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Superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators and Josephson junctions are crucial components of superconducting quantum information processing chips. Resonators are usually fabricated through lift-off or etching, while Josephson junctions are made by trilayer process or double-angle evaporation. To simplify the fabrication process, we propose a scheme that uses the same process steps for both Josephson junctions and resonators. Simulations and experiments are conducted to confirm that resonators fabricated via the proposed process have quality factor comparable to those via traditional process. This work paves the way for quantum information processing on superconducting large-scale integrated circuits.

A four-by-four transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometer array based on an Al/Ti bilayer on an Si3N4 substrate for thermal connection, showing an unbiased transition temperature of 1.2 K, was fabricated and characterized. Formation of the Al/Ti bilayer with tetragonal structure was confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis. The surface roughness of 3.11 nm calculated by atomic force microscopy was found to be negligible compared with the particle size (19.66 nm), indicating a smooth surface. The smoothness of the resistance–temperature (R–T) curve corresponds to the smoothness of the surface of the bilayer sensor, and the superconducting transition curve of the suspended bilayer TES was designed with a biased Tc of 0.45 K and ΔTc = 2 mK. Such TES bolometer arrays are suitable for astrophysical observations and are extensively used in cosmic microwave background polarization detection.

The aim of this research work was to model the behaviour of a transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer by applying curve fitting methodology on empirical data. Data obtained from the experiments were used to plot characteristic curves to find resistance–temperature (R–T) and current–voltage (I–V) relations. The measurements were taken by using a cryogenic-free 3He refrigerator with a least temperature of 320 mK. Least-squares curve fitting technique was used to devise the equations of the experimentally obtained data. Similarly, the empirical data and estimated curves were validated using the parameters of R-squared, sum of squares due to error (SSE), adjusted R-squared, and root-mean-squared error (RMSE). By comparing the plot of the empirical data and estimated behaviour curves showed high degree of similarity, and hence it was established that these equations could be used to estimate the bolometer’s operating behaviour for different ambient conditions with minimal percentage error. We also studied etched (TES device suspended on SiN) and non-etched (Si substrate based device) samples of bolometers. It was concluded that bolometers made up of etched sample of TES are appropriate for use in millimetre and submillimeter waves, especially for cosmic microwave background polarization detection.

To meet the specification of the qubits in our laboratory, a 0.4 kA·cm−2 superconducting rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuit was designed and successfully fabricated with an improved Nb-based self-aligned lift-off process. This circuit consists of a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) pulse generator, a Josephson transmission line (JTL) and a T-flip flop (TFF), and it acts as a frequency divider. The values of the inductors in this circuit were extracted using InductEX and the basic function of this circuit was confirmed using the simulation software WRspice before fabrication. After fabrication, the basic parameters of this circuit were measured at ~ 2.5 K in a Janis He-3 cryostat. This work laid the theoretical and experimental basis for the future research on the RSFQ-qubit control circuits.

Superconducting circuits based on Josephson junctions are regarded as one of the most promising technologies for the implementation of scalable quantum computers. This review presents the basic principles of superconducting qubits and shows the progress of quantum computing and quantum simulation based on superconducting qubits in recent years. The experimental realization of gate operations, readout, error correction codes, as well as some quantum algorithms are summarized, followed by an introduction of quantum simulation. And then some important applications in fields including condensed matter physics, quantum annealing, and quantum chemistry are discussed.

High energy-efficient superconducting circuits are increasingly desirable for information technology. Negative-inductance superconducting quantum interference device (nSQUID) is considered to have the capability of approaching the physical limit of irreversible computing. Superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonator of high quality factor Q is widely used for detecting extremely small signals. To measure the energy dissipation in nSQUID, we have designed and fabricated an nSQUID with its common mode flux control inductively coupled to a superconducting CPW resonator. The energy dissipation can be obtained from the changes in transmission spectra of the coupled circuit at different input powers. Low temperature experimental results at 1.07 K show that the bit operation energy in nSQUID operating at 2.19 GHz is about 1.38 zJ.

Two bacterial strains that express high levels of pectinase and xylanase, named P05 and X12, were isolated from the soil of a ramie garden using pectinase and xylanase selective medium. A bioaugmentation experiment for ramie retting using these bacterial strains showed a significant increase in retting rate when equal ratios of P05 and X12 were mixed into the retting solution at 20% of the volume. Using bioaugmentation, the retting process was completed at 60 h, reducing the retting period by 50%, and the gum removal ratio improved by 79.6%. In addition, the breaking strength of the resulting fiber was increased by 52.3%. Analysis of bacterial population structure and enzyme activity levels in the bioaugmented retting system showed that P05 and X12 quickly became the dominant bacteria within the retting solution microflora, and improved the microflora’s ability to produce key retting enzymes. The maximum pectinase and xylanase activities in the bioaugmented retting system were 80.84 U/mL and 50.51 U/mL, respectively, which were 68.98% and 64.21% higher respectively when compared to the control. Thus, addition of P05 and X12 into the retting solution resulted in accelerated gum degradation and fiber separation.

Superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers require superconducting films to have controllable transition temperatures T c in different practical applications. The value of T c strongly affects thermal conductivity and thermal noise performance of TES detectors. Al films doped with Mn (Al–Mn) of different concentrations can accomplish tunable T c. A magnetron sputtering machine is used to deposit the Al–Mn films in this study. Fabrication parameters including sputtering pressure and annealing process are studied and their influences on T c and superconducting transition width ΔT c are optimized. The Al–Mn films with ΔT c below 1.0 mK for T c in a range of 520 mK–580 mK are successfully fabricated.

Objective: To explore the T lymphocyte subgroup, NK cell activity and inflammatory factors of pyrrone mulder treatment on patients with chronic sinusitis. Methods: 176 cases with chronic sinusitis were selected in the hospitalized patients in otolaryngology head and neck surgery clinic of Zhongnan hospital of Wuhan university and Qianjiang central hospital from January 2014 to January 2015 as the research objects, according to with or no pyrrone mulder treatment, divided into experimental group and control group, detected and compared the T lymphocyte subgroup, NK cell activity and inflammatory factors of two groups. Results: T lymphocyte subgroup was compared in the experimental group and control group, after 1 month and 6 months of treatment, the CD3+ (%), CD4+ (%) and CD4+/CD8+ were significantly higher in the 2 groups and higher in the experimental group than in the control group (all P=0.000). CD8+ (%) were compared in the experimental group and the control group, after 1 month and 6 months treatment, CD8+ (%) of the two groups were significantly decreased and the experimental group was lower than that of the control group (P=0.000). The activity of NK cells were compared in the experimental group and control group, after 1 month and 6 months treatment, the activity of NK cells in the two groups was significantly higher and the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (P=0.000). The IL-6, IL-8 and CRP were compared in the experimental group with the control group, after 1 month and 6 months treatment, the CRP, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the experimental group was lower than that of the control group (all P=0.000). Conclusion: Pyrrone Mott can improve the immune function of patients with chronic sinusitis and anti-inflammatory function, can play a role in the treatment.

Objective: To investigate the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on hemorheology and serum inflammatory factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods: A total of 87 patients with moderate and severe OSAHS from Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of South Central Hospital of Wuhan University and Qianjiang Central Hospital were selected as research objects in the treatment group, while 37 healthy individuals were chosen as objects in the control group. The changes of hemorheology indexes including hematocrit (HCT), whole blood viscosity, platelet aggregation (PAG) and endothelin (ET) as well as serum inflammatory factors including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured in the control group and the treatment group, and comparisons involving these indexes were made between the two groups. Results: Before treatment, the hemorheology indexes HCT, whole blood viscosity (high, medium and low sheer rates), PAG and ET as well as the inflammatory factors IL-6, IL-18 and TNF-α levels were significantly higher than those in the control group; after CPAP treatment, all these indexed mentioned above in the treatment group were significantly decreased compared with before treatment. Conclusion: CPAP treatment has a reliable therapeutic effect on OSAHS patients, which can obviously improve the hemorheology and largely reduce the inflammatory response.

The mechanism of adsorption of a typical antibiotic (tetracycline, TC) on particles in the aquatic environment and the parameters affecting adsorption were investigated. Experiments were conducted to elucidate the effects of pH and various cation species with different concentrations. The results show that the adsorption of TC on particles is rapid during the first four hours in the mixing stage. The adsorption process becomes slow after the first four hours. The adsorption of TC on particles can be described well by a Langmuir equation. The maximum adsorption of TC on particles occurs at pH 4.5, however it is reduced by strongly acidic (pH4) or alkaline (pH9) conditions. Moreover, the adsorption process is also inhibited by various cations (e.g. Na

Iron oxidized acidophlies are important in uranium extraction for it mainly depends on the indirect mechanism of bioleaching. Taking indirect field In-Situ bioleaching experiment in a uranium deposit as an example, several strains of acidophiles were isolated from the acid leachate. Bacteria compositions of the samples taken different stages were analyzed by 16SrDNA PCR-RFLP method. Results showed that the dominant bacteria in the leachate wereAcidithiobacillus.ferrivorans,At.ferrooxidansandLeptospirrilum. ferrooxidansfrom the beginning to the middle stage of bioleaching process. With the process carried on, ferric ion concentration increased in the oxidation tanks,L. ferrooxidansbecame predominant bacteria. Again confirmed that in this in-situ bioleaching site, iron oxidized bacteria were in dominant.

Ferric hydrosulfate minerals are commonly byproducts of biotic oxidation of Fe (II) in acid mine drainage and biohydrometallurgy like biogenic jarosite. In this study, adsorption of Cr (VI) on jarosite was a rapid process and the optimum pH for Cr (VI) adsorption was found at 7.0. The variation of Cr (VI) adsorbed on jarosite fitted the Langmuir adsorption isotherm models and the maximum adsorption capacity was 3.23 mg/g. It was evident that anion exchange mechanism was responsible for Cr (VI) adsorption on jarosite based on the sulfate leaching data and optimum pH experiments.

Studies were carried out on the decolorization of Direct Red 28 (DR) and Direct Yellow 12 (DY) by developed bacterial consortium. Effects of pH, temperature, and NaCl concentrations on degradation were studied. GC-MS was used to detect the intermediates produced in the effluents of anaerobic step. The optimum pH and temperature for the degradation of DR and DY were pH 7 and 6, and 37°Cand 45°C, respectively. We observed the peak of benzenamine in GC-MS analysis. The products formed during the reduction of DY12 were benzenamine and 2-Amino-1-hydroxybenzene. The results showed a complete degradation of DY12 by the bacterial consortium.

As an important judgement index, Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs) is the indispensable research object in hydrolytic acidification treatment process. The article studied the total VFAs and its components from the start to stable period of an hydrolytic acidification reactor treating simulated dyeing wastewater by a distilled method and ion chromatography system (ICS-90), respectively. The results revealed that it experienced about 90 days for the hydrolytic acidification reactor to be stable. The COD removal ratio hovered around 45% without large fluctuation, and the ADMI removal ratio ranged from about 50% to 81%. The total VFAs increased from the initial 24.72 mg/L to about 150 mg/L. The component analysis revealed that acetic acid increased to the main component and the proportion of propionic acid decreased, which reflected a good hydrolytic acidification effect after 100 days treatment of simulated dyeing wastewater.

In this study, porous Ta3N5 nanorods were sucessfully fabricated via electrospinning-calcination-nitridation method. The porous Ta3N5 nanorods are composed of Ta3N5 nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 30 nm to 80 nm. The porous Ta3N5 nanorods show significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Methyl blue (MB) under visible light than commercial Ta3N5. Importantly, The porous Ta3N5 nanorods can be used as an easily recyclable photocatalyst with wide visible-light response.

We successfully designed and fabricated TES bolometers utilizing Al/Ti bilayer TESs as sensitive thermometers. To reduce the intrinsic noise level and tune the saturation power of a bolometer, the TES thermometer is placed on a suspended SiN platform which is thermally coupled to the heat bath by four long SiN beams with different geometries. The measurement results show that the detectors have background limited noise performance, with a low noise equivalent power (NEP) on the order of 10−17 W/Hz1/2 and have a saturation power of several tens pW at a bath temperature of 320 mK. These detectors are suitable for applications in ground-based astrophysics experiments by integrating absorbers for specific wavelengths.

Dynamical decoupling is widely used in many quantum computing systems to combat decoherence. In a practical superconducting quantum system, imperfections can plague decoupling performance. In this work, imperfections in a superconducting qubit and its control system are modeled via modified Hamiltonian and collapse operator. A master equation simulation is carried out on the qubit under 1/f environment noise spectrum. The average dephasing rate of qubit is extracted to characterize the impact of different imperfections on the decoupling from dephasing. We find that the precision of pulse position, on–off ratio, and filtering effect are most critical. Bounded pulses have weaker impact, while variation in pulse width and qubit relaxation are insignificant. Consequently, alternative decoupling protocols, jitter mitigation, cascaded mixers, and pulse shaping can be conducive to the performance of decoupling. This work may assist the analysis and optimization of dynamical decoupling on noisy superconducting quantum systems.

We propose a simplified current–voltage (IV) relation for the analysis and simulation of superconductor transition-edge sensor (TES) circuits. Compared to the conventional approach based on the effective TES resistance, our expression describes the device behavior more thoroughly covering the superconducting, transitional, and normal-state for TES currents in both directions. We show how to use our IV relation to perform small-signal analysis and derive the device's temperature and current sensitivities based on its physical parameters. We further demonstrate that we can use our IV relation to greatly simplify TES device modeling and make SPICE simulation of TES circuits easily accessible. We present some interesting results as examples of valuable simulations enabled by our IV relation.

In allusion to Cr3+s toxic effect on activated sludge in SBR process system, by determination of the Cr3+adsorption rate, mlvss under different initial SVIs and different chromium loads, the Cr3+s toxic effect on activated sludge and the Cr3+s influence on chromium adsorption of activated sludge were studied. The research shows that within tolerance range, the activated sludge of SBR system can adsorb 60% chromium ion within 10min reaction. Moreover, with the increase of chromium load, the final chromium remnant rate decreases; within tolerance range, the increase of chromium load contributes to the adsorption of chromium ion and the acceleration is subject to initial SVI. Within non-tolerance range, the ability of SBR process system to adsorb chromium decreases greatly; The whole curve of chromium remnant rate shifts upward with the increase of chromium load level. Within 10mins reaction, the adsorption rate of chromium is about 50% under best condition.

Aiming at the toxic effect of Cr3+ on the activated sludge in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process system, the article researched the toxic effect of Cr3+ on activated sludge and sewage processing in SBR process system through detecting the COD changes of SBR activated sludge with different chromium loads and different initial SVIs. The results show that when chromium load level is lower than 12.5mgCr3+/g mlvss, Cr3+ can promote activated sludge to adsorb organic substance COD. The effect is affected by the initial SVI which exerts impact on the toxic effect of chromium load on activated sludge within the tolerance range. When it is within the non-tolerance range, the final effluent COD of the system increase apparently. In the process, COD change curve is rather gentle; and the time of arriving at a rather low COD is relatively delayed. The system tolerance of chrome toxicity with a low initial SVI is comparatively strong.

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins are ubiquitous and participate in multiple essential functions of life. However, little is currently known about the mechanisms of iron-sulfur biosynthesis and transfer in acidophilic microorganisms. In this study, the IscS, IscU and IscA proteins from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. The IscS was a cysteine desulfurase which catalyzes desulfurization of L-cysteine and transfer sulfur for iron-sulfur cluster assembly. Purified IscU did not have an iron-sulfur cluster but could act as a scaffold protein to assemble the [2Fe-2S] cluster in vitro. The IscA was a [4Fe-4S] cluster binding protein, but it also acted as an iron binding protein. Further studies indicated that the iron sulfur clusters could be transferred from pre-assembled scaffold proteins to apo-form iron sulfur proteins, the reconstituted iron sulfur proteins could restore their physiological activities.

Compound pearl protein polypeptide (CPPP) was investigated by MTT method as well as detecting alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and mineralized nodes in osteoblasts from SD rats. In vivo the rat models of osteoporosis were induced by ovariectomy and treated with three doses of CPPP (5.0mg.kg-1.d-1, 20.0mg.kg-1.d-1, and 80.0mg.kg-1.d-1). The serum levels of estradiol (E2), osteocalcin (BGP), transforming growth factors (TGF-β1) and ALK, together with the bone mineral density (BMD) and the contents of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in 24h urine, were detected. The results show that CPPP can enhance cell proliferation, ALK activity and the number of mineralized nodes in rats osteoblasts. CPPP significantly increase the serum level of E2, TGF-β1, and BMD, and decrease the serum level of ALP, BGP and the contents of Ca, P in 24h urine. So, CPPP can increase bone density, and thus it is conductive to osteoporosis prevention and treatment of the elderly.

In the study, through the addition astaxanthin into the bait for the pearl oyster Pinctada martensii for 3 months, we studied the accumulation and existence form of astaxanthin in pearl oyster through qualitative and quantitative analysis which adopted High Performance Liquid Chromatography method; the transmission of astaxanthin in shells was detected by Micro-Raman spectrometry. The results showed: 6.870±1.356μg/g of astaxanthin existed in the control group of Pinctada martensii, and 74.799±5.907μg/g of astaxanthin existed in the experimental group, some of them were existent in the form of astaxanthin esters. Weak carotenoid characteristic peak occurred in the control group, while the carotenoid characteristic peaks intensity enhanced obviously in the experimental group, which illustrated remarkable increase of carotenoid content in the shell. These findings will not only provide the basis for colorful pearl cultivation via food-borne transmission but also lay a foundation for further artificial regulation and control of pearl color.

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has been realized in atomic systems, but fulfilling the EIT conditions for artificial atoms made from superconducting circuits is a more difficult task. Here we report an experimental observation of the EIT in a tunable three-dimensional transmon by probing the cavity transmission. To fulfill the EIT conditions, we tune the transmon to adjust its damping rates by utilizing the effect of the cavity on the transmon states. From the experimental observations, we clearly identify the EIT and Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) regimes as well as the transition regime in between. Also, the experimental data demonstrate that the threshold $\Omega_{\rm AIC}$ determined by the Akaike information criterion can describe the EIT-ATS transition better than the threshold $\Omega_{\rm EIT}$ given by the EIT theory., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures

Waste water discharged from dye plant contains high sanity ,high chroma and high CODcr (Chemical Oxygen Demand), commonly used biodegradation is often limited in application; As a new efficient advanced oxidation, pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone is attracting more and more attention. A special reactor was designed, in addition, the removal of COD and decoloration of stimulant dye wastewater containing disperse blue 2BLN dye (100mg/L) by pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone were investigated . It showed that in alkaline solution, the maximum COD removal and decoloration rate(58.8% and 99.1%) was observed ,which demonstrated that ozone and pulsed discharge was more efficient on COD removal and decolouration in alkalin than in neutral solution when all the samples were treated for13mins. After being treated, B/C increased from 0.2 to 0.45. Decoloration efficiency and COD removal could be improved obviously when oxygen feed increased from 40 to80L /h，yet further increase in oxygen feed led to a markedly decrease of decolouration efficiency and COD removal.

Due to the relatively unprogressive economic and social development of Songjiang rural areas of Shanghai city in China, the degree of rural domestic sewage treatment was relatively weak and hysteretic. The rural sewage treatment systems of Songjiang district were investigated through field survey. Finally, the systems of soil infiltration-constructed wetland and combinatorial biofilter, with obvious advantages, were proposed to popularize in Songjiang rural areas more suitably.

A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for electrochemical square-wave stripping voltammetric (SWV) determination of antimony (III) was introduced. Various experimental parameters, such as the amounts of carbon nanotubes, the deposition potential and time, the electrolyte solution, etc, were thoroughly optimized and discussed. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the MWCNTs-modified GCE exhibited well linear behaviour in the antimony(III) concentration range from 0.04 to 0.26 mg/L (R=0.9983) with a detection limit of 3.20×10-4 mg/L (S/N=3) under a 360 s accumulation. The proposed electrode also exhibited encouraging properties for measurements of simulated water samples.

In the present study, through a transmission experiment, the effects of europium complex and Eu3+ on the pearl colour in the pearl oyster Pinctada martensii were evaluated. Europium complex and europium salt were respectively enriched by dietary green algae platymonas subcordiformi, and their toxicity to algae were analysed by the 96-h acute toxic experiment. Then, the green algae enriched europium complex and europium salt were respectively fed pearl oysters for 2 months, and the surface microstructures of cultured pearls were presented with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope(AFM). The results show that toxicity of europium complex to algae is much lower than Eu3+ from lowest no observable effect concentration LNOEC values and 96h-EC50 values and two compounds can modify pearl structure and optimize pearl colour from SEM and AFM images. Taken together, our results, for the first time, show that rare earth complex can improve the pearl quality. This study provides an innovative approach for additional investigation of the influence of rare earth elements on pearls.

Two novel 2D coordination polymers, namely, {[Cu2(L)2][Cu(H2O)3]}n (1) and {Pb3(O2N-btb)2}n (2) (O2N-H3btb = 5-nitro-benzene-1, 2, 3-tricarboxylic acid, L = 5-nitro-2-oxidoisophthalate), were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. Compound 1 is an infinite 2D layer exhibiting an extended 3D supramolecular network structure. O–H···O hydrogen bonding interactions play a key role in forming the final 3D supramolecular framework. It is noted that 5-nitro-benzene-1, 2, 3-tricarboxylic acid (O2N-H3btb) was in situ transformed to 5-nitro-2-oxidoisophthalate in 1. Compound 2 is a 2D microporous lead-containing metal-organic framework made up of interconnected Pb-carboxylate chains, involving three independent lead atoms with three different coordination arrangements. Furthermore, the solid-state photoluminescence and lifetime characteristics of 2 reveal intense blue luminescence.

Owing to toxicity of pharmacy wastewater to microbe, commonly used biodegradation is often limited in application; accordingly exploiting new ways of the wastewater treatment with high efficiency is a hot topic. As a new efficient advanced oxidation, pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone is attracting more and more attention. In this study, a special reactor was designed, in addition, the removal of TOC(Total Organic Carbon) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand)of simulant pharmacy wastewater containing hydroquinone (500mg/L) by pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone were investigated . It was showed that the TOC and COD removal (53.8% and 72.3%) by the combined technology was much higher than by using the two techniques in series when all the samples were treated 40mins.The two methods in combination have a synergistic effect. TOC and COD removal could be improved obviously when NaCl feed concentration increased from 0 to1000 mg/L, yet further increase in NaCl feed led to a markedly decrease removal efficiency of TOC and COD.

Intrinsic stress, surface morphology and crystallographic structure of superconducting thin films play an important role in determining the quality of their superconducting properties and the Josephson junctions made of them. Nb thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering with various deposition conditions were studied using curvature method, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The role of sputtering pressure, gun operating parameters, substrate temperature and substrate materials on film morphology, crystallographic structure and intrinsic stress are investigated. Superconducting transition temperatures of the films were measured and relationship between the transition temperatures and deposition conditions were studied.

The composition of microbial communities in five acid mine water samples were studied, using culture-independent 16S rDNA based cloning and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the bacteria in these five samples fell into 4 major groups: Proteobacteria, Nitrospira, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Proteobacteria organisms such as A. ferrooxidans appeared in samples SX3, K1 and K2, but was scarce in samples SX1 and SX2; Nitrospira organisms Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Leptospirillum group III, were prevalent in samples SX1, K1 and K2, but with fewer in samples SX2 and SX3. Archaea were only detected in samples K1 and K2 from the Tong shankou copper mine. Thermoplasma and Ferroplasma lineages were detected abundantly in these two samples. Meanwhile, the results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on the percentages of OTUs and data of biogeochemical parameters, revealed that biogeochemical properties affected the diversity of microbial communities in mine water. The pH, temperature and different concentrations of elements such as S, Ni, Co and Cu seemed to be key factors resulting in the diverse distribution of microbes.

Bacterial preoxidation of refractory gold ore has showed many advantages, such as lower operation cost and environmental friendly. In this paper, biooxidation of refractory gold ore by mixed moderate thermophiles culture in airlift bioreactor has been well studied. Firstly, a laboratory scale airlift bioreactor unit has been designed for bacterial preoxidation of refractory gold ore, a mixed moderate thermophilic culture was incubated. The orthogonal experiment was performed to investigate the effects of particle size, pulp density, aeration rate and initial pH. The results showed that when particle size 37micrometer，pulp density 5%，aeration rate 4 dm3•s-1 and initial pH 1.2, the arsenic leaching rate achieved to 93.5%. On the base of the airlift bioreactor unit, a continuous airlift bioreactor was designed. The preoxidation of refractory gold ore by a mixed culture of moderately thermophilic bacteria also was investigated in this equipment. The results showed that, under the conditions of pulp density 8% and stay time 60h, it can deal with 0.256 kg refractory gold ore per day, and the arsenic leaching rate can reach to 95.25%. During the experiment, some leaching liquor has been sampled from the second sect the fourth column of the continuous airlift bioreactor. The composition of microbial communities in this sample has been investigated using culture-independent 16S rDNA based cloning approach- restriction fragment length polymorphism. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Acidithiobacillus caldus are the main organisms in this system. Both of them are moderate thermphilic bacteria and can resist relatively high concentration of arsenic ion.

The highly conserved operon iron–sulfur cluster (iscSUA) is essential for the general biogenesis and transfer of iron–sulfur proteins in bacteria. In this study, expression, purification and characterization of the proteins of the isc operon (iscSUA) of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 23270 was studied. Assembly and transfer of [Fe4S4] in vitro during the isc proteins and other iron sulfur proteins was studied in order to detect the pathway and mechanism of [Fe4S4] assembly and transfer in vivo. The [Fe4S4] cluster was successfully assembled in iron-sulfur proteins in vitro in the presence of Fe2+ and sulfide, and it was successfully transferred from IscA or IscU to iron- sulfur proteins. Our results support and extend certain models of iron-sulfur clusters assembly and transfer.

The acidophilic heterotrophic bacteria Acidiphilium spp. were considered as a ministrant of Leptospirillum spp., Acidithiobacillus spp. and other autotrophic bacteria in acid mine drainage (AMD). 25 Acidiphilium-like bacterial strains were isolated from eight different mines in China and their physiology was characterized. Their marmatite-bioleaching ability has been investigated and compared with that of a mixed culture of Acidiphilium sp. and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The results indicated that some Acidiphilium-like strains exhibited a high marmatite-bioleaching ability, which was even higher than that of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The leaching efficiency was not higher in mixed than in pure culture. The phylogenetic relationship of the 25 Acidiphilium-like strains was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing, GyrB sequencing and rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting. The 25 strains and other eight species of Acidiphilium spp. were clustered into three groups.

To investigate the effects of angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) telmisartan on the expression and distribution of protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha in the kidneys of diabetic mice.Diabetic mice were induced with streptozotocin and a group of them were randomly selected for treatment with telmisartan. After 6 weeks, the expression and localization of PKC-alpha in the renal cortex, and the outer and inner medulla were assessed by immunohistochemistry and semiquantitative Western blotting. In addition, expressions of PKC-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in glomeruli were measured by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry.Diabetic and normal mice showed similar distributions of PKC-alpha in the kidneys. The expression of PKC-alpha was found in glomeruli, epithelial cells of proximal tubules, and medullary-collecting duct, while not in the medullary and cortical thick ascending limb, and was different in the epithelial cells of proximal tubules of diabetic nephropathy (DN) mice, PKC-alpha was mostly translocated from the basement membrane to the apical membrane, whereas it was largely translocated from the apical membrane to the basement membrane in epithelial cells of the inner medullary-collecting duct. Western blotting detected increased expression of PKC-alpha in the renal cortex and outer medulla, but not in the inner medulla of DN mice. Enhanced expressions of PKC-alpha, TGF-beta1, and VEGF were shown in the glomeruli of DN mice, where PKC-alpha exhibited a correlation to VEGF, but no correlation to TGF-beta1. ARB telmisartan attenuated alterations of PKC-alpha as mentioned earlier in the DN mice.Our findings suggest that PKC-alpha may play a role in the pathogenesis of DN, and that the nephroprotective effects of ARB telmisartan may be partly associated with its influence on PKC-alpha.

We report the magnetoelectric CoFe2O4-Pb(Zr0.52T0.48)O-3 composite nanofilms prepared by pulse laser deposition method. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the phase structures and morphologies of the films. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer, impedance analyzer, ferroelectric test unit and magnetoelectric measuring device were used to measure the magnetic, dielectric and ferroelectric, properties, as well as the magnetoelectric effect of the films. It is shown that the films possess good dielectric, ferroelectric and magnetic properties. The films exhibit magnetoelectric coupling properties similar to the bulk composites. The magnetoelectric effect of the films were studied in detail.

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is used to etch the ferroelectric layer for the ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs) research, and the effect of RIE on the ferroelectric properties has been studied. The top platinum layer is etched by Ion Beam Etching (IBE) method, little polarization change has been observed after top electrode etching. The ferroelectric layer is etched by RIE, positive ions bombing the sample during etching and result in the positive ions left in the films. A significant polarization suppression has been found for the capacitors because of large amount ions existed in the films. The polarization can be recovered well after RTP annealing. However, the polarization decreases rapidly during fatigue test, which indicats that the introduced ions have not been removed completely after RTP annealing. On the contrary, the capacitor exhibits better fatigue behaviour because of few ions remained in the film after furnace annealing.

Changes in angiopoietin expression in glomeruli involved in glomerulosclerosis in rats with daunorubicin-induced nephrosis

This paper presents a method for measuring the complex permittivity of Ba/sub 0.5/Sr/sub 0.5/TiO/sub 3/ (BST) ferroelectric thin films on a four-layered substrate at frequencies from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Coplanar waveguide (CPW) lines are employed to measure the permittivity at high frequencies, whereas at low frequencies interdigital capacitors (IDCs) are used instead to avoid the calibration errors of CPW at those frequencies. A quasi-TEM transmission-line model and a lumped-element model, both on a four-layered substrate, are developed for CPW and IDC, respectively, using quasi-TEM analysis, conformal mapping, and partial-capacitance technique. The combinations of CPW model with measured transmission parameters and IDC model with measured scattering parameters allow extraction of the dielectric properties of the BST film. On-wafer through-reflect-line calibration is used to de-embed the true responses of the CPW lines. Dielectric constants of 400-600 and loss tangents of 0.05-0.1 are obtained at frequencies from 50 MHz to 26.5 GHz.

Barium strontium titanate (Ba x Sr 1− x TiO 3 , BST) films have been used to develop microwave devices, microsensors, and RF MEMS devices due to the tunable dielectric properties, high dielectric constant, and low loss tangent. However, the most commonly used sol–gel method for BST film preparation has the problem of crack formation. This paper presents a modified sol–gel method to realize crack-free thick films on silicon substrates. The method uses organic macromolecular poly(vinlypyrrolidone) (PVP) dispersed uniformly into the sol–gel precursor solution to avoid crack formation. Due to the hybrid effect of PVP, thick films with thickness up to 1 μm can be achieved by multiple repetitive spin coating and sol–gel method. The preparation process is given in detail, and the effects of PVP and anneal temperature on the maximum film thickness are discussed. The thick films are characterized at frequencies up to 26.5 GHz by using coplanar waveguides. Experimental results show that this method is effective in preparing BST thick films, in particular for porous BST thick films for sensor and RF MEMS applications.

Fabrication and properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films have been studied for Metal-Ferroelectric-Semiconductor FET (MFSFET) devices. PZT based MFS capacitors using lead titanate (PT) as seeding layers have been respectively prepared on p-type ⟨111⟩ and n-type ⟨100⟩ silicon wafers directly by a sol-gel method. PZT/PT films are final annealed at 650°C for 1 min in oxygen ambient using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The measured memory windows of the MFS capacitors are about 1.8 V and 5 V under the polarization voltages of ±5 V and ±10 V correspondingly. The MFS structure can be valuable for MFSFET applications.

A monolithic MEMS triaxial accelerometer based on piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with highly symmetric quad-beams and a seismic mass, has been designed and simulated. Theoretical and numerical models for this structure are presented. The dynamic response and the trade-off between several design considerations are discussed. Static and modal simulations with FEM (Finite Element Method) simulator have been performed to analyze the mechanical response. It shows that the sensitivities of the three axes (X, Y, Z) are respectively 27, 27, and 29 mv/g, and there is almost no transverse sensitivity for the accelerometer. Also, the device is expected to have good temperature performance.

Fabrication and properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films have been studied for metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor FET (MFSFET) devices. PZT-based MFS capacitors using lead titanate (PT) as seeding layers have been prepared, respectively, on p-type 〈111〉 and n-type 〈100〉 silicon wafers directly by a sol-gel method. PZT/PT films are finally annealed at 650 °C for 1 min in oxygen ambient using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The measured memory windows of the MFS capacitors are about 1.8 and 5 V under the polarization voltages of ±5 and ±10 V correspondingly. The MFS structure can be valuable for MFSFET applications.