promising treatment option in clinical practice in China, but there are no reports on drug-drug interactions between CDDP and AZ. This study investigated the effects of CDDP on the pharmacokinetics of AZ and clarified its potential mechanism. The pharmacokinetic profiles of oral administration of AZ (2 mg/kg) in Sprague-Dawley rats, with or without pre-treatment of CDDP (81, 405, 810 mg/kg/d for 7 d) were investigated using UPLC-MS/MS. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated and compared. The MS analysis was performed in positive ionization mode. The purpose of chromatographic separation of AZ and the internal standard (IS, Valsartan) was finished on a Waters XBridge BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 2.5 μm). The mobile phase was acetonitrile and 0.1 % formic acid-water with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The mRNA and protein levels of CYP2B1, CYP2C6, and CYP2C11 in the rat liver were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. The results indicated that low, medium and high doses of CDDP significantly increased the C max (6.47 ± 2.28, 6.51 ± 1.99, 7.04 ± 1.31 vs. 3.30 ± 1.87) of AZ, compared with that in the AZ single-drug group (p< 0.05). The AUC 0-t of AZ (47.77 ± 23.41, 50.69 ± 25.46, 54.50 ± 11.57 vs. 26.85 ± 16.79) tended to increase in combination with CDDP. The gene and protein expression levels of CYP2B1, CYP2C6, and CYP2C11 were significantly reduced in the rat liver by CDDP. CDDP may diminish the AZ metabolism in vivo by suppressing the expression of the CYP2B1, CYP2C6, and CYP2C11 enzymes. This observation suggested the occurrence of potential interactions between CDDP and AZ when clinically administered as combination therapy, which may require adjustment of the clinical dose of AZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• At the steady state, the stress assessment of the reactor vessel in CiADS satisfies the requirements of ASME Code. • Adding a thermal insulation layer outside the reactor vessel may reduce the stress on vessel. • During the postulated ULOF accidents, the reactor vessel will not experience plastic deformation. • During the postulated UTOP accidents, the limit reactivity insertion to protect the reactor vessel from plastic deformation is 400 pcm. The China Initiative Accelerator Driven System (CiADS) was proposed by China Academy of Science since 2015. The subcritical reactor in CiADS is a liquid Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) cooled fast reactor. When the reactor core is in operation, the LBE coolant will directly contact and corrode the inner surface of reactor vessel. Due to the high temperature, the corrosion will be more severe. If the stress on the reactor vessel exceeds the limit, the plastic deformation will occur, leading to the generation and expansion of defects and cracks, and the safety of the reactor will be affected. Therefore, evaluating the stress field of the reactor vessel under different operating conditions is a very important research project. In this paper, the finite element analysis software ADINA was applied to analyze the reactor vessel in CiADS, and the ASME Code was used as stress assessment standards. We can preliminarily prove that the stress assessments of the vessel during the postulated Unprotected Loss of Flow (ULOF) accidents satisfy the requirements of ASME Code. The limit reactivity insertion to protect the vessel from plastic deformation is 0.58$ in the postulated Unprotected Transient over Power (UTOP) accidents based on our current results. Therefore, we can preliminarily conclude that the current material selection and structural design of the reactor vessel in CiADS could survive most of the postulated transient accidents considering the stress effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertical distributions of sand-dust aerosols (SDAs) over the Taklimakan Desert (TD; 37°N–41°N, 78°E−88°E) that occurred during the spring are essential for both long-range transport and climate effects, apart from the living environment and health. In this study, we investigated the optical properties of SDAs and evaluated the correlation between optical properties and meteorological factors over the TD area located in the northwest of China. For this, we have utilized the A-train multiple-satellite remote sensing data provided quasi-synchronized observations by the Cloud-aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), CloudSat, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments for the study period during 2007–2010. Besides, we have verified the meteorological factors observed from the CALIPSO to know the applicability and reliability with the Radiosonde sounding data. We found that the cloud–aerosol discrimination (CAD) algorithm can accurately identify clouds and SDAs over the TD area, especially during blowing dust/floating dust (BD/FD). Overall, it is revealed that the total depolarization ratio of SDAs is below 0.5. Besides, the temperature (T) and pressure (P) of CALIPSO satellite products data are in excellent agreement with the radiosonde sounding measured data over the TD area. Further, most data points during the DS (BD/FD) event spread towards lower (higher) relative humidity (RH) ranged between 0.0386 and 0.6306 (0.1079 and 1.00). Our analysis provides the observational evidence from the CALIOP that the optical properties of vertical dust particles and meteorological elements over the TD have distinct variability below and above 4 km height for DS and BD/FD events. The results obtained will provide not only reliable reference values for the improvement of the CAD algorithm used in the CALIPSO but also provide critical information for model evaluation and enhancement of CALIPSO products. Image 1 • We have investigated the optical properties of sand dust aerosols (SDAs) over the Taklimakan Desert from radiosonde and A-train satellite datasets. • We have evaluated the correlation between SDAs and meteorological factors during spring. • The meteorological factors observed from the CALIPSO are verified using the radiosonde data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics are increasingly found in dairy products. To ensure consumer safety, rapid screening methods which are accurate and cost-effective are highly in demand. A multiplexed detection technology was tested for quantification of these four kinds of antibiotics simultaneously in milk. The visual microarray technology based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays was utilized in this method, which can detect multiple target molecules simultaneously. This colorimetric technology provides direct results that can be detected using common commercial microplate scanners. The limit of detection (LOD) were calculated as 3.30, 3.39, 2.42 and 4.88 μg kg−1 for quinolones, tetracycline, lincomycin and streptomycin, respectively. The limits of quantity (LOQ) were defined as 8.97, 8.43, 5.36 and 10.97 μg kg−1 for quinolones, tetracycline, lincomycin and streptomycin, respectively. The accuracy of method was also adequate for these four substances with the recovery rates ranging from 77.6% to 116.4% were obtained for the detection of practical samples. According to our evaluation, this methodology can be used for rapid screening of antibiotics in internal quality control programs in dairy industry. • The multiplexed detection method for testing veterinary antibiotics in milk were evaluation. • The ELISA-based visualization microarray chip technique using 96-well microplate. • The limit of detection are less than the MRL established in China, the CAC and the EU. • The accuracy of method was adequate for these four veterinary antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]