Plasmonic photonic nanostructuring on the end facets of optical fibers may enable extensive applications of the miniaturized devices in sensors. However, the small area on the fiber tips and the ...large aspect ratio of the fiber body largely restrict direct fabrication, which is apparently the challenge in most of the nanopatterning techniques. Therefore, efficient and easily applicable transfer techniques are more practical for fabricating plasmonic nanodevices on the fiber tips. In this study, we report the fabrication of plasmonic photonic structures on large-area planar substrates, flexibilization of the structures into thin films, and transfer of these films onto the end facets of optical fibers. This strategy enables high-quality functionalization of fiber tips by plasmonic photonic devices, thus providing new approaches for sensor applications.
A flexible transfer technique is reported for fabricating plasmonic photonic structures on fiber tips for direct sensor detection in liquids.
Here, we report the discovery of two viruses associated with a disease characterized by severe diarrhea on a large-scale goat farm in Jilin province. Electron Microscopy observations revealed two ...kinds of virus particles with the sizes of 150–210 nm and 20–30 nm, respectively. Detection of 276 fecal specimens from the diseased herds showed the extensive infection of peste des petits ruminants virus (63.77%, 176/276) and caprine enterovirus (76.81%, 212/276), with a co-infection rate of 57.97% (160/276). These results were partially validated with RT-PCR, where all five PPRV-positive and CEV-positive specimens yielded the expected size of fragments, respectively, while no fragments were amplified from PPRV-negative and CEV-negative specimens. Moreover, corresponding PPRV and CEV fragments were amplified in PPRV and CEV double-positive specimens. Histopathological examinations revealed severe microscopic lesions such as degeneration, necrosis, and detachment of epithelial cells in the bronchioles and intestine. An immunohistochemistry assay detected PPRV antigens in bronchioles, cartilage tissue, intestine, and lymph nodes. Simultaneously, caprine enterovirus antigens were detected in lung, kidney, and intestinal tissues from the goats infected by the peste des petits ruminants virus. These results demonstrated the co-infection of peste des petits ruminants virus with caprine enterovirus in goats, revealing the tissue tropism for these two viruses, thus laying a basis for the future diagnosis, prevention, and epidemiological survey for these two virus infections.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Biomass aerogels are a promising kind of environment-friendly thermal insulation material. However, the flammability, poor water resistance, and thermal instability of biomass aerogels limit their ...applications. Herein, freeze-drying and thermal imidization were used to create konjac glucomannan (KGM), boron nitride (BN), and polyimide (PI)-based aerogels with a semi-interpenetrating network structure. The introduction of BN was beneficial to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability of aerogels. The imidization process of PI improved the hydrophobicity, mechanical property, and flame retardancy of the aerogels. The synergistic effect of PI and BN reduced the peak heat release rate and total heat release rate of KGM-based aerogel by 55.8 % and 35 %, respectively, and endowed aerogel with good self-extinguishing performance. Moreover, the results of thermal conductivity and infrared thermal imaging demonstrated that the aerogels had excellent thermal insulation properties, and could effectively manage thermal energy over a wide range of temperatures. This study provides a simple method for the preparation of heat-insulating aerogel with high fire safety, which has broad application prospects in the field of energy saving and emission reduction.
•Aerogels with semi-interpenetrating network structure were designed by freeze-drying.•Aerogels had the advantages of low density, high porosity, hydrophobicity and excellent mechanical strength.•The synergistic effect of PI and BN endowed the aerogels with good flame retardancy.•Aerogels could effectively manage thermal energy over a wide temperature range.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Communication efficiency and flocking stability are two basic requirements for the application of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in maritime transportation systems. Although they are closely ...related, most existing flocking approaches focus on the control techniques and ignore the influence of communication efficiency. This paper presents a joint design solution to the channel estimation and flocking control for multi-AUV-based maritime transportation systems, with the consideration of path loss, shadow and multipath fading channels. A value iteration-based reinforcement learning (RL) estimator is first designed to predict the channel quality of AUVs in positions that have not yet visited. With the predicted channel quality, we construct an integrated optimization problem for the co-design of communication and flocking strategies. Along with this, a value iteration-based RL flocking controller is developed to achieve the co-design of channel estimation and flocking control for AUVs. It is worth mentioning that, the value iteration-based RL estimator in this paper can avoid local optimal in traditional least-squares methods, and meanwhile the flocking controller in this paper can make a balance between flocking stability and communication efficiency for AUVs. Finally, simulation and experimental results reveal that the proposed approach in this paper has superior performances by comparing with the other works. As such, our approach is more useful for marine engineer to understand and explore the maritime transportation system from the communication and control view points.
Commercial cultivation of the medicinal plant
Atractylodes lancea
is significantly restricted by low survival rates and reduced yields. Intercropping can reasonably coordinate interspecific ...interactions, effectively utilize environmental resources, and increase survival and yield. We conducted a field experiment from 2014 to 2016 to analyze the advantages and effects of intercropping on
A. lancea
survival, growth traits, individual volatile oil content, and total volatile oil content. In addition to
A. lancea
monoculture (AL), five intercropping combinations were planted:
Zea mays
L. (ZM) +
A. lancea
,
Tagetes erecta
L. (TE) +
A. lancea
,
Calendula officinalis
L. (CO) +
A. lancea
,
Glycine max
(Linn.) Merr. (GM) +
A. lancea
, and
Polygonum hydropiper
L. (PH) +
A. lancea
. The survival and average rhizome weight of
A. lancea
was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture treatment, and the average plant height was higher in all intercropping treatments than in the monoculture. The volatile oil content of
A. lancea
from the ZM and CO treatments was significantly improved relative to that of monoculture plants. The volatile oil harvest was higher in the ZM, CO, and TE treatments than in the monoculture. We conclude that intercropping is an effective way to increase the survival and yield of
A. lancea
. Furthermore, intercropping with ZM, CO, and TE increases the harvest of four volatile oils from
A. lancea
.
Recent studies have reported that the imbalance of T helper 1 cell (Th1), Th17 and regulatory T cell (Treg) have been confirmed to play a vital role in the development of sepsis and other ...inflammatory diseases. Baicalin (BA) has anti-inflammatory properties and improves survival in sepsis. We investigated whether baicalin could regulate Th1, Th17 and Treg responses to ameliorate sepsis-associated pancreatic injury through the ras homolog family member A (RhoA)-Rho kinase (ROCK) pathway. The sepsis model was established by using the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method. Fifty mice were randomly divided into five groups (n = 10): sham group, model group, low-dose group (BA-L, 100 mg/kg of baicalin), medium-dose group (BA-M, 200 mg/kg of baicalin) and highdose group (BA-H, 300 mg/kg of baicalin). The effects of baicalin on the pancreatic injury, on changes of Th1, Th17 and Treg cells in vivo and in vitro, on RhoA, ROCK1 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways, and on levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-10 were examined. Treatment of the CLP mice with baicalin significantly reduced the extent, scope and severity of the pathological changes of sepsis-associated pancreatic injury. Baicalin evidently reduced Th1 and Th17 cells and increased Treg cells in peripheral blood, spleen, pancreatic tissue and significantly inhibited T-box protein expressed in T cells (T-bet), retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) and increased forkhead/winged helix transcription factor (Foxp3) expressions in the pancreatic tissue. Baicalin reduced the expressions of RhoA, ROCK1, phosphorylated STAT4 (p-STAT4), p-STAT3 and increased the expression of p-STAT5 in peripheral blood, spleen and pancreatic tissue. Baicalin reduced the expressions of IFN-γ and IL-17 and increased the IL-10 in serum and pancreatic tissue. Baicalin is capable of ameliorating sepsis-associated pancreatic injury and regulating Th1, Th17 and Treg responses in sepsis. The present study provided a potential adjunctive therapy for treating pancreatic injury in sepsis, and further study is needed to reveal its deeper mechanisms.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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•Patched laponite-polymer composite particles (LCPs) have been synthesized and used to reinforce the PAM hydrogel.•LC hydrogels reinforced by LCPs have shown better mechanical ...performance than LA hydrogels at similar particle content.•The patched surface with laponite part and CC part was the key to lead to the good performance of LC hydrogels.
The application of patched laponite-polymer composite particles (LCPs) in hydrogel reinforcement has been proposed and such hydrogels (LC hydrogels) were successfully prepared. LCPs can be well dispersed in hydrogel matrix to rather high particle concentration and at the same time, form chemical bonding with polymer matrix through copolymerization of surface CC groups. The obtained LC hydrogels showed more homogeneous microstructure and significantly higher mechanical strength comparing with the hydrogel containing bare laponite or laponite surface modified with CC groups at same particle content. A series of control experiments reveals that both the surface chemistry and patched morphology were essential to produce such good reinforcement performance.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Polyradicals, i.e., multispin organic molecules, are playing important roles in radical-based material applications for their spin–spin interaction. A dynamic covalently bonded multispin molecule may ...endow materials with added function such as memory and switching. However, such a species has yet to be reported. We here report the synthesis, characterization, and crystal structure of a dynamic triradical species. It is generated by the self-assembly of two molecules through a Lewis acid coupled electron transfer. The crystalline species is spin-frustrated without Jahn–Teller distortion at low temperature, while it dissociates back to diamagnetic starting material in solution at high temperature. The reversible process is tracked by variable-temperature NMR, EPR, and UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy. Isolation, property study, and dynamic bonding investigation on such a species lay the foundation for the design of functional polyradicals with potential application as memory or switching devices.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
The integrated development of social media makes enterprise public opinion spread across multiple social platforms. The safety of enterprise public opinion affects the sustainability of enterprise ...development and social stability. The risk assessment of enterprise public opinion in a cross social media context and sustainable strategies is researched to help enterprises and governments better regulate enterprise public opinion and improve their ability to respond to public opinion. We established an enterprise public opinion risk assessment index system in a cross social media context, and an enterprise public opinion risk assessment model was established by using a combination of the entropy method, TOPSIS, grey relational analysis and Fuzzy C-means method. The research results show that, compared with the context of single social media, the analysis of enterprise public opinion in a cross social media context is more comprehensive and accurate. The risk assessment model of enterprise public opinion proposed in our research is more suitable for the judgment of enterprise public opinion in a cross social media context and can comprehensively and accurately grasp the situation of enterprise public opinion. The management significance of public opinion risk management for the sustainable development of enterprises is also discussed.
To investigate the role of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in the disease severity and prognosis of SLE-related thrombocytopenia (SLE-TP).
This multicenter prospective study was conducted based on ...data from the CSTAR registry. TP was defined as a platelet count<100 × 10
/L. Demographic characteristics, platelet count, clinical manifestations, disease activity, and autoantibody profiles were collected at baseline. Relapse was defined as the loss of remission. Bone marrow aspirate reports were also collected.
A total of 350 SLE-TP patients with complete follow-up data, 194 (55.4%) were aPLs positive. At baseline, SLE-TP patients with aPLs had lower baseline platelet counts (61.0 × 10
/L vs. 76.5 × 10
/L, P<0.001), and a higher proportion of moderate to severe cases (24.2% vs. 14.1% ; 18.0% vs. 8.3%, P<0.001). SLE-TP patients with aPLs also had lower platelet counts at their lowest point (37.0 × 10
/L vs. 51.0 × 10
/L, P = 0.002). In addition, thean increasing number of aPLs types was associated with a decrease in the baseline and minimum values of platelets ( P<0.001, P = 0.001). During follow-up, SLE-TP carrying aPLs had a higher relapse rate (58.2% vs. 44.2%, P = 0.009) and a lower complete response (CR) rate. As the types of aPLs increased, the relapse rate increased, and the CR rate decreased. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the ratio of granulocytes to red blood cells (G/E), the total number of megakaryocyte and categories.
SLE-TP patients with positive aPLs had more severe disease a lower remission rate but a higher relapse rate.
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