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Abstract Inhibition of spore germination or sterilization after induction of spore germination would effectively control low pH food spoilage caused by Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores. However, the characteristics and mechanisms of A. acidoterrestris spore germination in low ambient pH remains poorly understood. In this study, the germination rate of A. acidoterrestris spores at different ambient pH conditions was determined, and subsequently the proteomic profiles of A. acidoterrestris in spore germination were analysed by label-free quantification, in which the specific metabolic pathways involved were identified and key functional proteins were screened and validated using RT-qPCR (real time quantitative PCR). The suitable ambient pH value for the spore germination of A. acidoterrestris ranged from 3.0 to 5.0 with the optimum pH of 4.0. According to the LC-ESI-MS/MS (liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry) analysis, 98 proteins of geminated spores of A. acidoterrestris incubated for 2 h at pH 3.0 were changed significantly in comparison to non-germinated spores, the expression of 20 proteins were up-regulated and that of 78 proteins down-regulated respectively. Those differential expressed proteins were mainly involved in cell wall hydrolysis, cell morphological changes, protein synthesis and folding, perception of external stimuli and signal transduction etc., and we observed that germination receptor D (GerD), cell wall hydrolase, transpeptidase, peptidase S1 and two-component regulatory system phoR were significantly up-regulated, but hydrolase NlpC/P60, peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase, spore coat proteins CotX, CotJB and the Lrp/AsnC (leucine-responsive regulatory protein/asparagine synthase C products) protein were significantly down-regulated in the experiment, which implied the important roles of identified proteins during the spore germination. Furthermore, the pathway analysis showed the possible involvement of differentially expressed proteins in the β-lactam resistance, ribosome, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, pyruvate metabolism, two-component system and other metabolic pathways, which indicated that synthesis and hydrolysis of cell wall, intracellular substance synthesis, energy generation and signal transduction were likely associated with the initiation of spore germination and restoration of vegetative growth. In conclusion, the quantitative proteomic landscape of A. acidoterrestris spores could provide the theoretic and experimental evidences for the hazard control of A. acidoterrestris spores in the thermal pasteurization process of acidic beverages industry. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • When A. acidoterrestris spores were incubated for 2 h at pH 3.0, 98 differential expression proteins were identified. • The proteins were involved in cell wall hydrolysis, cell morphological changes, feelings of stimuli and signal transduction. • Cell wall hydrolysis, intracellular substance synthesis and signal transduction were related to spore germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel CdTe quantum dots - single walled carbon nanohorns (CdTe-SWCNHs) nanocomposite was synthesized via a one-pot method for photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensing detection of streptomycin (STR). The CdTe-SWCNHs nanocomposite shows 3.2-times amplified PEC activity in comparison with CdTe quantum dots (QDs). By using aptamers as recognition element and CdTe-SWCNHs as photoactive species, a PEC aptasensor was fabricated for the high sensitive and selective detection of STR. Under the optimized conditions, the as-fabricated PEC aptamer sensor exhibits a linear response ranging from 0.1 nM (0.15 μg kg −1 ) to 50 nM (72.85 μg kg −1 ) with a detection limit ( S / N = 3) of 0.033 nM (0.05 μg kg −1 ). The aptasensor has successfully applied for the determination of streptomycin in honey sample, which provides a new method for detection of streptomycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris, an acidophilic and thermophilic bacteria, is an important microbial resource for stress resistance genes screening. In this study, DnaK gene from A. acidoterrestris was subcloned to construct the recombinant plasmid pET28a-DnaK. The successful construction of the plasmid was verified by double-enzyme digestion and sequencing analysis. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 and isopropy-β- d-thiogalactoside (IPTG) was used to induce recombinant E. coli to express DnaK gene. A 70 kD fusion protein was identified by SDS-PAGE, which suggested that DnaK gene from A. acidoterrestris was successfully expressed. The recombinant and wild BL21 were treated with high temperatures of 54, 56 and 58 °C at pH values of 5.0-7.0 to compare the effects of heterogeneous expression of the DnaK gene from A. acidoterrestris on the stress resistance. The experimental results showed that survival rate of recombinant BL21-DnaK has been improved considerably under heat and acid stresses in contrast with the wild BL21, and D-values of recombinant BL21 were 14.7-72% higher than that of wild BL21, which demonstrated that heterogeneous expression of DnaK gene from A. acidoterrestris could significantly enhance the resistance of host bacteria E. coli against heat and acid stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an autonomic disturbance characterized by an excessive increase in heart rate when an individual moves from a sitting to an upright position. POTS patients often complain of fatigue, daytime sleepiness and insomnia, but there is limited evidence to elucidate the mechanism or the prevalence of sleep-related symptoms in POTS, as well as the effect on patient quality of life. Here, we investigated the prevalence of sleep disturbances in POTS patients, as well as the use of medication and effects on daily life. Methods A survey was administered to 30 patients with POTS. The survey contained 22 questions on various characteristics of sleep disturbances in POTS. Answers were recorded on a five-point Likert rating scale. Results The majority of the patients reported fatigue (96.7%) and low energy (93.3%) during the day. Most (83.3%) patients reported that they do not feel well rested when waking up in the morning. More than half of the patients reported trouble falling asleep at night (63.3%) and maintaining sleep through the night (62.1%). Despite the frequent complaint of sleep disturbance, a very low percentage of POTS patient actually report seeking treatment. Conclusion In this study, we explored the prevalence of sleep disturbance in patients with POTS. Almost all POTS patients reported trouble with sleep and fatigue; however, there is major discrepancy between the high percentage of symptoms and small percentage of patients seeking medical assistance for better sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resolution of traffic congestion and personal safety issues holds paramount importance for human’s life. The ability of an autonomous driving system to navigate complex road conditions is crucial. Deep learning has greatly facilitated machine vision perception in autonomous driving. Aiming at the problem of small target detection in traditional YOLOv5s, this paper proposes an optimized target detection algorithm. The C3 module on the algorithm’s backbone is upgraded to the CBAMC3 module, introducing a novel GELU activation function and EfficiCIoU loss function, which accelerate convergence on position loss lbox, confidence loss lobj, and classification loss lcls, enhance image learning capabilities and address the issue of inaccurate detection of small targets by improving the algorithm. Testing with a vehicle-mounted camera on a predefined route effectively identifies road vehicles and analyzes depth position information. The avoidance model, combined with Pure Pursuit and MPC control algorithms, exhibits more stable variations in vehicle speed, front-wheel steering angle, lateral acceleration, etc., compared to the non-optimized version. The robustness of the driving system's visual avoidance functionality is enhanced, further ameliorating congestion issues and ensuring personal safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibition of the glycolytic pathway is a critical strategy in anticancer therapy because of the role of aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. The glycolytic inhibitor 2-Deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) has shown potential in combination with other anticancer agents. Buforin IIb is an effective antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with broad-spectrum anticancer activity and selectivity. The efficacy of combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb in prostate cancer remains unknown. Here, we tested the efficacy of buforin IIb as a mitochondria-targeting AMP in the androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell line DU145. Combining 2-DG with buforin IIb had a synergistic toxic effect on DU145 cells and mouse xenograft tumors. Combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb caused stronger proliferation inhibition, greater G1 cell cycle arrest, and higher apoptosis than either treatment alone. Combination treatment dramatically decreased L-lactate production and intracellular ATP levels, indicating severe inhibition of glycolysis and ATP production. Flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicate that 2-DG may increase buforin IIb uptake by DU145 cells, thereby increasing the mitochondria-targeting capacity of buforin IIb. This may partly explain the effect of combination treatment on enhancing buforin IIb-induced apoptosis. Consistently, 2-DG increased mitochondrial dysfunction and upregulated Bax/Bcl-2, promoting cytochrome c release to initiate procaspase 3 cleavage induced by buforin IIb. These results suggest that 2-DG sensitizes prostate cancer DU145 cells to buforin IIb. Moreover, combination treatment caused minimal hemolysis and cytotoxicity to normal WPMY-1 cells. Collectively, the current study demonstrates that dual targeting of glycolysis and mitochondria by 2-DG and buforin IIb may be an effective anticancer strategy for the treatment of some advanced prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Trichoderma biofertilizer (BOF) has been proposed to observably elevate plant growth and crop productivity. In addition, mowing can greatly accelerate plant shoot regrowth to increase aboveground biomass and nutrient contents. We aimed to measure the effects of Trichoderma BOF on Medicago sativa growth in saline-alkali soils, especially the effects on the underlying microbial ecological mechanisms, under non-mowed and mowed conditions. We thus carried out a pot experiment to investigate the growth of M. sativa under different fertilization regimes and utilization conditions, and the corresponding responses of soil physicochemical variables and the soil microbiome were also explored. Fertilization, mowing and their interaction had significant (P = 0.000) effects on M. sativa shoot dry weight, while only fertilization had a significant (P = 0.000) effect on M. sativa root dry weight. Compared with nonamended fertilizer (CK) and organic fertilizer (OF) treatments, Trichoderma BOF treatment significantly (P < 0.05) increased the biomass of M. sativa. High bacterial H Shannon and S Chao1 values in mowed system and high fungal H Shannon and S Chao1 values in the non-mowed system were significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with a high M. sativa biomass. Mantel test results showed that soil microbial community composition was significantly (P = 0.001) correlated with M. sativa biomass in both the mowed and non-mowed systems. In addition, variance partitioning analysis (VPA) revealed that soil properties were the main factor explaining the variation of soil microbial community composition, accounting for 14.1% for bacteria and 16.5% for fungi. In conclusion, Trichoderma BOF can effectively alter soil properties and the soil microbial diversity and community, resulting in increased M. sativa biomass in alkaline-saline soils in both mowed and non-mowed systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A direct Z-scheme CdTe/APTES-WO 3 heterostructure was synthesized by electrostatic adsorption. • The resultant CdTe/APTES-WO 3 /ITO exhibited a 2.5-fold higher photocurrent than that at CdTe/ITO. • The proposed PEC aptasensor showed superior analytical properties for STR. The newly-emerging direct Z-scheme heterostructures have been extensively studied as photocatalysts; however, their photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensing applications are still in infancy. In this work, we constructed a novel direct Z-scheme heterostructure with CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and WO 3 nanosheets via interface engineering for PEC aptasensing of streptomycin (STR). To fabricate the solid-solid interface with a large effective area, the surface modification of WO 3 by (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysaline (APTES) was performed to uniformly absorb negatively-charged CdTe QDs via electrostatic interaction. The resultant CdTe/APTES-WO 3 heterostructure showed a 2.5-times amplified PEC response compared with that of CdTe QDs. The photoinduced Z-Scheme electron transfer mechanism was confirmed in such heterostructure. Taking advantage of its superior PEC properties, a high-performance aptasensor for the detection of STR was constructed. The proposed aptasensor showed a linear response ranging from 1.0 × 10−9 M (1.5 μg kg−1) to 5.0 × 10−7 M (728.5 μg kg−1) with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 3.3 × 10−10 M (0.5 μg kg−1). Moreover, the aptasensor has been applied to STR analysis in leaves of pimiento. Our work provided a novel and efficient strategy for the detection of STR, which should also promote the application of PEC aptasensing in agricultural field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve specific construction requirements, such as the desired strength and flowability, the proportion of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) constituents must be carefully balanced. However, traditional concrete mixture design requires comprehensive trial-and-error experiments, which are cumbersome and costly. The requirements and objectives of a project may be contradictory, rendering the experimental design much more difficult. Therefore, to optimize the mixing ratio of UHPC, particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used to perform multi-objective optimization of the mechanical and flow properties of UHPC. The premise of comprehensive consideration of compressive strength and fluidity was given based on the Pareto optimality theory. The optimal ratio was validated through a combination of the macroscopic force phenomenon and microscopic mechanism. The findings show that the generated PSO algorithm model can simulate and analyze the complete relationship among all functional UHPC components, compressive strength, and fluidity and thus demonstrates its quite high accuracy and efficiency. The macro-micro test results indicate that the optimized UHPC ratio based on the PSO algorithm satisfies the best compressive strength and fluidity. The PSO algorithm can identify the direction for the optimization of the combination of UHPC multiple performance ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-fertilizer application has been proposed as a strategy for enhancing soil fertility, regulating soil microflora composition, and improving crop yields, and it has been widely applied in the agricultural yields. However, the application of bio-fertilizer in grassland has been poorly studied. We conducted in situ and pot experiments to investigate the practical effects of different fertilization regimes on Leymus chinensis growth, with a focus on the potential microecological mechanisms underlying the responses of soil microbial composition. L. chinensis biomass was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by treatment with 6000 kg ha−1 of Trichoderma bio-fertilizer compared with other treatments. We found a positive (R2 = 0.6274, P < 0.001) correlation between bacterial alpha diversity and L. chinensis biomass. Hierarchical cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) revealed that soil bacterial and fungal community compositions were all separated according to the fertilization regime used. The relative abundance of the most beneficial genera in bio-fertilizer (BOF) (6000 kg ha−1Trichoderma bio-fertilizer) was significantly higher than in organic fertilizer (OF) (6000 kg ha−1 organic fertilizer) or in CK (non-amend fertilizer), there the potential pathogenic genera were reduced. There were significant negative (P < 0.05) correlations between L. chinensis biomass and the relative abundance of several potential pathogenic genera. However, the relative abundance of most beneficial genera were significantly (P < 0.05) positively correlated with L. chinensis biomass. Soil properties had different effects on these beneficial and on these pathogenic genera, further influencing L. chinensis biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A cascade dual Z-scheme CdTe-polyaniline@MoS 2 heterostructure was prepared. • Photoelectrochemical aptasensor based on CdTe-polyaniline@MoS 2 was designed for carbendazim detection. • The aptasensor offered the satisfactory analytical performance for the detection of carbendazim. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensing has been extensively studied for hazardous material (e.g., pesticide residue) detection, with investigation on photoactive materials being their main focus of study. Herein, a cascade Z-scheme CdTe-polyaniline@MoS 2 (CdTe-PANI@MoS 2) heterostructure was designed to fabricate a PEC aptasensor for carbendazim (CBZ) detection in tomato. The CdTe-PANI@MoS 2 heterostructure was prepared by taking advantage of electrostatic adsorption between components. The cascade Z-scheme electron transfer was verified in CdTe-PANI@MoS 2 , resulting in a significantly enlarged photocurrent (e.g., 2.7-fold higher of that at CdTe/MoS 2) for the efficient separation of electron-hole pair. The PEC aptasensor was developed based on the principle that the specific binding of aptamer to target on the surface of CdTe-PANI@MoS 2 increased the steric hindrance for electron transfer, facilitating a "signal-off" detection mode for CBZ. The fabricated aptasensor offered a linear range of 0.523–5230 nM (0.1–100 ng mL−1) with a detection limit of 1.74 × 10-10 M (0.033 ng mL−1) for CBZ detection, and it was successfully applied to tomato sample analysis. This work will stimulate exploration of cascade Z-scheme materials for sensing, and provides a high-performance PEC sensing platform for the detection of various species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eco-system in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is extremely fragile, and highly vulnerable to climate change. Knowledge of the changes in the ecological conditions is vital to mitigate the impact of climate change. In this study, we investigated the trend of ecological conditions of the QTP using the remotely sensed ecological index (RSEI), which is the first PCA (principal component analysis) axis of the four indexes derived from the MODIS (Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images captured in the growing season of 2000–2020. The four indexes, i.e., NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), heat (land surface temperature, LST), wetness (tasseled cap wetness index, WET) and dryness (normalized difference impervious surface index, NDBSI), were calculated on the Google Earth Engine platform. Using land use cover change (LUCC) data, long-term meteorological records and the supplementary annual livestock production, we explored the drivers of spatiotemporal changes in the RSEI. The results show the following points: (1) the ecological conditions of the QTP have remarkable spatiotemporal variations. There were two ecological degradation periods, one of them occurred in the central region during 2005–2010, mainly attributed to the rising temperatures and decreasing precipitation. The other occurred during 2015–2020, driven primarily by overgrazing in the southwest. From 2000 to 2005, it was a period of rapid ecological restoration in the ecologically fragile northeast region. (2) The contribution rate of pc1 was stable at 60%, while the contribution rate of pc2 remained below 40%, indicating that pc1 demonstrated most of the characteristics of the four indexes. The correlation coefficients between NDVI and WET with pc1 are both positive, while LST and NDBSI have negative correlation coefficients, i.e., negative effects. This is consistent with the actual situation. (3) Overgrazing caused grass degradation in the southwest area of the QTP, which might be the main reason for the poor ecological conditions (i.e., low RSEI value) during 2015–2020. (4) Temperature and precipitation showed an increasing trend during the study period. A warmer and wetter climate is expected to have profound impacts on the ecosystems in QTP and practices should be concentrated on identifying climate-sensitive ecosystem components and designating adaptative options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DnaK gene coding for the 70-kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) plays an essential role in protecting microorganisms from a hostile environmental and food preservation conditions such as heating, acidity, alkalinity and chilling and is believed to be associated with the thermo-acidophilic resistance of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris ( A . acidoterrestris ). In this study, the genome walking technique was used to clone DnaK gene and the bioinformatics characteristics of DnaK was predicted using online software. The growth and sporulation of A. acidoterrestris were explored and the expression levels of DnaK gene in A. acidoterrestris were determined by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) under heat, acid and cold stresses. DnaK gene (GenBank Accession No. HQ893543) from A. acidoterrestris DSM 3922 T contains an open reading frame of 1854 bp coding for 617 amino acids and the deduced amino acid sequence is homologous to the DnaK chaperone protein of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius . The protein translated from DnaK gene of A. acidoterrestris was characterized as a thermostable protein based on the primary and secondary structure analyses which predict the functions of amino acid sequence, and folding and coiling polypeptides, respectively. Three environmental stresses including heat stress at 70 °C, acid stress at the pH of 1.0, and cold stress at 0 °C were imposed on A. acidoterrestris to investigate the expression of DnaK . The transcriptional level of DnaK gene under heat stress increased quickly to peak level in 5 min and then dropped to the minimum level in 15 min; the transcriptional levels of DnaK gene under acid stress increased markedly in 0.5 h to peak level in 1 h and then decreased to the minimum level in 3 h, and the peak mRNA expression levels differed between heat and acid stress. DnaK expression levels of 5 min heat stress and 1 h acid stress were 1.4 times and 4.3 times higher than those of the control under non-stress condition at 45 °C, respectively. In response to cold stress at 0 °C, the DnaK expression level decreased drastically to 0.48 times of the control after 1 h cold treatment. Spores of A. acidoterrestris were produced after the bacteria received 40 min heat stress, 5 h acid stress or 6 h cold stress, which suggested that DnaK gene regulates the stress resistance of A. acidoterrestris against abrupt abiotic stimuli differently from sporulation. However, the expression of DnaK under stress conditions demonstrated the different pattern of changes as the induced stresses continued, especially in the case of acid stress, which implied that a more complicated mechanism of DnaK regulation is involved in the stress response of A. acidoterrestris . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds and aims: Mowing and P-fertilization enhance legume seedling establishment, assisting in successful restoration of degraded grasslands. Legume establishment may influence soil chemical compounds and soil microbial assemblage to facilitate legume productivity. We aim to better understand these complex plant-soil-microbial interactions to improve grassland productivity following overgrazing. Methods: We conducted a 3-years Medicago falcata reseeding experiment was in semi-arid meadows, assessing responses of aboveground plant biomass, soil chemical compounds, and soil microbial community composition. Reseeded plots were mowed and/or P-fertilized. Results: Application of both management practices increased grassland biomass compared with all other combinations. Soil chemical diversity predicted fungal alpha diversity, and fungal alpha diversity positively correlated with aboveground biomass. Our results indicate reseeded alfalfa directly altered bulk soil chemical compounds with subsequent alterations in grassland microbial communities. Soils contained chemical compounds with antifungal properties that indirectly improved grassland productivity via antagonism to pathogenic fungi. Furthermore, we found three specific compounds (5-methyltridecane, pentatriacontane, and N-tridecane) reduced microbial diversity. Conclusions: Here we demonstrate soil chemical compounds play an important role in shaping beneficial microbial communities to improve grassland biomass. These results may help direct beneficial soil microbial community composition through improved grassland management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) plays an important role in the processing of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted antigens by catalyzing disulfide bonds reduction. Herein, a GILT homolog (ScGILT) was identified from silver carp. Its open reading frame covers 771 base pairs, encoding a protein of 256 amino acids that possesses GILT signature sequence CQHGX 2 ECX 2 NX 4 C, active-site CXXC motif, and two potential N-linked glycosylation sites. The predicted tertiary structures of ScGILT and other GILTs were quite similar in shape and positional arrangement of the key motifs. ScGILT mRNA was constitutively expressed in all detected tissues, with high-level expression in fish immune organs, spleen and head kidney. After stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, the expression of ScGILT mRNA significantly increased in spleen and head kidney cells, and ScGILT protein translocated to late endosomes and lysosomes in HeLa cells. Recombinant ScGILT fused with a His 6 tag was expressed and purified, and could reduce the interchain disulfide bonds of IgG at pH 4.5. These results suggested that ScGILT was capable of catalyzing disulfide bonds reduction, and then might play an important role in the processing of MHC class II-restricted antigens in silver carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier identification of aggressive melanoma remains a goal in the field of melanoma research. With new targeted and immune therapies that have revolutionized the care of patients with melanoma, the ability to predict progression and monitor or predict response to therapy has become the new focus of research into biomarkers in melanoma. In this review, promising biomarkers are highlighted. These biomarkers have been used to diagnose melanoma as well as predict progression to advanced disease and response to therapy. The biomarkers take various forms, including protein expression at the level of tissue, genetic mutations of cancer cells, and detection of circulating DNA. First, a brief description is provided about the conventional tissue markers used to stage melanoma, including tumor depth. Next, protein biomarkers, which provide both diagnostic and prognostic information, are described. This is followed by a discussion of important genetic mutations, microRNA, and epigenetic modifications that can provide therapeutic and prognostic material. Finally, emerging serologic biomarkers are reviewed, including circulating melanoma cells and exosomes. Overall the goal is to identify biomarkers that aid in the earlier identification and improved treatment of aggressive melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The lime mud accelerated the hydration of fly ash and increased the strength of foamed concrete. • Replacing cement with high volume lime mud and fly ash could improve the dry-wet resistance and freeze–thaw resistance, as well as reduce the drying shrinkage of foamed concrete. • The air voids structure of foamed concrete was closely related to the lime mud-fly ash dosage and wet density. • All prepared foamed concrete containing high volume lime mud-fly ash was suitable for use in pavement engineering. This paper aims to study the drying shrinkage, durability and microstructure of foamed concrete containing high volume lime mud (LM) and fly ash (FA). The effects of wet density (600 kg/m3, 700 kg/m3, 800 kg/m3 and 900 kg/m3) and LM-FA dosage (0 wt%, 50 wt%, 60 wt%, 70 wt% and 80 wt%) on flowability, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, dry-wet resistance, freeze–thaw resistance, and microstructures were investigated. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and thermo gravimetric (TG) were used to study the hydration products. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and image analysis method were combined to analyze the characteristics of air voids, including aspect ratio, average pore diameter, and size distribution. The results show that wet density and LM-FA dosage had significant on foamed concrete properties. When the wet density increased or LM-FA dosage decreased, the compressive strength and the drying shrinkage increased. The compressive strength ranged from 1.31 to 2.52 MPa. The drying shrinkage was between 0.34% and 0.44%. For all specimens, after 30 freeze–thaw or 50 dry-wet cycles, the compressive strength was still higher than the specification required strength of 0.8 MPa. For air voids, the equivalent diameter, ranging from 149 μm to 202 μm, and the volume of pores larger than 200 μm decreased as the wet density and LM-FA dosage increased. However, the aspect ratio was between 1.15 and 1.20 for all specimens. TG and XDR results show that the lime mud accelerated the hydration of FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charge storage mechanism and capacity of supercapacitors completely depend on the electrochemical and mechanical properties of electrode materials. Herein, continuously reinforced carbon nanotube film (CNTF), as the flexible support layer and the conductive skeleton, was prepared via the floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method. Furthermore, a series of novel flexible self-supporting CNTF/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite electrode materials were prepared by cyclic voltammetry electrochemical polymerization (CVEP), with aniline and mixed-acid-treated CNTF film. By controlling the different polymerization cycles, it was found that the growth model, morphology, apparent color, and loading amount of the PANI on the CNTF surface were different. The CNTF/PANI-15C composite electrode, prepared by 15 cycles of electrochemical polymerization, has a unique surface, with a "sea-cucumber-like" 3D nanoprotrusion structure and microporous channels formed via the stacking of the PANI nanowires. A CNTF/PANI-15C flexible electrode exhibited the highest specific capacitance, 903.6 F/g, and the highest energy density, 45.2 Wh/kg, at the current density of 1 A/g and the voltage window of 0 to 0.6 V. It could maintain 73.9% of the initial value at a high current density of 10 A/g. The excellent electrochemical cycle and structural stabilities were confirmed on the condition of the higher capacitance retention of 95.1% after 2000 cycles of galvanostatic charge/discharge, and on the almost unchanged electrochemical performances after 500 cycles of bending. The tensile strength of the composite electrode was 124.5 MPa, and the elongation at break was 18.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]