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For order-of-addition experiments, the response is affected by the addition order of the experimental materials. Consequently, the main interest focuses on creating a predictive model and an optimal design for optimizing the response. Van Nostrand proposed the pairwise-order (PWO) model for detecting PWO effects. Under the PWO model, the full PWO design is optimal under various criteria but is often unaffordable because of the large run size. In this paper, we consider the D-, A- and M. S. -optimal fractional PWO designs. We first present some results on information matrices. Then, a flexible and efficient algorithm is given for generating these optimal PWO designs. Numerical simulation shows that the generated design has an appealing efficiency in comparison with the full PWO design, though with only a small fraction of runs. Several comparisons with existing designs illustrate that the generated designs achieve better efficiencies, and the best PWO designs and some selected 100% efficient PWO designs generated by the new algorithm are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel approach to reducing statistical errors in generative models, with a specific focus on generative adversarial networks (GANs). Inspired by the error analysis of GANs, we find that statistical errors mainly arise from random sampling, leading to significant uncertainties in GANs. To address this issue, we propose a selective sampling mechanism called space‐filling sampling. Our method aims to increase the sampling probability in areas with insufficient data, thereby improving the learning performance of the generator. Theoretical analysis confirms the effectiveness of our approach in reducing statistical errors and accelerating convergence in GANs. This research represents a pioneering effort in targeting the reduction of statistical errors in GANs, and it demonstrates the potential for enhancing the training of other generative models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D composited nanosheets of Mo2C/CoMoS4 are synthesized by a hydrothermal approach to obtain a bifunctional water‐splitting electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in aqueous alkaline solution. Due to the richened defects formed on the 2D catalyst, the as‐derived Mo2C/CoMoS4 exhibits high activity. At 10 mA cm−2, the HER and OER overpotentials of the 2D Mo2C/CoMoS4 nanosheets are just 117 and 250 mV, respectively, with the corresponding Tafel slope of 90 and 75 mV dec−1, near to the commercial Pt/C and IrO2. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy proves the strong interactions between Mo2C and CoMoS4 and the Raman analysis certifies the presence of richened defects in Mo2C/CoMoS4. Moreover, the Mo2C/CoMoS4 possesses a long‐term catalytic stability, showing potential application in the water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of light‐weight and bendable electric devices, nowdays, solid‐state supercapacitive devices have attracted great attention, in which the classic polymeric electrolytes such as polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene oxide copolymers are generally used. However, the microphase separation in these polymers and low conductivity affect the ions transfer and the energy‐storage performance. In this work, a crosslinked sodium polyacrylate gel (NaPA) is synthesized to replace conventional polymeric electrolyte. Because NaPA is a kind of polymeric salt which has high native degree of ionization in water, the NaPA gel shows low resistance to ion transportation. By using NaPA gel as the electrolyte and carbon cloth as current collector, a flexible solid asymmetric supercapacitor assembled by positive NaFePO4/carbon cloth and negative activated carbon/carbon cloth electrode shows the maximum capacitance of 46.33 mF cm−2 at 1 mA cm−2, with a high stability of 87.33 % retention during 5000 charge and discharge cycles. Moreover, this flexible asymmetric supercapacitors showed nearly unchanged capacitance under different bending angles. It is found that the Na+ diffusion coefficient in NaFePO4/CC//NaPA supercapacitor is 8.05×10−14 cm2 ⋅ s, remarkable higher than CC//NaPA and NaFePO4/CC//PVA. The high diffusion coefficient and low resistance of NaPA lead to excellent capacitave performance of NaFePO4/CC//NaPA, delivering a good application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine debris characterization is fundamental for developing policies aiming at ending the flow of marine debris at the source. China has the largest coastal population in the world. For this emerging economy, the sources of debris might be different from those in regions at different developmental stages. As a typical coastal tourist city and a special economic zone in East China, there are multiple sources of marine debris continuously produced around Xiamen. Marine debris characterization here could provide insights into regulatory measures. Therefore, the abundance and composition of marine debris around Xiamen were investigated. Average densities of floating, beached, benthic macro-debris and floating microplastics (0.5 mm - 5 mm) were 3963 ± 2027 items km−2, 0.13 ± 0.08 items m−2, 20,274 ± 15,873 items km−2 and 36,455 ± 33,935 items km−2, respectively. Based on the Clean Coast Indexes, the beaches investigated were supposed to be "very clean" most of the time (73.2% ± 34.9%). Wastes with low value for recycling/reuse, such as grocery bags, ropes, and foams, were the main items of marine debris in the study area. Both domestic sources from the upstream and local fishing/aquaculture activities significantly contributed to marine debris. Obvious regional differences in benthic debris categories could be explained by both natural factors and the rural-urban gap in economic levels, waste-management strategies and infrastructure. These might be common features in this emerging market and densely populated economy. The findings provide insights into the sources of mismanaged waste around this tourist city and some neglected deficiencies in China's current solid waste management system. Unlabelled Image • The abundance/composition of debris and floating microplastics was investigated. • Wastes with low value for recycling/reuse were the main categories of marine debris. • The characteristics of debris are different from those of developed economies. • Rural domestic and fishing/aquaculture sources are the main possible sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, aqueous solution of reduced graphene oxide has been prepared assisted by the graphene quantum dot, which is then mixed with aqueous polyaniline solution to form water-borne reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline composite powder. The resultant graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline shows a specific morphology of nanosized polyaniline firmly attached on reduced graphene oxide layer, due to the good dispersion of reduced graphene oxide and polyaniline in water. The monodispersion leads to the close contact between reduced graphene oxide sheets and polyaniline particles, significantly depressing the accumulation. It leads to the enhanced conductivity, supercapacitance and cycling stability for graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline, with capacitance as high as 648 F g−1. After 5000 charge-discharge cycles, the capacitance of as-prepared reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline composite shows just 3.7% decay while it reaches 68% for polyaniline. Furthermore, driven by the strong electrostatic forces between the electropositive polyaniline and the electronegative graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide as well as the π−π interactions, the obtained nanosized graphene quantum dot-reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline films from the controllable layer-by-layer method show the morphology of interconnected-layer networks and exhibit good electrochemical activity on H 2 O 2 in the range of 5.0 × 10−7–3.5 × 10−5 M. The detection limit is as low as 1.1 μM. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Water-borne rGO/polyaniline composite from powder to layer-by-layer film derived from aqueous rGO and polyaniline solution. • The aqueous rGO solution is prepared assisted by graphene quantum dot. • The enhanced synergistic electrochemical property benefit from the strong p-p and electrostatic interactions. • The approach evidences high cycling stability and electrochemical catalysis for the rGO/polyaniline composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface of graphene (Gr) was covalently attached by an aniline oligomer, from the coupling of graphene oxide with aniline tetramer, followed by reduction process. After linked by tetramer aniline, the graphene materials showed remarkably enhanced electrochemical performances. The conductivity of the graphene was increased from 5.8 S cm −1 to 41.7 S cm ‒1 , under the strong doping effect between Gr and tetramer aniline by means of the π‒π interactions, which was analyzed by FT‒IR, UV–vis and XPS spectra. In addition, the aniline oligomer attached to reduced graphene oxide (AOAG) showed a remarkable energy-storage behavior due to the synergistic effect. The capacitance of AOAGs can be 370 F g −1 , while it is 114 F g −1 and 129 F g −1 for graphene oxide and tetramer aniline respectively. Because the covalent bonding between graphene and aniline oligomer can effectively combine the excellent mechanical strength of graphene and the large faradic pseudocapacitance of aniline oligomer, the AOAGs showed quite high charge-discharge cycle stability besides remarkable capacitance. In addition, the ease of electron motion mediated by the covalent bonding in AOAGs supports the sample significant electrochemical catalysis towards nifedipine. Compared with graphene and tetramer aniline, the oxidative current of nifedipine on AOAG showed five-fold increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, multiple hydrogen bonding interaction of ureidopyrimidinone (UPM) was employed as the linking bridge for the formation of a novel porphyrin·multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) hybrid, which was then used to fabricate a layer-by-layer (LbL) film composed of porphyrin-UPM·MWNT-UPM. Both in the assembled hybrid and the LbL film, porphyrin was closely attached to the surface of the MWNT under the strong multiple hydrogen bonding interaction, forming the core-shell structure. In addition, strong electronic communication was observed between porphyrin and MWNT. The hydrogen bonding association behavior between porphyrin-UPM and MWNT-UPM was attentively analyzed by UV-Vis spectra, fluorescent spectra and transmission electron microscope experiments. It was found that the hydrogen bonding interactions were crucial for the formation of the supramolecular hybrid and the LbL film as well as the occurrence of interfacial electronic communication. This result indicated that the introduction of strong noncovalent bonding interaction between donor and acceptor is an appropriate way to control the material structure and facilitate the interfacial electronic communication in the hybrids which lay the groundwork for their application in electrochemical sensors or photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper an organic molecule labeled as UPPY with both π–π interaction unit of pyrene (PY) and hydrogen bonding unit of urediopyrimidinone (UP) was employed as binding module to link the layer-by-layer graphene film. Firstly, UPPY was anchored on the surface of thermal reduced graphene (trGO) with the aids of π–π interactions forming trGO-UPPY. The trGO-UPPY showed different morphology in CHCl 3 and N,N -dimethylformamide (DMF) due to the different hydrogen binding mode. Then by the synergism of hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions offered by UPPY, multilayer film of trGO-UPPY was prepared through layer-by-layer technique. The electron-transfer resistance (Ret) of trGO-UPPY/ITO decreased from 53 Ω of bare ITO to 27 Ω. In addition, trGO-UPPY/ITO electrodes exhibited enhanced electrochemical activity toward dopamine (DA). Compared with bare ITO, the oxidation peak current of DA on rGO-UPPY/ITO can be enhanced about 100 times than that of bare ITO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tea polyphenols are the prominent component in tea. After the fermentation process, tea polyphenols are oxidized by polyphenol oxidase to form oxidized tea polyphenols (OTPs). OTPs contain a significant amount of hydrophobic phenyl groups that can bind with non-aqueous materials. Here, we determined whether OTPs can bind with lipids and reduce fat uptake and assessed the effect of OTPs on decreasing obesity and alleviating hyperlipidaemia and other metabolic syndromes. Methods: Rats were divided into three groups: control, high-fat diet (HFD) and OTP groups. The control and HFD groups were fed a chow diet and a high-fat diet, respectively, for 12 weeks; the OTP group was fed a high-fat diet for 6 weeks and then a high-fat diet containing 2 % OTP for 6 weeks. The serum and excrement triglyceride (TAG) and total cholesterol (CHOL) concentrations were determined, and liver tissue and white adipose tissue were collected to detect the expression levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism. Results: Our results revealed that OTPs failed to decrease the serum concentrations of TAG and CHOL. OTPs alleviated the accumulation of lipids in the liver tissue and changed the expression levels of the regulators of lipid metabolism, i.e., peroxisome proliferation-activated receptors ( ppars), compared with the rats fed a high-fat diet alone. We also observed a significantly decreased reduction of weight in the visceral white adipose, enhanced regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation by PPARα and enhanced biosynthesis of mitochondria in the visceral white adipose of the OTP rats compared with the HFD rats. Additionally, OTPs promoted the excretion of lipids. Conclusion: Our results suggest that OTPs alleviate the accumulation of lipids in liver and visceral white adipose tissue and promote lipid excretion in rats in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An assembly motif of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks is used to prepare a novel expanded and holey NCM (EH-NCM) with interlayer distance of 0.44 nm. • EH-NCM shows ORR activity with half wave potential of 0.93 V and H 2 O 2 yield of less than 4%, superior to the commercialized Pt/C. • The zinc-air battery (ZAB) based on EH-NCM shows a high capacity and excellent cycled stability, compared with Pt/C-based ZAB. • The theoretical calculation and potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT) proved that the mass transfer is greatly improved in EH-NCM. We herein design a non-covalent assembly motif of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOF), which is experienced by a simple carbonization process to form a novel both expanded interlayer and holey in-plane nitrogen-containing nanocarbon material (EH-NCM). The escaped species in pyrolysis from the element decomposition in the HOF plays an important role in the simultaneous construction of holey defect and expanded interlayer. The potentiostatic intermittent titration experiment shows that oxygen diffusion coefficient in EH-NCM is improved by 1 order of magnitude compared with the commercial Pt/C and the unexpanded NCM. Calculations also show in-plane defects can efficiently bind with O 2 and benefit to four-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process, assisted by the enlarged interlayer distance. The as-prepared EH-NCM delivers ORR activity with half wave potential and onset potential at 0.93 V and 1.05 V respectively, limited current density of 6.1 mA cm−2, and a low Tafel slope of 67 mV dec−1, showing H 2 O 2 yield of less than 4% superior to the commercialized Pt/C. Also EH-NCM-based Zn–air battery displays excellent cathode performances. The accelerated mass transfer and maximum exposure of the active sites resulted from the holey and expanded dual structure of EH-NCM is responsible for the outstanding ORR performances. A non-covalent assembly motif of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks is designed to simultaneously realize a novel both expanded and holey defective NCM (EH-NCM). Stimulated by the greatly boosted mass transfer, EH-NCM shows ORR activity with half wave potential of 0.93 V and H 2 O 2 yield of less than 4%, as well as a high capacity and excellent stability for zinc-air battery. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The interaction of tanshinone IIA and human serum albumin (HSA) has been characterised by molecular modelling, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic methods. The results of molecular modelling suggested that tanshinone IIA located within the binding pocket of subdomain IIA of HSA is held mainly by hydrophobic forces. Fluorescence titration revealed that tanshinone IIA could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA. The binding constants at three temperatures (296, 303, and 310)K are (6.42·104, 1.54·105, and 4.35·105)dm3 ·mol−1, respectively. In addition, the studies of CD spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy showed that the binding of tanshinone IIA to HSA changed molecular conformation of HSA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The interaction of Methyl hesperidin (MH) with Buman serum albumin was studied by spectroscopic methods including Fluorescence quenching technology, UV absorbance spectra and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy under simulative physiological conditions. The result of fluorescence titration revealed that Methyl hesperidin could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA and the quenching mechanism should be a combined quenching process. The binding constants at three temperatures (296, 303, and 310K) were 1.82, 2.69, and 3.4×104 Lmol−1, respectively. The distance between donor (BSA) and acceptor (MH) was 5.54nm according to the Förster theory of non-radiation energy transfer. In addition, FT-IR spectroscopy showed that the binding of MH to BSA changed the secondary structure of protein. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

C60/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites have been synthesized by the oxidative polymerization of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate in the presence of C60 by using an interfacial reaction. When compared with the pure PANI nanofibers from the similar process, the diameter of the obtained C60/PANI nanofibers was increased because of the encapsulation of C60 into PANI during aniline polymerization, which resulted from the charge-transfer interactions between C60 and aniline fragment in PANI. In addition, the resulting C60/PANI nanocomposites synthesized from the low initial C60/aniline molar ratio (less than 1:25) showed the homogenous morphology composed of fiber network structures, which has an electrical conductivity as high as 1.1 × 10−4 S/cm. However, the C60/PANI nanocomposites from the higher initial C60/aniline molar ratio (more than 1:15) showed the nonuniformly distributed morphology, and the electrical conductivity was decreased to 3.5 × 10−5 S/cm. Moreover, the C60/PANI nanocomposites from the interfacial reaction showed a higher value of electrical conductivity than the mechanically mixed C60/PANI blends with the same C60 content, because of the more evenly distributed microstructures. FTIR, UV-vis, and CV data confirmed the presence of C60 and the significant charge-transfer interactions in the resultant nanocomposites, which was responsible for the morphology development of the C60/PANI and the variation of the electrical conductivity. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important for the innate immune system by recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns expressed in infectious agents. E6 and E7 protein from HPV16 suppress the host immune response by regulating the TLR9 transcript. Therefore, we hypothesized that a single nucleotide polymorphism in TLR9 may contribute to cervical cancer. We genotyped TLR9 -1486T/C (rs187084) in a case-control study of 712 cervical cancer cases and 717 cancer-free controls in Chinese women. Logistic regression analyses showed that the rs187084 heterozygote TC was associated with a significantly increased risk of cervical cancer (adjusted OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.01-1.62), compared with the TT genotype. Although the variant homozygote was associated with a nonsignificantly increased cervical cancer risk, the TC/CC genotypes contributed to the risk of cervical cancer in the dominant genetic model (adjusted OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.01-1.53). The findings indicate that TLR9 -1486T/C (rs187084) may contribute to cervical cancer carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis and surgical treatment of cranial nerve injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI) for the sake of raising the clinical treatment of this special category of TBI. Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was made of 312 patients with cranial nerve injury among 3417 TBI patients, who were admitted for treatment in this hospital. Results: A total of 312 patients (9.1%) involving either a single nerve or multiple nerves among the 12 pairs of cranial nerves were observed. The extent of nerve injury varied and involved the olfactory nerve (66 cases), optic nerve (78 cases), oculomotor nerve (56 cases), trochlear nerve (8 cases), trigeminal nerve (4 cases), abducent nerve (12 cases), facial nerve (48 cases), acoustic nerve (10 cases), glossopharyngeal nerve (8 cases), vagus nerve (6 cases), accessory nerve (10 cases) and hypoglossal nerve (6 cases). Imaging examination revealed skull fracture in 217 cases, complicated brain contusion in 232 cases, epidural haematoma in 194 cases, subarachnoid haemorrhage in 32 cases, nasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage in 76 cases and ear CSF leakage in 8 cases. Of the 312 patients, 46 patients died; the mortality rate associated with low cranial nerve injury was as high as 73.3%. Among the 266 surviving patients, 199 patients received conservative therapy and 67 patients received surgical therapy; the curative rates among these two groups were 61.3% (122 patients) and 86.6% (58 patients), respectively. Conclusion: TBI-complicated cranial nerve injury is subject to a high incidence rate, a high mortality rate and a high disability rate. Our findings suggest that the chance of recovery may be increased in cases where injuries are amenable to surgical decompression. It is necessary to study all 12 pairs of cranial nerves systematically. Clinically, it is necessary to standardise surgical indications, operation timing, surgical approaches and methods for the treatment of TBI-complicated cranial nerve injury. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis and surgical treatment of cranial nerve injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI) for the sake of raising the clinical treatment of this special category of TBI. Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was made of 312 patients with cranial nerve injury among 3417 TBI patients, who were admitted for treatment in this hospital. Results: A total of 312 patients (9.1%) involving either a single nerve or multiple nerves among the 12 pairs of cranial nerves were observed. The extent of nerve injury varied and involved the olfactory nerve (66 cases), optic nerve (78 cases), oculomotor nerve (56 cases), trochlear nerve (8 cases), trigeminal nerve (4 cases), abducent nerve (12 cases), facial nerve (48 cases), acoustic nerve (10 cases), glossopharyngeal nerve (8 cases), vagus nerve (6 cases), accessory nerve (10 cases) and hypoglossal nerve (6 cases). Imaging examination revealed skull fracture in 217 cases, complicated brain contusion in 232 cases, epidural haematoma in 194 cases, subarachnoid haemorrhage in 32 cases, nasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage in 76 cases and ear CSF leakage in 8 cases. Of the 312 patients, 46 patients died; the mortality rate associated with low cranial nerve injury was as high as 73.3%. Among the 266 surviving patients, 199 patients received conservative therapy and 67 patients received surgical therapy; the curative rates among these two groups were 61.3% (122 patients) and 86.6% (58 patients), respectively. Conclusion: TBI-complicated cranial nerve injury is subject to a high incidence rate, a high mortality rate and a high disability rate. Our findings suggest that the chance of recovery may be increased in cases where injuries are amenable to surgical decompression. It is necessary to study all 12 pairs of cranial nerves systematically. Clinically, it is necessary to standardise surgical indications, operation timing, surgical approaches and methods for the treatment of TBI-complicated cranial nerve injury. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in human cancers. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is the major antioxidant in the mitochondria, catalysing the dismutation of superoxide radicals to form hydrogen peroxide. Since the identification of a well-characterised functional polymorphism, Val-9Ala of MnSOD, a number of molecular epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between Val-9Ala and cancer risk. However, the results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. This meta-analysis on 15,320 cancer cases and 19,534 controls from 34 published case–control studies shows no significant overall main effect of MnSOD Val-9Ala on cancer risk. However, we found that the MnSOD 9Ala allele was associated with an increased prostate cancer risk (Val/Ala versus Val/Val: odds ratio (OR)=1.1; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.0–1.3; Ala/Ala versus Val/Val: OR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.0–1.6; Val/Ala+Ala/Ala versus Val/Val: OR=1.2; 95% CI, 1.0–1.3). In addition, we found that the MnSOD Ala-9Ala genotype contributed to an increased breast cancer risk in premenopausal women who had low consumption of antioxidants (Ala/Ala versus Val/Ala+Val/Val: OR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.0–6.4 with low vitamin C consumption; OR=2.1, 95%CI: 1.3–3.4 with low vitamin E consumption and OR=2.9, 95%CI: 1.5–5.7 with low carotenoid consumption). These results suggest that the MnSOD Val-9Ala polymorphism may contribute to cancer development through a disturbed antioxidant balance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sediment retrieved by coring from the center of enclosed Lake Daihai in north central China, and lacustrine sediments obtained from lake terrace outcrops, were employed to reconstruct the lake surface fluctuations and the relationships with monsoon climate since the late glaciation based on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology. Before ca. 13kaBP, the surface of the lake was lower, indicating a deficiency of effective precipitation and dry climate, the result of relatively decreased monsoon precipitation. During ca. 13–11kaBP the lake surface ascended to a relatively higher level, marking a significant increase of effective precipitation. The climate became humid, indicating strengthened monsoon rainfall. Then, the lake surface experienced a sharp decline ca. 11–10kaBP, this could suggest a severe reduction of effective monsoon precipitation and drier climate. Ca.10–9.0kaBP, the lake surface area expanded temporarily as the level rose, denoting the amelioration of monsoon-related effective precipitation and a relatively humid climate. Subsequently, the lake surface declined at ca. 9.0–7.3kaBP, reflecting the prevalence of dry climate and relatively decreased monsoon precipitation. Higher lake level and larger lake depth indicated large scale expansion of the lake surface at ca.7.3–3.2kaBP, despite some secondary fluctuations. This implied plentiful monsoon-related effective precipitation and more humid climate in the lake basin. Since ca. 3.2kaBP, the lake surface has experienced a severe fall, except for a minor rise around 2.0ka BP, indicating dry climate as a whole from waning monsoon precipitation and relatively increased evaporation. The effective precipitation variations revealed by lake surface fluctuations in Lake Daihai since the late glaciation are not only related to forcing factors such as insolation and temperature-driven air masses from the continent and the ocean, but are also influenced by regional feedback from topography, vegetation coverage and hydrological status. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The capability of biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) to describe and estimate pharmacological parameters of cardiovascular system drugs has been studied. The retention of cardiovascular system drugs was studied using different pH of Brij-35 as micellar mobile phase in modified C18 stationary phase. Quantitative retention–activity relationships (QRAR) in BMC were investigated for these compounds. An adequate correlation between the retention factors (log k) and the toxicity (LD50) of cardiovascular system drugs was obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (MISPE–HPLC) method was developed for rapid screening of mycophenolic acid (MPA) in human plasma. MPA imprinted polymers (MPA-MIP) were synthesized and then tested for their performance both in organic and in aqueous solution. MPA was selectively trapped and preconcentrated on the MPA-MIP sorbent using different loading and washing conditions. The good selectivity of MPA-MIP enabled further clean-up of the interfering components in human plasma. For the proposed MISPE–HPLC method, the linearity between responses (peak area) and concentration was found over the range of 1–100μg/ml with a linear regression coefficient (R 2) of 0.9989. The limit of detection (LOD) and theoretical limit of quantification (LOQ) for MPA in plasma were 0.10 and 0.32μg/ml, respectively. The precisions were 7.3, 3.5 and 4.7% RSD for intra-day assay and 9.2, 4.1 and 5.5% RSD for inter-day reproducibility, respectively, at three concentration levels of MPA in spiked plasma (1, 10 and 100μg/ml). Both recoveries for the extraction (more than 74%) and for the analytical method (more than 87%) were acceptable for screening MPA in plasma samples. Twelve-hour pharmacokinetic profile of MPA for a renal transplant recipient receiving chronic oral dosing of 500mg mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was investigated. Results indicated that this method could be applied for therapeutic drug monitoring of mycophenolic acid in patient plasma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With high association constants in nonpolar solvents, the quadruple hydrogen bonding arrays of 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinones are recently considered to be one of the ideal building blocks to construct the complicated and functional supramolecular systems. In this paper, we review the latest achievements of the supramolecular assemblies based on 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone AADD quadruple hydrogen bonding building blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dating lake sediment using sedimentary event is the supplement and calibration to traditional dating by radionuclide such as 210Pb and 137Cs. Based on the change of spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) concentration, the age sequence of lake sediments can be deduced. It is one of the dating methods using sedimentary event. SCP is formed from combustion of fossil fuel at high temperature up to 1750°C and at a rate of heating of approaching 104 °C/s. It can be dispersed to several hundred kilometers away from its source and deposited with precipitation or dryly deposited, and kept in sediments. Compared with Cs or Pb, there is no evidence for SCP that it decays in lake sediments and is un-removable once stored except by physical disturbance because it is mainly composed of element carbon. Handy method to extract, identify and calculate has been developed. Although fossil fuel has been used early in China, combustion at high temperature started later since emergence of electricity generation. The productivity of SCP is positively related with the generated thermal power, which is reflected as the SCP concentration in lake sediments increases with the increase of generated thermal power. Therefore, reliable sediment markers from the start of the SCP record and the remarkable variation can be used for dating purpose. In China, electricity industry started from the 1950s, and rapid increase of generated power took place since 1978. Based on these time markers, SCP time sequences of lake sediment cores LH and LL-4 from Longgan Lake, the middle reach of the Yangtze River, have been established, which is comparable with the results from 137Cs and 210Pb, and has eliminated the errors of dating using 137Cs and 210Pb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellow River erosion through Longyang Gorge and Sanmen Gorge at 0.15 Ma corresponds with a rapid uplifting of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau and strong incision in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. Evidence from the upper reaches, middle reaches and lower reaches suggests that this event was controlled by intensive tectonic movement and climatic change. Evidence suggests that the onset of the last interglacial in the upper reaches began a little earlier than 0.15 Ma, and coincides with lake sedimentary records, and oxygen isotope records from the Guliya ice core in the Tibet Plateau. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wetland is the conjunction of lake and terrene where human activities are concentrated. From the viewpoints of material transport and cycling in the terrene-lake system, wetland is the buffer where sand and mud, heavy metals, pollutants and nutrients are tarried. In this paper, we provide a case study based on the temporal and spatial distribution of elements in the Wangling River catchment, a small sub-catchment of Longgan like in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. We have found that wetland can buffer major heavy metals such as Cr, Cu, etc. significantly, but has a little buffer function to some active elements such as Fe and Mn, which are always transported as solutions. Human activities not only influence the distribution of elements, but also weaken the buffer function of wetland. Intensive human activities in the Longgan like area in the past 70 years have been recorded in stream, wetland and lake sediments, especially the human activity events such as deforesting and reclaiming on a large scale in 1958 and the 1980's. Human activities caused the increase of sedimentation rates since the 1950's, as well as the increase of elements' concentrations. The extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides since the 1960's have led to the increase of total P concentrations. Increasing SO; emission accelerate the process of cation exchange in soil, and enhance the leaching of Mn out of soils. Permanent storing of water causes the soil gleyification that also intensifies the leaching of Mn. These are two major reasons for the obvious increase of manganese concentrations in recent 20 years in Longgan Lake. Intensive human activities since the 1950s' have intensified the population in this region and thus destroyed the buffer function of wetland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-parameter studies (stable isotopes in carbonate and organic matter, pigment, organic carbon and nitrogen contents) from a 660-yr continuous sediment core from Lake Chenghai, a closed, eutropic lake in southern China, provide information on lake historical eutrophication. During the last 660 years, great changes have taken place in productivity and eutrophication of Lake Chenghai in response to human activities. In 1690, the productivity of the lake began to increase as Lake Chenghai became closed from agriculture in the lake's watershed. In 1942, Lake Chenghai evolved to eutrophic state, marked by an increase in organic carbon, nitrogen, CaCO[sub3], pigment contents and obvious negative values of stable isotopes, which is more or less simultaneous with the large-scale population immigration during the period. In 1984, intensive human activities induced modern lacustrine productivity and eutrophic level. Human-induced trophic changes during the past few decades have affected the Lake Chenghai ecosystem to such an extent that it has never experienced before in the last 660 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The &sup87;Sr/&sup86;SR ratios of silicate (acid-insoluble, AI) and carbonate (acid-soluble, AS) of the lake-sediments from the Daihai Lake, Inner Mongolia, since the last 500 years are measured respectively, indicating that chemical weathering of silicate minerals was in an early stage since the Little Ice Ae within the Daihai watershed by combination with mineral constitute, Rb/Sr ratio and CaCO&sub3; content in the sediment. During the Little Ice Age maximum, an evident peak in the &sup87;Sr/&sup86;Sr ratios of both silicate and carbonate in sediments suggested that a cold climate condition is unfavorable to dissolving radiogenic strontium from silicate minerals. Meanwhile, the variation of &sup87;Sr/&sup86;sr ratios of silicate and carbonate also reflects a projected warming climate favorable to intensifying chemical weathering after the Little Ice Age. Consequently chemical weathering after the Little Ice Age. Consequently, the &sup87;Sr/&sup86;Sr ratio of both silicate and carbonate in inland lake sediments can be used as an effective proxy of the past climate in single watershed.

Studies the mechanism of remanence acquisition on sediments. Errors created by depositional remanent magnetization and postdepositional remanent magnetization; Subtle changes in mineralogy into and out of a self-reversal region of a viscous magnetization region; Physical disturbances that may result in the remanence alteration.

Electrolysis of water is a promising reaction to produce the sustainable energy of hydrogen that proceeds commonly by assistance of a highly efficient catalyst. Now, the development of highly efficient and low‐cost electrocatalysts has stimulated increasing interest. Herein, a new composited electrocatalyst of MoxC embedded in N‐doped carbon nanosheets (MoxC@NCS) is successfully prepared from a self‐assembly route. Due to the expanded interlayers of carbon NCS and enhanced active defective sites induced by two‐materials compositing, the as‐synthesized MoxC@NCS affords splendid hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, overpotential of 160 mV), as well as remarkable oxygen evolution reaction (OER, overpotential of 360 mV) at 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline water splitting. In view of earlier excellent performances, the bifunctional MoxC@NCS catalyst shows a low cell voltage of 1.56 V at 10 mA cm−2 in overall water splitting. In addition, the MoxC@NCS exhibits an outstanding stability after long‐term electrochemical measurements. These findings extend the potential application of carbon‐supported non‐noble metallic catalysts, being of great significance in sustainable energy‐related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• M6A is a revisable and dynamic RNA modification which affect large amounts of mRNA and non-coding RNA. • The "writing", "erasing" and "reading" of m6A modification have great impact on biological process. • Enzymes involved in the methylation exert synergistic or opposite impact on cancer progression. M6A is the most prevalent modification among epigenetics. M6A occurs on different sites of RNA and exerts important functions in specific circumstances, such as mRNA splicing, stability, nuclear export, translation or damage response. Different aspects of the concrete machinery of m6A modification have been studied, including its writing, erasing and reading capabilities. The molecular and biological functions of the m6A modification and enzymes, as well as their functions in different cancers have been substantially published. The present review summarizes these findings and provides clear description of the problems involved. The probable roles of m6A modification may acts on other cancers, suggesting that it may be a treatment target for these cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ni2+ derived Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles are hydrothermally deposited on water-dispersible GQD modified MWNT surface. • Introduction of GQD enhances the interactions between Ni(OH)2 and MWNT. • The strong-connected Ni(OH) 2 /GQD·MWNT shows a high electrochemical performance. Nanoparticles of Ni(OH) 2 are deposited on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), via a hydrothermal reaction of Ni2+ in aqueous alkaline solution. In order to enhance the hydrophilicity of MWNTs and make MWNTs stably dispersed in water, MWNTs were modified by graphene quantum dot (GQD) via π―π interactions. The electrostatic interaction between Ni2+ and carboxyl group on GQD improves the combination between Ni2+ and MWNT, and the Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles are homogenously deposited on the GQD-modified MWNT (GQDMWNT). The Ni(OH) 2 /GQD·MWNT hybrids illustrate enhanced electrochemical performances compared with Ni(OH) 2 /MWNT. As a sensor, the Ni(OH) 2 /GQD·MWNT electrode exhibits the low detection limit of 0.2 μM to glucose with a wide linear concentration range. These results open the new way to the preparation of inorganic/carbonous nanohybrids with excellent electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the environmental evolution and southwest monsoon changes recorded by lake sediments from Erhai Lake, Yunnan Province, China. Methodology; Environmental condition in Erhai Lake; Characteristics of lakes in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Examines a method used to determine quantitively amounts of allochthonous organic in lake sediments. Discussion on the ratio indicated by past studies; Examination of the vegetation developed; Information on the distribution of TOC and CD/TC ratio in RM core sediment.

Focuses on a study which examined the environmental change and paleoclimatic changes in the Gucheng Lake, Gaochun County, Jiangsu Province, China. Examination of the age of transgression; Details on the features of gammacerance in the core of the lake; Analysis of the diatoms in the core.

Flower-like carbon and nitrogen atomic doped NiO nanocomposite (CN-NiO) has been derived from the Ni-MOF/polyaniline (PANI) calcined at high temperature, which is used to construct a nonenzymic electrochemical sensor by coating it on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The results of electrochemical tests show that the CN-NiO@GCE has the linear dependency of current response on glucose concentration ranged from 5.0 × 10–7 to 3 × 10–3 mol/L. It has higher sensitivity (1144 μA/mM/cm2) and lower detection limit (5.0 × 10–7 mol/L). In addition, the resulting CN-NiO@GCE shows long-term stability. At the same time, this electrode has good selectivity, with no electrochemical response to the interfering concomitant such as urea, nifedipine, ascorbic acid and dopamine. It indicates that Ni-MOF-derived CN-doped NiO nanocomposites are good electrochemical sensing materials, which find potential application to fabricate nonenzymic electrochemical recognition and detection devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarded as one of the popular cathode materials in aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs), VS2 has unsatisfied cycling stability and relatively low capacity owing to its poor conductivity and low mechanical properties. To this regard, compositing VS2 with high‐conductive 2D transition metal carbide (MXene) has been an effective method recently. However, the Zn dendrite on the anode electrode derived from the uncontrollable sluggish migration of solvated Zn2+/H2O ions seriously threatens the application safety of ZIB batteries. To effectively regulate the diffusion of zinc ions, in this work a conductive polymeric electrolyte of sulfonated polyaniline (SPANI) is added in the electrolyte solution. Under the Zn2+/SPANI interactions confirmed by X‐ray diffraction, Raman, and zeta potential experiments, the Zn2+/H2O combination is weakened, and the deposition rate of Zn2+ is increased evaluated by the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. Theoretical simulation shows that the electrostatic shielding by SPANI combining Zn2‐ at the zinc/electrolyte interface has important contribution to the significant suppression of Zn dendrite. Accordingly, the fabricated VS2@MXene||ZnSO4+SPANI||Zn battery shows high capacity (368.0 mAh g‐1 at 0.1 A g‐1), which remains 96% after 5000 cyclic charge–discharge operations. This work develops an available strategic idea for suppressing growth of metallic dendrites to improve the ZIB performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a high performance bifunctional catalyst was prepared by inserting N‐doped nanomaterials into Ni−Co layered dihydroxides (NiCo‐LDH) nanoplates for high performance zinc‐air battery. By using self‐assembly of perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride and dicyandiamide in the hydrothermal condition, a nitrogen‐containing super thin carbonaceous nanosheet is achieved after calcination. Then NCM inserted NiCo‐LDH nanoplates attached to nickel foam (NiCo‐LDH/NCM@NF) are synthesized by in‐situ production of NiCo‐LDH species on NCM wrapped NF. The specific NCM improves the conductivity, electroactive surface area and the ORR/OER bifunctional activity of NiCo‐LDH nanoplates. In addition, benefited from the formed rich oxygen vacancies, NiCo‐LDH/NCM@NF delivers the low OER overpotential (352 mV at 50 mA cm−2) and boosted ORR performance with a half‐wave potential of 0.765 V vs RHE. As the air cathode, the fabricated ZAB devices show a satisfactory capacity of 685 mAh g−1 and the energy density of 158 mW cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A driving cycle is a speed–time profile for a vehicle driving under a specified condition. It is usually developed from vehicle driving data collected by experiments to represent the real-life diving patterns. Because of lacking corresponding sampling theory, it is difficult for engineers to determine when vehicle driving cycle experiments should be stopped. In order to obtain sufficient experimental data, engineers normally choose to prolong the time of experiments wasting time and money. How to build a synthetical sampling subset of data representing a larger one becomes a main problem of sampling experiments. This paper, based on statistical inference theory, proposed a method to solve this problem at the city zone scale. First, the information entropy of road intersections was applied to determine the reasonable zone size. Then, according to one-month driving data of Changchun taxis and one-week driving data of Beijing taxis, it was found that the traffic distribution in city zone were able to be described by Nakagami distribution. It can pass the K-S test under the 0.05 significance level. In the order to fully use driving data, the bootstrap method was employed to conduct three resampling experiments in Changchun and five in Beijing. After analyzing the confidence intervals of distribution parameters, this paper discovered that the quality of the sampling data could be indicated by the accuracy of each zone’s per car per day per square kilometers travel times. The linear relationship between the expectation of zone travel times variable coefficient and the expectation of α ab which was used to evaluate the similarity between sampling distribution and population distribution was discovered. This relationship was also proved in this paper theoretically. Since the expectation of variable coefficient can be computed by sampling data, engineers are able to estimate the quality of these data in real time. If the α ab reaches the preset threshold, experiments can be stopped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active bifunctional electrocatalysts for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are badly required for high‐efficiency zinc–air batteries (ZABs). Herein, a Fe‐alloyed MoNi nanohybrid (MoNiFe) as bifunctional catalyst is reported. The alloyed MoNiFe architecture with the decreased size compared with MoNi is obtained by a hydrothermal reduction method, which enhances the exposed active sites and promotes the charge transfer. Accordingly, MoNiFe exhibits good bifunctionality, with a positive half‐wave potential (0.896 V) near Pt/C (0.812 V) in ORR reaction and a low overpotential (0.295 V) similar to IrO2 (0.29 V) in OER process. The as‐derived rechargeable ZAB cells based on the bifunctional MoNiFe catalyst show the peak power density of 58 mW cm−2 with a high open‐circuit voltage of 1.319 V. Thus, this work paves a new alloying avenue for synthesizing effective bifunctional electocatalysts for ZABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a facile strategy to synthesize graphene oxide/polyaniline (GO/PANI) nanotube composites by using in situ polymerization in an alkaline solution. Because the carboxyl groups on GO surface possess reactivity with both aniline and alkali, which can stabilize the aniline droplets, the size of obtained GO/PANI nanotube aggregates were reduced compared to that of pure PANI. The doping effect between PANI nanotube and GO is characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectra, and the electrochemical performances of the nanotube composites are evaluated by galvanostatic charge–discharge. As the oxygen-containing groups on the edge of GO can serve as an excellent electrolytic accessible surface for redox-active PANI nanotubes, the maximum specific capacitance of 277 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 is observed at the GO/PANI electrodes. Moreover, the GO/PANI nanotube composite shows excellent long-term cyclic stability (less than 6% decrease in specific capacitance after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A g −1 ), because the swelling and shrinkage of PANI during doping–dedoping processes can be efficiently restrained by the high flexible GO sheets intercalated within the system. In addition, the GO/PANI nanotube composites possessed a catalytic activity toward the redox reaction of H 2 O 2 with a detection limit of 8.6 μM, indicating a positive synergistic effect for the improvement of electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cathode materials play a crucial role in the energy-storage performances of zinc ion battery (ZIB). In this paper, the two-dimensional vanadium carbide MXene (V 2 C-MXene) nanoplates intercalated by Cu 3 V 2 O 7 (OH) 2 ·2 H 2 O (CuVO) are synthesized. The intercalation of CuVO in the interlayers of V 2 C-MXene overcomes self-aggregation of CuVO and improves its structural stability. Meanwhile, the enlarged interlayer spacing of highly conductive V 2 C-MXene upgrades the electron transfer within the composite. As the cathode electrode of ZIB, the CuVO intercalated V 2 C-MXene (CuVO@V 2 C-MXene) battery shows capacity as high as 551.8 mAh g−1 when discharged at 0.5 A g−1. The capacity retention rate reaches 91.8% after 3000 cycles at high current density of 6.0 A g−1. As a comparison, the CuVO//Zn battery has capacity only 193.3 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, with the capacity retention of just 43.1% after 3000 cycles at 6.0 A g−1. Simultaneously, the CuVO@V 2 C-MXene//Zn illustrates greatly improved rate capability compared with CuVO//Zn. The CuVO@V 2 C-MXene composite nanoplates in this work show promise in fabrication of high capacity metal ion batteries. [Display omitted] ● A special 2D nanoplate of CuVO intercalated V 2 C-MXene (CuVO@V 2 C-MXene) by an in-situ hydrothermal method is prepared. ● Intercalation of CuVO in the interlayers of V 2 C-MXene overcome self-aggregation of CuVO and promote structural stability. ● Meanwhile, the highly conductive V 2 C-MXene with enlarged interface upgraded the electron transfer of the composite. ● By CuVO@V 2 C-MXene as the cathode, the CuVO@V 2 C-MXene//Zn battery shows the excellent ion storage performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural instability of metal oxides retards realizing high-performance and long lifespan supercapacitors. We prepare an electrochemical active heterostructure of NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) confined by carboxyl carbon nanotube (CNTCOOH). Through the electrostatic interactions between carboxyl groups (COO−) of CNTCOOH and metal cations of LDH under a simple hydrothermal treatment, the CNTCOOH confined NiCoLDH (CNTCOOH- c -NiCoLDH) can be easily fabricated. The CNTCOOH- c -NiCoLDH demonstrates the specific morphology of rope-fastened plates and shows ultrahigh cycled stability. In addition, the hydrophilic carboxyl groups on CNTCOOH also regulates the interfacial electronic coupling and electrolyte soaking, resulting in high rate capability. The charge-storage capacitance of CNTCOOH- c -NiCoLDH heterostructures reaches 2120.8 F/g at 1 A/g. The devices of CNTCOOH- c -NiCoLDH//AC show both high energy density (171.0 Wh/kg) and high power density (950.0 W/kg), and have ultrahigh capacity retention rate of 93.64 % after 50,000 charge and discharge cycles at a high current density of 5 A/g. This work supports an effective confinement idea and a facile method that can be applied on a large scale for the design and fabrication of super high stable metal oxide-based supercapacitors. [Display omitted] • Through the strengthened interactions between carboxyl of CNTCOOH and metal cations of LDH, CNTCOOH-c-NiCoLDH is prepared. • The specific capacitance of CNTCOOH-c-NiCoLDH flowers reaches 2120.8 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g. • CNTCOOH-c-NiCoLDH//AC shows high capacity retention rate of 93.64 % after 50000 cycles at 5 A/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intractable multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) was dispersed in aqueous solutions of conductive polyaniline (cPANI) by externally doping of MWNT/polyaniline (PANI) employing an organic polymeric phosphate acid as the dopant. Free-standing composite films were obtained from the MWNT/cPANI aqueous dispersion after drying. In comparison with the cPANI, the conductivity of MWNT/cPANI composites showed a 2 order of magnitude increase with the maximum value 1.2 S cm −1 , at the MWNT loading of 1.0 wt% because of the doping effect of MWNT on PANI. Under the strong π–π interactions between PANI and MWNT which were discussed by FT-IR and UV–vis analysis, the redox performance of the MWNT/cPANI composites was significantly modified compared with the pure cPANI. In addition, the capacitive behaviors of the MWNT/cPANI films varied with the difference of the MWNT loading due to the morphology variation resulted from the established interactions. The enhanced specific capacitance with the highest value of 371 F g −1 at a current loading of 0.5 A g −1 was obtained for the MWNT/cPANI films containing MWNT content of 1.0 wt%, as well as the better cyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrolysis of water is a promising method for production of the green-energy hydrogen, which is commonly assisted by high powerful catalyst. At present, developing low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts has attracted increasing attention. Herein, a novel composited catalyst of Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C loaded on conductive carbon cloth (Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C/CC) is successfully prepared by the hydrothermal method. Due to the abundant active sites of defect structures induced by the surface engineering, the prepared Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C/CC shows outstanding electrocatalytic performances in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of water splitting, with low overpotential of 230 mV and 150 mV at 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C/CC as an OER/HER bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting affords a stable voltage of 1.56 V @current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, the catalyst shows an outstanding stability after a series of electrochemical tests. This work expands the multi-field applications of carbon cloth-supported materials as efficient non-precious metal-based electrocatalysts, with great importance in sustainable energy-relative technologies. [Display omitted] • The active Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C loaded on carbon cloth (Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C/CC) is prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. • Excellent electrocatalytic performance in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is shown. • The sample as an OER/HER bifunctional catalyst for full water splitting affords a stable voltage of 1.56 V at 10 mA cm−2. • The prepared Zn x Ni 1-x S@Mo 2 C/CC displays excellent stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most pernicious tumors that seriously harm human healthcare. GC metastasis is one of the prime cause of failed cancer treatment, but correlation between N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and GC metastasis was less reported. Methods: Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) of GC tissues was conducted. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were taken to determine the expression of ALKBH5 in GC tissues and cell lines. RNA-seq together with MeRIP-qRT-PCR was used to screen the target gene of ALKBH5. RNA pulldown, mass spectrometry and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were used to search the "reader" protein of target gene. The mechanism was also validated via a tail vein injection method for lung metastasis model. Results: Decreased expression of ALKBH5 was detected in GC samples, and it was correlated with clinical tumor distal metastasis and lymph node metastasis. ALKBH5 interference promoted metastasis of GC cells and this effect was closely related to the demethylase activity of ALKBH5. PKMYT1, as a downstream target of ALKBH5, promoted invasion and migration in GC. Caused by ALKBH5 knockdown or its demethylase activity mutation, upregulated expression of PKMYT1 indicated that ALKBH5 modulates expression of PKMYT1 in an m6A-dependent manner. IGF2BP3 helped stabilize the mRNA stability of PKMYT1 via its m6A modification site. Conclusions: This study established an ALKBH5-PKMYT1-IGF2BP3 regulation system in metastasis, representing a new therapeutic target for GC metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Homogeneous BCNs rich in B-C active sites and localized phase-separated BCNs rich in B-N active sites are designed. • Influence of the differed electronic environment on the NRR catalytic performances of BCN is theoretically studied by DFT. • The BCN nanoribbon is prepared by a self-assembly method, with the excellent NH 3 productivity and a high Faraday efficiency. The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to synthesize ammonia is an important and challenging task in chemistry, where low-cost, highly active non-metallic catalysts such as boron carbonitride (BCN) are still highly desired. Tuning the electronic environment of the active site B is an effective approach to improve the NRR performance of BCNs. However, the study on the mechanism of this effect has been seriously neglected. The diversity and controllability in atomic arrangements of BCN make it suitable for studying the relationship between the local chemical environment of boron and the catalytic properties. To this end, we design four kinds of BCN materials named as homogeneous BCN nanoribbon and BCN nanosheet enriched with B − C active sites and localized phase-separated BCN nanoribbon and BCN nanosheet rich in B − N active sites, and theoretically screen the homogeneous type BCN nanoribbons that have better NRR performances. Meanwhile, we experimentally demonstrate that the optimized charge redistribution of B atoms in BCN skeleton by tuning the electronic environment makes the B − C sites being the effective centers in NRR, and arising the excellent NH 3 productivity of 63.02 μg h−1 mg − 1 cat with a highest Faraday efficiency of 32.28 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To provide accurate analogues for fossil pollen records from lake cores, we analyzed surface sediments from 42 lakes of Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan Province, China (located between about 1500 and 4600m elevation) for pollen and spores. The pollen analysis reveals that although large amounts of arboreal pollen, such as Pinus, Picea and Abies, Betula, Juglans, deciduous oaks, evergreen oaks, and Rosaceae, from lower elevations are introduced into sub-alpine and alpine lakes by upslope winds, the pollen assemblages of surface lake sediments among and within different vegetation types can still be distinguished by their pollen spectra and indicator species. For example, Alnus is an indicator of the pollen assemblages of lakes among the Pinus yunnanensis forest-Evergreen broadleaved forest or P. yunnanensis forest-Mixed Pinus and Quercus forest. Tsuga and Ericaceae are indicators of the pollen assemblages of lakes in the Picea and Abies forest or the Picea and Abies forest-Alpine (Rhododendron) shrubland. Little pollen from Picea, Abies, Larix and Tsuga is transported downhill in lake sediments, indicating that lake cores near the lower limit of the Picea and Abies forest more correctly reflect climatic changes than lake cores near the tree line (namely the upper limit of the Picea and Abies forest) when using fossil pollen data. Principal component analysis basically separates surface lake samples below and above 3200m a.s.l. However, it does not distinctly distinguish between samples from two different vegetation types above 3200m a.s.l. because percentages of some dominant pollen types, such as Pinus, Picea and Abies, Betula, Juglans, deciduous oaks, evergreen oaks, and Rosaceae, do not markedly change with strong upslope transport. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: Accumulating studies indicate that HPV E6/E7 oncoproteins interacting genes, TP53, BRCA1 and BARD1, play a critical role in cervical carcinogenesis. We hypothesized that potentially functional polymorphisms in TP53, BRCA1 and BRAD1 may individually and/or jointly contribute to cervical cancer risk. Methods: We genotyped 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with amino acid changes, TP53 Pro72Arg (rs1042522), BRCA1 Pro871Leu (rs799917), BARD1 Pro24Ser (rs1048108) and Arg378Ser (rs2229571), in a case-control study of 404 cervical cancer cases and 404 cancer-free controls in Chinese women. Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that the BRCA1 variant rs799917 TT genotype was associated with a significantly decreased risk of cervical cancer in a recessive genetic model (adjusted OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.40–0.95), compared with the genotypes CT/CC. However, no significant associations with cervical cancer were observed for other 3 SNPs (adjusted OR=1.01, 95% CI=0.68–1.50 for rs1048108 TT vs CT/CC; adjusted OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.67–1.64 for rs2229571 CC vs GG/GC; adjusted OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.59–1.20 for rs1042522 CC vs GG/GC). Conclusion: These findings indicate that BRCA1 rs799917 polymorphism may contribute to the risk of cervical cancer in this Chinese population, and further validation in other populations are warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]