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Abstract This study focuses on enhancing the pozzolanic activity of bentonite through heat treatment to improve its compressive strength, while also considering its expansion properties for applications. Sodium bentonite was subjected to various temperatures and analyzed using thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). The results indicated that at 100 °C, adsorbed and interlayer water in montmorillonite was lost, and constitution water was eliminated at 700 °C. With further temperature increases, montmorillonite decomposes into an amorphous phase at 900 °C. At 1100 °C, the amorphous phase recrystallized into magnesium–aluminum silicate, which further decomposed into cristobalite. The study concludes that bentonite heat-treated at 800–900 °C can be effectively used as an additive in mining backfill materials to enhance compressive strength while maintaining its expansion properties.

Abstract Background Flower buds of Anthurium andraeanum frequently cease to grow and abort during the early flowering stage, resulting in prolonged planting times and increased commercialization costs. Nevertheless, limited knowledge exists of the mechanism of flower development after initiation in A. andraeanum. Results In this study, the measurement of carbohydrate flow and intensity between leaves and flowers during different growth stages showed that tender leaves are strong sinks and their concomitant flowers are weak ones. This suggested that the tender leaves compete with their concomitant flower buds for carbohydrates during the early growth stages, potentially causing the abortion of the flower buds. The analysis of transcriptomic differentially expressed genes suggested that genes related to sucrose metabolism and auxin response play an important role during flower bud development. Particularly, co-expression network analysis found that AaSPL12 is a hub gene engaged in flower development by collaborating carbohydrate and auxin signals. Yeast Two Hybrid assays revealed that AaSPL12 can interact with AaARP, a protein that serves as an indicator of dormancy. Additionally, the application of exogenous IAA and sucrose can suppress the expression of AaARP, augment the transcriptional abundance of AaSPL12, and consequently expedite flower development in Anthurium andraeanum. Conclusions Collectively, our findings indicated that the combination of auxin and sugar signals could potentially suppress the repression of AaARP protein to AaSPL12, thus advancing the development of flower buds in Anthurium andraeanum.

Multidrug resistance significantly impedes the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. Resistance often arises from the reduced cellular uptake of chemotherapeutic drugs, a process crucial for their cytotoxic effects. This reduction is frequently due to transmembrane efflux pumps powered by ATP from mitochondria and the cytoplasmic matrix, leading to lower intracellular concentrations of these drugs. This study introduces an amphiphilic molecule, bis(zinc-dipicolylamine) farnesol (Bis-ZnDPA), which targets phosphatidylserine (PS) – a negatively charged phospholipid prominently displayed on the outer leaflet of cancer cell plasma membranes. Integrating the hydrophobic segment of Bis-ZnDPA into the plasma membrane disrupts its integrity, potentially leading to hole formation and facilitating the uptake of chemotherapeutic drugs. Furthermore, the binding of Bis-ZnDPA to phosphatidylserine inhibits ATP production caused by Ca2+ influx and deregulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway, reducing the efflux of drugs from cells. The results indicate the potent synergistic effect of Bis-ZnDPA with chemotherapeutic agents, suggesting that targeting PS is a viable strategy for overcoming multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy.

Larix gmelinii is an important ecological construction tree species in northern China, and its carbon storage and distribution characteristics are of great significance for evaluating the carbon balance and climate effect of forest ecosystems. However, at present, there is a lack of systematic research on the carbon storage of L. gmelinii forests and its change with forest age. In this paper, the biomass and carbon density of L. gmelinii forests at different ages and the distribution of carbon storage in vegetation and soil were analyzed by means of sample plot investigation and model simulation in the northern forest area of Daxing’anling, Inner Mongolia. The influence of forest age on the carbon storage and carbon pool distribution characteristics of L. gmelinii forests and the mechanism of influencing factors were also discussed. Results show that: (1) As forest age increased, the total amount of carbon pools initially increased and then decreased, and the distribution structure of carbon pools showed a trend of transferring from soil to trees. The proportion of soil carbon pools gradually decreased (72.72–51.87%), while the proportion of tree carbon pools gradually increased (23.98–39.33%). The proportion of shrub and grass carbon pools was also relatively stable (0.51–0.53%). (2) Soil carbon pool was affected by the input and output of soil organic matter, soil depth, soil carbon content, and soil bulk density, shrub–grass carbon pool was affected by undergrowth light conditions and soil moisture, litter carbon pool was affected by litter input and output, and the carbon pool of trees was affected by the growth rate and carbon balance of trees. This study provides scientific basis and management suggestions for the carbon storage capacity of L. gmelinii forests and the mitigation of climate change.

Background: This is a retrospective study aimed at comparing the clinical efficacy and safety between drug-eluting bead transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and conventional TACE (C-TACE) in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: From July 2019 to April 2021, we enrolled 282 patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who were admitted to our hospital, of which 179 and 103 were in the DEB-TACE and C-TACE groups, respectively. General information was collected, and treatment effects were evaluated following the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. To compare the indexes of liver and kidney function, routine blood and coagulation were collected before treatment, and 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Postoperative adverse reactions (ie, fever, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain) were recorded to evaluate the safety of treatment. The two groups’ progression-free survival and overall survival were also calculated to assess the treatment effect. Results: Preoperatively, the bilirubin, transaminase, and absolute neutrophil values between the two groups were not statistically significant ( P > .05). At 1 month postoperatively, the absolute neutrophil values were significantly higher in the DEB-TACE group than those in the C-TACE group ( P

Byline: Wei. Li, Xun. Yang, Jing. Chen, Jian-Wei. Zhu, Ling-Huan. Zeng, Hai-Hong. Long, Zhi. Chen, Jun. Tang, Xiao-Fang. Lan Background: Potentially substantial impacts on the prognosis have been observed in [...]

Objective: The effect of processing on the volatile fractions of different parts of the flowers of Camellia liberofilamenta was investigated. Methods: Different parts of the whole flowers, petals and stamens of C. liberofilamenta were processed by spreading, microwave killing and drying to make dry samples, separately, and then the effect of processing on volatile components extracted from different parts of the flowers. Results: A total of 73 kinds of volatile substances were identified, which were mainly alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, acids, terpenes and others, and alcohols and aldehydes were the main volatile compounds. In terms of the type and quantity of volatile substances, the effect of processing on whole flower was greater than that on stamen and petal. Linalsol, methyl endolaurate and methyl acetate were negatively correlated to the volatile components of the tea. Alcohols and aldehydes contributed significantly to the volatile components of the whole dry flower, C6 volatile compounds contributed significantly to the volatile components of the petals, and carotenoid degraded volatile compounds contributed significantly to the volatile components of the stamens. Conclusion: There are some differences in the types and relative contents of volatile substances in different parts of stamens, petals and whole flower, and the main contribution volatile substances are different. The influence of processing on whole flower is greater than that of stamens and petals.

Abstract The problem of quantifying the effect of the alfalfa root morphology on the stability of the shallow surface layer of the slope of the Haizhou open-pit coal mine and the optimal slope degree in terms of the reinforcement of the shallow surface layer by the alfalfa root system was addressed. In this study, the mechanical parameters of plain soil and alfalfa root–soil composite samples were measured by indoor soil tests and triaxial compression tests, and a calculation model for the slope of the Haizhou open-pit coal mine was established in FLAC3D numerical simulation software to analyze the influence of the alfalfa root system on the maximum displacement of the shallow surface layer of the slope and the relationship with the fractal dimension of the alfalfa root system. The fractal dimension was applied to quantify the influence of the alfalfa root morphology to further investigate the relationship between the fractal dimension of the root system and the optimal slope of the shallow surface layer. The analysis showed that the fractal dimension of the alfalfa root system varied at different slope degrees, i.e., 40° > flat > 30° > 50°; the maximum soil displacement of the shallow surface layer of the slope increased with slope in nonlinear increments. Analysis of the fractal dimension of the alfalfa root system and the maximum displacement reduction rate at the different slope degrees revealed that the optimal slope degree of the shallow surface layer reinforced by alfalfa varied between 30° and 40°. The study results could provide a basis for further explaining the nature of the role of the alfalfa root morphology in reinforcing shallow surface soil and the optimal slope degree of the slope of the Haizhou open-pit coal mine reinforced by alfalfa roots.

Non-noble transition metal oxides (TMOs) are promising catalysts with improved catalytic activity and stability in oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the structural complexity of TMO-based electrocatalysts renders the determination of the active sites and OER mechanisms challenging. Here, we demonstrate that the OER activity of Co-doped one-dimensional W18O49 (Co-W18O49) is intrinsically dominated by the surface structure and electronic properties of the octahedral sites and Co–O–W bonds. Compared with RuO2 and W18O49 heterogeneous electrocatalysts, Co-W18O49 exhibits higher turnover frequency, attaining 1.97 s−1 at 500 mV overpotential. The results indicate that Co substitution contributes to the localized charge distribution of the active octahedral sites constructed by the Co–O–W bonds under OER conditions. Here, we determine the mechanism of TMOs for the OER, which may be applied to various other TMOs for OER electrocatalyst design.

ABSTRACTA novel material processing method, friction stir-surface mechanical attrition treatment (FS-SMAT) was conducted on pure magnesium plate and AZ31 magnesium alloy plate. Two types of stir tools, spherical stir tool and plane stir tool, are designed to process FS-SMAT to reduce the heat input compared with the traditional friction stir processing (FSP). Microstructure evolution during FS-SMAT and its effect on mechanical property are investigated. FS-SMAT has different effect on microstructure and mechanical property when using the spherical and plane stir tools. Different heat input and plastic deformation can be produced due to the specific shapes of stir tools. Using a spherical stir tool, the grain size of pure magnesium plate was refined to 1.74 μm. The micro-hardness was improved from 40 HV to 63 HV. In contrast, after FS-SMAT with a plane stir tool, the grain size and micro-hardness of AZ31 magnesium alloy are 0.91 μm and 125 HV, respectively.

Abstract To explore carbide superconductors with higher transition temperature, two novel carbon structures of cage‐network are designed and their superconductivity is studied by doping metals. MC6 and MC10 are respectively identified as C24 and C32 cage‐network structures. This study finds that both carbon structures drive strong electron–phonon interaction and can exhibit superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperature. Importantly, the superconducting transition temperatures above 100 K are predicted to be achieved in C24‐cage‐network systems doped by Na, Mg, Al, In, and Tl at ambient pressure, which is far higher than those in graphite, fullerene, and other carbides. Meanwhile, the superconductivity of cage‐network carbides is also found to be sensitive to the electronegativity and concentration of dopant M. The result indicates that the higher transition temperatures can be obtained by optimizing the carbon‐cage‐network structures and the doping conditions. The study suggests that the carbon‐cage‐network structure is a direction to explore high‐temperature superconducting carbides.