Search

As a family of negatively feedback regulating factors, the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) can depress cytokine signal transduction, and eventually modulate growth, development, differentiation, and immune response. In the present study, a SOCS homologue (designated as CgSOCS6) was identified from oyster Crassostrea gigas. The open reading frame of CgSOCS6 cDNA was of 1167 bp encoding a peptide of 388 amino acid residues with a central Src homology 2 (SH2) domain, a conserved C-terminal SOCS box, and a nucleus localization sequence (NLS) in its N-terminus. The deduced amino acid sequence of CgSOCS6 shared 37.9-45.5% similarity with other SOCS6/7 family members. In the unrooted phylogenetic tree, CgSOCS6 was clustered with EsSOCS6 from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis and assigned into the SOCS6/7 group. The mRNA transcripts of CgSOCS6 were constitutively distributed in all the tested tissues, with the highest level in hemocytes. After lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, the mRNA expression of CgSOCS6 in hemocytes was significantly up-regulated to the highest level at 6 h (8.48-fold compared to the control group, p 0.01), and then kept at a relatively higher level from 12 h to 72 h. CgSOCS6 protein could be translocated into the hemocyte nucleus after LPS stimulation. The mRNA expressions of interleukin 17-4 (CgIL17-4), CgIL17-5, and defensin (CgDefh1) in the hemocytes of CgSOCS6-knockdown oysters increased significantly (2.55-fold, 2.68-fold, 4.68-fold of that in EGFP-RNAi oysters, p 0.05, p 0.05, p 0.001, respectively) after LPS stimulation. These findings suggested that CgSOCS6 was involved in the oyster immune response by regulating the expressions of CgIL17-4, CgIL17-5, and CgDefh1.

Studying the composition and structure of bacterial communities in sediments helps to understand the contribution of bacteria to environmental changes and the role of feedback in response to disturbances. However, seasonal changes in bacterial communities of river sediments with different pollution levels and sources have not been clear yet. In this study, we collected sediment samples during the dry season, wet season and level season from 40 sites with various pollution sources in three inflow rivers (Fengle-Hangbu River, Nanfei River and Zhegao River) of Chaohu Lake. Bacterial community compositions were determined based on high-throughput sequencing. The 'Bioenv' in the R package 'Vegan' and redundancy analysis was used to explore the influence of environmental factors on the bacterial community in the river sediments. Results showed that a significant deviation in bacterial communities was found among seasons and rivers. In addition, seasonal dynamics had a greater impact on shaping bacterial communities than rivers with different pollution sources. A higher diversity was found in the wet season as compared to the other seasons. The bacterial diversity was negatively correlated with nutrients (OM, TN, NH4+, IP, OP and TP) and metals (Cu and Zn). Bacterial communities were more sensitive to heavy metals pressure than nutrients. We also concluded that heavy metals (Cu and Cd) were the key contributing factors in explaining variations in bacterial communities. This study provided a valuable reference for assessing ecological stress.

The density (ρ) and kinematic viscosity (v) data of polyethylene glycol 300 (PEG) + N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) binary mixture were determined under atmospheric pressure and six temperatures of T = (293.15–318.15) K. From these experimental results, the thermodynamic parameters like excess molar volume (VmE), apparent molar volume (Vφ,1 and Vφ,2) and partial molar volume (V1‾ and V2‾), viscosity deviation (Δη) and excess Gibbs activation free energy (ΔG*E) were systemically counted, in which the standard deviation between the experimental and calculated data was estimated by fitting the Redlich-Kister formula. The intermolecular interaction of DMF with PEG was analysed by FTIR and UV-vis spectral technologies.

The phyllosphere provides appropriate conditions for colonization by microorganisms, including diazotrophic bacteria. However, a poor understanding of the effects of the atmospheric environment on the phyllospheric diazotrophic communities persists. We detected the biodiversity, abundance, and activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the phyllospheres of two evergreen shrubs, Nerium indicum Mill. and Osmanthus sp., sampled from urban areas with heavy traffic, a college campus, and a forest. Quantitative PCR analysis indicated that the copy numbers of nifH sequences were highest in the phyllospheres of both plants in heavy-traffic urban areas and correlated with the recorded nitrogenase activities of the phyllospheres. Similarly, the phyllosphere from heavy-traffic urban areas also possessed the highest biodiversity indices of diazotrophic communities from both the two plants. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed a diversity of nifH sequences in phyllosphere that were mostly uniquely found in the phyllosphere, and many of these were proteobacteria-like and cyanobacteria-like. Members of the Proteobacteria, mostly of which were not closely related to unknown organisms, were detected exclusively in the phyllosphere and represented substantial fractions of their associated diazotrophic communities. Our study provides initial insight into the shifts in the biodiversity and community structure of N2-fixing microorganisms in the phyllospheres of different atmospheric environments.

Ecological restoration technologies applied to tailings can influence the associated bacterial communities. However, it is unknown if the shifts in these bacterial communities are caused by increased organic carbon. Glucose-induced respiration and high-throughput sequencing were used to assess the microbial activity and bacterial communities, respectively. Glucose addition increased the microbial activity, and glucose + ammonium nitrate addition resulted in slightly higher CO2 emission than did glucose addition alone, suggesting that carbon and nitrogen limited microbial community growth. In neutral pH tailings, the bacterial taxa that increased by glucose addition were assigned to the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes. However, the bacterial taxa that increased by glucose addition in acidic tailings only belonged to the phylum Actinobacteria (maximum increase of 43.78%). In addition, the abundances of the total nitrogen-fixing genera and of the genus Arthrobacter (representing approximately 97.89% of the total nitrogen-fixing genera) increased by glucose addition in acidic tailings (maximum increase of 46.98%). In contrast, the relative abundances of the total iron- and (or) sulfur-oxidizing bacteria decreased (maximum decrease of 10.41%) in response to the addition of glucose. These findings indicate that the addition of organic carbon is beneficial to the development of bacterial communities in mine tailings.

Nanostructure of CuO plays a critical role in Li-ion battery (LIB) applications of CuO/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites. Morphological evolution of CuO/GO anode material provides essential information for developing the performance of LIBs. But, the nanostructural evolution of the CuO/GO anode materials have not been previously studied by in situ electrochemical-synchrotron radiation techniques. In this paper, different CuO morphology in preparation of CuO/GO nanocomposites could be controlled by increasing the reactive time at 83 °C. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) are employed to characterize the structural behavior of CuO/GO samples during the first cycle. The CuO(-511) Bragg peak demonstrates a more significant shift toward higher angles due to the incorporation of Li+ in the CuO crystal lattice. SAXS indicates that the formation and growth of SEI are observed with lithiation dose, and subsequently some cracks occur. The in situ electrochemical-synchrotron techniques could be implemented to help further understand the electrochemical behaviors and conversion mechanism of anode materials.

Density ( ρ ) and viscosity ( η ) data for the binary system of polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG) + 1.2-ethanediamine (EDA) over the whole concentration range as a function of composition were measured at T = (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, and 318.15) K under atmospheric pressure. Based on experimental density and viscosity data, the excess properties of the PEG (1) + EDA (2) mixtures, including excess molar volume ( V m E ) and viscosity deviation (∆ η ), excess free energies of activation (∆ G * E ), apparent molar volume ( V φ ,1 and V φ ,2 ), and partial molar volumes ( V 1 and V 2 ), were calculated respectively. Meanwhile, the results of V m E , ∆ η and ∆ G * E were fitted by a Redlich–Kister equation to obtain coefficients and to evaluate the standard deviations ( σ ) between the experimental and calculated quantities. Additionally, based on FTIR and UV–Vis spectral results of PEG (1) + EDA (2) mixtures with various concentrations, intermolecular interaction of PEG with EDA was discussed.

Activated carbon derived from lignite is investigated as the active electrode material in supercapacitors. ZnCl2 was used as excitation agent during preparation process. XRD, BET, SEM and electrochemical performance testing carried out to characterize the structure and properties of activated carbon. Electrochemical investigations indicate that the activated carbon (AC-650°) shows the maximum specific capacitance of 207.5 F g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolytes at 0.5 A g−1. The activated carbon presents good cycle stability during 3,000 cycles at a fair current density of 5 A g−1 and capacity rate can reach 91 %, because of its specific surface area of 1024 m2 g−1.

Liquid Ga could be used as a flexible heat-transfer medium or contact medium in the synchrotron-radiation-based instruments. The chemical stability of liquid Ga on other metal surface determines the serviceability of liquid Ga. In this paper, the oxidation evolutions of liquid Ga on Ni and Cu substrates have been investigated by in-situ grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) as a function of substrate temperature. The liquid Ga on Ni and Cu substrates shows different oxidation behaviors. A successive and slower oxidation from oxide clusters to oxide layer takes place with temperature increasing from 25 to 190 degrees C on the surface of the Ga/Ni/Si specimen, but a quick oxidation occurs on the entire surface of the Ga/Cu/Si specimen at the initial 25 degrees C. The subsequent heating increases the surface roughness of both liquid Ga, but increases simultaneously the surface curvature of the Ga/Cu/Si specimen. The understanding of the substrate-dependent oxidation behavior of liquid Ga is beneficial to its application as a heat-transfer medium. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Dynamic viscosity (v), density (ρ), and surface tension (γ) of the 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) (1) + 1,2-propanediamine (1,2-PDA) (2) binary system with different ratios were studied at the temperature range of 293.15 to 318.15 K and atmospheric pressure. After that, the corresponding viscosity (η) values were calculated from the experimental v and ρ values. From these basic data, viscosity deviation (∆η), surface tension deviation (∆γ), excess molar volume (VmE), apparent molar volume (Vφ,1 and Vφ,2), partial molar volume ( V 1 ¯ and V 2 ¯ ), and isostatic thermal expansion coefficient (αp) were calculated. The VmE, ∆η, and ∆γ values were used to assess the standard deviations (σ) by using the Redlich-Kister (R-K) equation. In addition, combined with FTIR, UV–Vis, FLS, and 1H NMR technologies, the interaction analysis between 1,3-PDO and 1,2-PDA concluded that the intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the system existed as the possible form of -O-H···N-.

The globular C1q domain containing (C1qDC) proteins are a family of versatile pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to bind various ligands by their globular C1q (gC1q) domain. In the present study, a novel globular C1qDC (CgC1qDC-7) was characterized from Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. The open reading frame of CgC1qDC-7 was of 555 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 185 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CgC1qDC-7 shared high homology with C1qDCs from Crassostrea virginica, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Mizuhopecten yessoensis. The mRNA transcripts of CgC1qDC-7 were widely expressed in all the tested tissues including mantle, gonad, gills, adductor muscle, hemocytes, hepatopancreas and labial palps, with the highest expression level in hemocytes and gills. The recombinant protein of CgC1qDC-7 (rCgC1qDC-7) exhibited binding activity towards Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio splendidus, V. anguillarum, Escherichia coli, V. alginolyticus, and Aeromonas hydrophila), Gram-positive bacteria (Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungi (Pichia pastoris and Yarrowia lipolytica), and displayed strongest binding affinity towards Gram-negative bacteria V. splendidus and V. anguillarum. It also exhibited affinity to vital pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN), mannan (MAN) and Poly (I:C) with high affinity towards LPS and PGN, and low affinity to MAN and Poly (I:C). These results collectively indicated that CgC1qDC-7 was a novel PRR in C. gigas with high binding affinity towards LPS and PGN as well as Gram-negative bacteria.

Akirin, a recently discovered nuclear factor, participates in regulating various processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation, embryonic development, and immunity. In the present study, a novel Akirin was identified from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis (designated as EsAkirin), and its primary functions in regulating antimicrobial peptides were explored. The open reading frame of EsAkirin was of 615 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 204 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of EsAkirin shared high similarities ranging from 44.1% to 89.2% with other Akirins. In the phylogenetic tree, EsAkirin was firstly clustered with Akirins from shrimp and then assigned into the invertebrate branch. The mRNA transcripts of EsAkirin were constitutively expressed in all the tested tissues, with the highest expression level (5.07-fold compared to the stomach, p 0.01) in hepatopancreas. The mRNA expression of EsAkirin in hemocytes was significantly increased at 6 h, and reached the maximum level at 24 h post stimulations with either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5.04-fold, p 0.01) or Aeromonas hydrophila (3.10-fold, p 0.01). After the injection of EsAkirin-dsRNA, the mRNA expressions of EsALF2, EsLYZ, EsCrus2 and EsDWD1 were significantly decreased (p 0.01) upon LPS stimulation. EsAkirin protein was prominently distributed in the nucleus of E. sinensis hemocytes after LPS and A. hydrophila stimulations. The relative luciferase reporter system analysis revealed that the activity of nuclear factor-κB was significantly up-regulated (2.64-fold, p 0.01) in human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells after the over-expression of EsAkirin. Collectively, these results suggested that EsAkirin might play an important role in the immune responses of E. sinensis by regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides.

This study is the first to show the response of bacterial communities with primary carbon and nitrogen fixers to elevated CO

Polymetallic mine tailings have great potential as carbon sequestration tools to stabilize atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. However, previous studies focused on carbonate mineral precipitation, while the role of autotrophs in carbon sequestration by mine tailings has been neglected. In this study, carbon sequestration in two mine tailings treated with FeS 2 and 13 C-labeled CO 2 was analyzed using 13 C isotope labeling, pyrosequencing and DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) to identify carbon fixers. Mine tailings treated with FeS 2 exhibited a higher percentage of 13 C atoms (1.76 ± 0.06 in Yangshanchong and 1.36 ± 0.01 in Shuimuchong) than the control groups over a 14-day incubation, as well an increase in the total organic carbon (TOC) content (0.20 ± 0.11 mg/g in Yangshanchong and 0.28 ± 0.14 mg/g in Shuimuchong). These data demonstrated the role of autotrophs in carbon sequestration with pyrite addition. Pyrite treatment led to changes in the composition of bacterial communities, and the genera Sulfobacillus (8.04 %) and Novosphingobium (8.60 %) were found to be dominant in these communities. In addition, the DNA-SIP results indicated that the cbbL gene copy number was 8.20–16.50 times greater than the cbbL gene copy number in 13 C-labeled heavy fractions. Furthermore, a Sulfobacillus -like cbbL gene sequence (cbbL-OTU1) accounted for 30.11–34.74 % of all cbbL gene sequences in the 13 C-labeled heavy fractions of mine tailings treated with FeS 2 . These findings highlight the importance of the RubisCO form I-encoding gene, cbbL , in bacterial carbon sequestration and demonstrate the ability of chemoautotrophs to sequester carbon during sulfide mineral oxidation in mine tailings. This study is the first to investigate carbon sequestration by autotrophic groups in mine tailings through the use of isotope tracers and DNA-SIP.

The Nanfei River, located in Hefei City, Anhui Province, subjected to increased nutrient loads from point and/or non-point source. Little is known about the indicators indicating heterogeneity of surface sediments. We aimed to identify the suitable indicators that can reflect the sediment heterogeneity by analyzing the sensitivity of sediment physicochemical properties group, microbial communities and diversity indices group and C, N, S-functional genes group to seasonal and regional changes. River sediments from different areas (urban area, urban-rural fringe and rural area) were collected in the level, dry and wet seasons, respectively. The chemical parameters had most significant regional heterogeneity, but no seasonal differences. Seasons had a greater impact on the overall microbial community structure than the areas. Specifically, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were more sensitive to seasonal changes. Overall, seasonal changes showed the greatest impact on the functional genes group, with the S-functional genes (dsrB and aprA) group providing the clearest seasonal variation. Considering the seasonal distribution of functional genes and their sensitivity to environmental factors, we speculated that the sulfate-reducing gene (dsrB), the methanogenic gene (mcrA) and the anammox gene (hzo) could be identified as sensitive indicators to indicate the seasonal heterogeneity of surface sediments in different river sections of the same river in the short term. We also concluded that environmental variables were more conducive to indicating the regional heterogeneity of sediments. This study provided a valuable reference for assessing the heterogeneity or ecological stress of river sediments.

The size and distribution of silver nanoparticles in ion-exchanged silicate glass induced by thermal treatments in air at different temperatures were investigated by means of grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering technique, X-ray diffraction and optical absorption spectra. Silver sodium ion exchange of soda-lime silicate glasses was done at 350 degrees C for 240 min, then the samples were treated by thermal annealing in air at different temperatures 400, 500 and 550 degrees C, respectively, for 1 h. After the annealing treatment above 400 degrees C for 1 h, smaller Ag nanoparticles occurred, together with bigger ones. Both dissolution of smaller Ag nanoparticles and diffusion of larger ones are discussed in these stages of annealing in this contribution. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.

In this article, some facts of the value distribution theory for meromorphic functions with maximal deficiency sum in the plane will be considered in the punctured plane, and also the relationship between the deficiency of meromorphic function in the punctured plane and that of their derivatives is studied.

Silver-doped silicate composite glass had been synthesized with an ion-exchanged method. Grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) technique was used to investigate the size and distribution evolutions of Ag nanoparticles in the glass matrix in a subsequent thermal treatment process. GISAXS experiment reveals a change of size distribution of Ag nanoparticles from bimodal distribution to one-size distribution in annealing at 300 degrees C. The results demonstrate that the normalized volume fraction of smaller particles with average diameter of 6.4 nm almost no changed, but the bigger metastable ones dissolved gradually in an exponential decay way during the annealing process. It can be concluded that a multilayer nanostructure composed of silver nanoparticles was formed in the thermal process. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fixed points of meromorphic functions in annuli. Some well-known facts of fixed points for meromorphic functions in the plane will be considered in annuli.

Compressive hyperspectral imaging (CHI) has been attracting great interests recently. To reconstruct hyperspectral (HS) images precisely from very few measurements is the main issue considered in CHI field. In this paper we propose a novel and extensible CHI approach including sampling strategy and the corresponding reconstruction method. The spatial energy distribution information (SEDI) can be explored during sampling process where the additional sampling time and measurements created by SEDI are negligible. We develop an SEDI based reconstruction method aiming to eliminate abnormal spikes and correct energy distortion which usually exist in reconstructed HS images. Simulations with real HS data demonstrate the fact that the proposed approach performs better than that without SEDI.

In the sparse Photoacoustic Microscopy system, a uniform random sampling scheme and low-rank matrix approximation-GoDec algorithm have been proposed for fast data acquisition and image recovery. However, this low-rank approximation algorithm leads to low resolution and fuzzy structure details. In this paper, the weighted Singular Value Thresholding algorithm is first applied in sparse PAM system to recover PAM images with high resolution. An efficient iterative weighting scheme is used for exactly solving matrix completion problem. Therefore, this algorithm is more accurate than classic SVT algorithm, which is proved by singular value analysis. Moreover, both simulations and real data experiments verify the performance of the weighted SVT algorithm and the application potential of this modified sparse PAM system.

Human-like musculor-skeletal arm model with its unique smooth and natural movements as well as low energy cost has attracted many researchers' interests and developed rapidly nowadays. In this paper, we focus on a human-like musculor-skeletal arm model with three links driven by nine muscles and propose a control model with two neurocontrollers trained by the NEAT algorithm. The NEAT (Neuroevolution of Augmenting Topologies) is a novel neuroevolution algorithm using a modified genetic algorithm to train neural networks by changing the topology structure as well as connection weights simultaneously. To evolve the network, we generate the training sets by using forward kinematics, geometry relationships, and muscle mechanic equations. By using two neurocontrollers, Position-Angle and Angle-Activation, the control model can deal with the redundancy and non-linear problems in separate neurocontroller at the same time.

This paper addresses the image sequences reconstruction by l 0 minimization, which is an NP-hard problem with high computational complexity. To solve it, we propose a novel recursive intelligent matching pursuit(RIMP) algorithm in this paper. The idea of RIMP lies in utilizing the recursive reconstruction to reduce the sparsity and applying the superiorities of intelligent optimization algorithm to solve the l 0 minimization essentially, which is beneficial to improving the reconstruction accuracy. To reduce the computational complexity, some matching strategies of greedy algorithm are used to design the intelligent searching strategies to accelerate the reconstruction speed. Also, based on the high reconstruction accuracy of the intelligent searching, RIMP can significantly improve the reconstruction accumulation in recursive reconstruction for image sequences. Numerical simulations on several image sequences have been used to demonstrate that the theoretical reconstruction performance of RIMP can be achieved.

The impact of anoxic heating on the nanostructure of the Red pine specimen was studied by small angle X-ray scattering from room temperature to 350 °C. A tangent-by-tangent method was used to analyze the SAXS data. The results demonstrated that the multihierarchical scatterers in the Red pine specimen can be roughly divided into one sharp component and one wide component. The sharp component (Scatterer A) is mainly corresponding to the cellulose microfibrils (CMFs), whereas the wide component includes CMF bundles, hemicellulose–lignin matrix (HLM), nanopores, and so on. The scatterer sizes in the wide component can be further divided into five different sizes (B, C, D, E, F). The scatterer size changes with heating temperature or time have been extracted. The diameters of single CMF is about 2.8 nm, the diameter of CMF bundle is about 18.3 nm. The surrounding thickness around CMF bundles is about 7.1 nm. A schematic model has been tentatively proposed to describe the assembly of HLM and CMFs in the Red pine specimen. A detailed discussion about the structural changes with the heating temperature has been given in this paper.

The author proves that if f : ℂ → ℂ n is a transcendental vector valued meromorphic function of finite order and assume ∑ a ∈ ℂ n ∪ ∪ { ∞ } δ ( a ) = 2 , then, 1 - δ ( ∞ ) 2 - δ ( ∞ ) ≤ K ( f ′ ) ≤ 2 ( 1 - δ ( ∞ ) ) 2 - δ ( ∞ ) , where K ( f ′ ) = lim sup r → + ∞ N ( r , f ′ ) + N ( r , 0 , f ′ ) T ( r , f ′ ) . This result extends the related results for meromorphic function by Singh and Kulkarni.

The main purpose of this paper is to establish the Milloux inequality ofE-valued meromorphic function from the complex planeℂto an infinite dimensional complex Banach spaceEwith a Schauder basis. As an application, we study the Borel exceptional values of anE-valued meromorphic function and those of its derivatives; results are obtained to extend some related results for meromorphic scalar-valued function of Singh, Gopalakrishna, and Bhoosnurmath.

Hair, a high-nitrogen energetic material, is utilized as a precursor for nitrogen-doped porous carbon. The preparation procedures for obtaining carbon from hair are very simple, namely, reductant or deionized water activation process followed by hair carbonization under argon atmosphere at 800 °C for 2 h. The samples are characterized through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron microscopy. The carbon samples are tested as electrode materials in supercapacitors in a three-electrode system. The carbon (soaked in deionized water at 80 °C) presents relatively low specific surface areas (441.34 m 2 g −1 ) and shows higher capacitance (154.5 F g −1 ) compared with nitrogen-free commercial activated carbons (134.5 F g −1 ) at 5 A g −1 . The capacitance remains at 130.5 F g −1 even when the current load is increased to 15 A g −1 . The capacitance loss is only 5% in 6 M KOH after 10,000 charge and discharge cycles at 5 A g −1 . It is the unique microstructure after activation processing and electroactive nitrogen functionalities that enable the carbon obtained through a simple, ecological, and economical process to be utilized as a potential electrode material for electrical double-layer capacitors.

In this paper, the sectorial oscillation of the solutions of higher order homogeneous linear differential equations f ( k ) + A n - 2 ( z ) f ( k - 2 ) + ⋯ + A 1 ( z ) f / + A 0 ( z ) f = 0 with infinite order entire function coefficients is studied. Results are obtained to extend some results in [19] and [18].

The purpose of this paper is to establish the Milloux inequality of meromorphic func- tion in annuli. We obtain a general form of Milloux inequality of meromorphic function in annuli when the multiple values are considered.

In this paper, the radial oscillation of the solutions of higherorder homogeneous linear differential equationf (k) + A n−2 (z)f (k−2) + ···+ A 1 (z)f ′ + A 0 (z)f = 0with transcendental entire function coefficients is studied. Results are ob-tained to extend some results in [Z. Wu and D. Sun, Angular distributionof solutions of higher order linear differential equations, J. Korean Math.Soc. 44(2007), no. 6, 1329–1338]. 1. Introduction and main resultsIn this paper, the meromorphic function always means a function beingmeromorphic in the whole complex plane C. Assume that the basic definitions,theorems and standard notations of the Nevanlinna theory for meromorphicfunction (see [11], [22] or [24]) are known. There have appeared many paperson the global theory of complex differential equations which were studied fromthe point of view of Nevanlinna theory, since 1982 when the article by Bankand Laine [1] appeared in Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. We refer the reader tothe books by Laine [12], and by Gao etc. [6]. The first general research on theradial oscillation theory of the solutions of(1) f

National Natural Science Foundation of China [10704064]; key S & T Projects of Fujian Province [2009N0050]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province [D0810027]

In this article, the orthogonality of eigenfunctions corresponding to the vibrations of perfectly bonded solids under complex homogeneous boundary conditions is proved in detail. Then, the exact transient response solution of such bonded solids is constructed using the eigenfunction expansion method (EEM). Furthermore, the transient response of bonded circular plates is taken as an example to illustrate the application of the general theory. The numerically evaluated analytic solution is shown to be in good agreement with that obtained by the finite element method (FEM).

By applying Ahlfors' theory of covering surface, we establish a fundamental inequality for quasimeromorphic mapping in an angular domain. As an application, we prove the existence of a new singular direction for quasimeromorphic mapping f , namely, aprecise S direction, for which the spherical characteristic function S(r, f) is used as a comparison function.

Using Ahlfors’ theory of covering surfaces, we prove the existence theorem for the T direction for algebroid functions dealing with multiple values which extends the results proved by Guo, Zheng and Ng and answers a question by Wang, Giao and the present authors.

The texture feature is an important information for hyperspectral image classification. In this study, we extend the traditional 2D GLGCM(gray-level gradient cooccurrence matrix) into 3D GGGTF(gray-gradient-gradient tensor field), which can extract gray and gradient texture features of hyper-spectral volume data simultaneously. A few statistical features are extended into third-order forms in order to calculate texture properties of the generated GGGTF. And then, the extracted texture features are classified by linear polynomial kernel SVM classifier. Two widely used hyperspectral datasets are used to test the performance of the proposed GGGTF. Experimental results demonstrate that it outperforms traditional 2D GLGCM method in feature extraction for supervised classifications.

Research on maintainability growth is an important research direction for the improvement in the equipment maintainability. A rational maintainability growth model can be utilized to predict the direction and level of maintainability growth. Moreover, it can provide theoretical and decision support for maintainability growth research of complicated weapon system.

By applying Ahlfors theory of covering surface, we establish a fundamental inequality of meromorphic function dealing with multiple values in an angular domain. As an application, we prove the existence of some new singular directions for a meromorphic functionf, namely a Bloch direction and a pseudo-T direction forf.

(R)-3-(allylthio)-2-((R)-3-(allylthio)-2-aminopropanamido)propanoic acid was isolated from the bulb of garlic, together with four known amino acids. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of 2D NMR and MS techniques. To the best of our knowledge, (R)-3-(allylthio)-2-((R)-3-(allylthio)-2-aminopropanamido)propanoic acid, which showed antibacterial activity against the Staphylococcus aureus antibiotic resistant strain, was the first example of dipeptide from garlic.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the deficiency of an E-valued meromorphic function $f$. Results are obtained to extend the related results for meromorphic vector valued function of Lahiri and Ziegler.

The objective of this study is to investigate the three-dimensional (3-D) analytical solution for transient guided wave propagation in liquid-filled pipe systems using the eigenfunction expansion method (EEM). The eigenfunctions corresponding to finite liquid-filled pipe systems with a traction-free lateral boundary and rigid smooth end boundaries are obtained. Additionally, the orthogonality of the eigenfunctions is proved in detail. Subsequently, the exact 3-D analytical transient response of finite liquid-filled pipe systems to external body forces is constructed using the EEM, based on which, the approximate 3-D analytical transient response of the systems to external surface forces is derived. Furthermore, the analytical solution for transient guided wave propagation in finite liquid-filled pipe systems is extended explicitly and concisely to infinite liquid-filled pipe systems. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the analysis of the spatial and frequency distributions of the radial and axial displacement amplitudes of various guided wave modes; the numerical examples also simulate the transient displacement of the pipe wall and the transient pressure of the internal liquid from the present solution. The present solution can provide some theoretical guidelines for the guided wave nondestructive evaluation of liquid-filled pipes and the guided wave technique for downhole data transfer.