Room-temperature superconductivity has always been an area of intensive research. Recent findings of clathrate metal hydrides structures have opened up the doors for achieving room-temperature ...superconductivity in these materials. Here, we report first-principles calculations for stable H-rich clathrate structures of uranium hydrides at high pressures. The clathrate uranium hydrides contain H cages with stoichiometries of H24, H29, and H32, in which H atoms are bonded covalently to other H atoms, and U atoms occupy the centers of the cages. Especially, a UH10 clathrate structure containing H32 cages is predicted to have an estimated T c higher than 77 K at high pressures.
•Rapid fabrication of (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 anodes is achieved on Cu-xNi current collectors.•The fabrication process dynamics is studied by in-situ synchrotron X-ray imaging.•EBSD and TEM reveal Ni induces ...smaller grain sizes and weaker grain boundaries.•Fast diffusion is a result of shorter diffusion path and increased boundary diffusion.•Synchrotron powder XRD shows a reversible lithiation/delithiation reaction.
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The intermetallic Cu6Sn5 is ubiquitous in electronic interconnects where research has focused on controlling the size and distribution of this phase for improved performance. Cu6Sn5 also finds application as an anode material for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Cu6Sn5 anodes can be fabricated via an in-situ growth method involving the reaction between molten Sn and the Cu current collector. This manufacturing route offers some advantages over traditional anode fabrication however the process is slow, limiting its practical application. In this work we show the addition of 6 wt% Ni to the Cu current collector greatly accelerates the growth of (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 in Cu-xNi/Sn solid-melt couples, leading to a growth rate of up to 50x faster, reducing the processing time above 200 °C to less than 10 min. This research studies the dynamics of the formation of (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 between Cu-xNi alloys and liquid Sn through real-time observation using synchrotron X-ray imaging. The (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 growth dynamics are characterised, and the growth kinetics are analysed. Subsequently, the mechanism of the accelerated growth is investigated with electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results show the accelerated growth is due to the formation of η-(Cu,Ni)6Sn5 grains with two distinct Ni concentration ranges, leading to finer grains and spalling, which in turn facilitates the diffusion of Sn, enhancing the η-(Cu,Ni)6Sn5 formation kinetics.
The cell growth and ethanol yield of Zymomonas mobilis may be detrimentally affected by salt stress frequently present in some biomass-based fermentation systems, leading to a decrease in the rate of ...sugar conversion to ethanol or other bioproducts. To address this problem, improving the salt tolerance of Z. mobilis is a desirable way. However, limited progress has been made in development of Z. mobilis with higher salt tolerance for some technical challenges in the past decades. Recently, transposon insertion mutant system has been widely used as a novel genetic tool in many organisms to develop mutant strains. In this study, Tn5-based transposon insertion mutagenesis system firstly used for construction of higher salt tolerance strain in Z. mobilis.
Approximately 200 Z. mobilis ZM4 mutants were generated by using Tn5-based transposon mutagenesis system. The mutant strain ZMT2 with improved salt tolerance phenotype was obtained by screening on RM agar plates with additional 1 % NaCl. Strain ZMT2 was confirmed to exhibit better fermentation performance under NaCl stress than wild type of strain ZM4. The transposon insertion was located in ZMO1122 (himA) by genome walking. Discruption of himA gene showed that himA may play an important role in response to salt tolerance in Z. mobils.
The mutant strain ZMT2 with a transposon insertion in himA gene of the genome showed obviously higher sugar conversion rate to ethonal under up to 2 % NaCl stress than did the wild ZM4 strain. Besides, ZMT2 exhibited shared fermentative capabilities with wild ZM4 strain under no or low NaCl stress. This report firstly showed that himA played a role in responding to NaCl stress. Furthermore, the result indicated that Tn5-based transposon mutagenesis system was a feasible tool not only for genetic engineering in Z. mobilis strain improvement, but also in tapping resistent genes.
Dairy manure contains high levels of cellulose, hemicellulose and a nitrogen source. These properties make dairy manure a potential biomass source for ethanol production. In this study, a dilute NaOH ...pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were carried out for the degradation of lignocellulose from dairy manure. The response surface method and Box-Behnken design were first applied in order to optimize the NaOH pretreatment. Under the optimization conditions, 21.14 g L
−1
of glucose and 9.48 g L
−1
of xylose were obtained from continuous enzymolysis. The maximum ethanol concentration achieved reached 10.55 g L
−1
when using ethanologenic
Zymomonas mobilis
without an additional nitrogen source. This produced a 71.91% ethanol yield from manure hydrolysate medium. These results demonstrate the economic benefits of using nitrogen from a dairy manure source for balancing the C/N ratio, without the need for an additional nitrogen source. The results from this study could extend beyond cellulosic ethanol for the production of other chemicals.
Dairy manure contains high levels of cellulose, hemicellulose and a nitrogen source.
To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) and moxibustion (Moxi) pretreatment on myocardial pathological and structural changes and expression of autophagy related protein LC 3 Ⅰ/Ⅱ and Beclin ...1 in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MI/RI), so as to explore their mechanisms underlying improving MI/RI.
Forty SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation, model, ischemic preconditioning (IP), EA and Moxi groups (
＝8 in each group). EA (10 Hz/50 Hz，1 mA) or Moxi (ignited moxa stick) was respectively applied to bilateral "Neiguan"(PC 6) for 20 min, once daily for 7 days. The MI/RI model was established by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery for 40 min, followed by reperfusion for 60 min. The left ventricular (LV) tissue samples were collected and analyzed for pathological (H.E. staining) and ultrastructural changes, for myocardial apoptosis (apoptotic index＝ number of apoptotic cells/total number of cardiomyocytes×100%) with terminal deoxynucleotidyl tr
Objective:
To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on adenine nucleotides in the myocardial tissues of the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) rats, and to explore the ...mechanism of EA pretreatment on myocardial prevention and protection in MIRI rats.
Methods:
Forty SPF male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: a blank group, a sham operation group, a model group, an EA at Neiguan (PC 6) group and an EA at Hegu (LI 4) group, with 8 rats in each group. Rats in the blank group only received binding to the rat plate, 30 min/time, once a day for 7 d; on the 7th day, rats in the sham operation group were subjected to threading for 40 min at the left anterior descending coronary artery without ligation, and then the rats were allowed to stand for 60 min before collection of the specimens; on the 7th day, rats in the model group were subjected to threading at the left anterior descending coronary artery with ligation, for 40 min before the blood flow was restored, and then the rats were allowed to stand for 60 min before collection of the specimens; on the 7th day of pretreatment with EA at Neiguan (PC 6) or Hegu (LI 4) for 30 min per day (once a day for 7 d), rats in the EA at Neiguan (PC 6) group and EA at Hegu (LI 4) group were subjected to modeling and sample collection same as in the model group. The left ventricular myocardium of the lower left anterior descending coronary artery was collected from rats in all 5 groups. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to observe the changes in myocardial pathological morphology. The change in the adenine nucleotide level of myocardial tissue was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Results:
The HE staining and ultrastructure showed that the myocardial injury was severer in the model group compared with the sham operation group. Compared with the model group, the myocardial injury in the EA at Neiguan (PC 6) and the EA at Hegu (LI 4) groups was mild or hardly any. The adenine nucleotide levels in the sham operation group and the model group were all decreased compared with the blank group (all P<0.05); compared with the sham operation group, the adenine nucleotide level of the model group was also decreased, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05); compared with the model group, the adenine nucleotide level in the EA at Neiguan (PC 6) group was increased (P<0.05), and the adenine nucleotide level in the EA at Hegu (LI 4) group was significantly increased (P<0.01). The adenine nucleotide level in the EA at Hegu (LI 4) group was higher than that in the EA at Neiguan (PC 6) group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Compared with the EA at Neiguan (PC 6) group, the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in the EA at Hegu (LI 4) group were significantly increased (all P<0.01).
Conclusion:
Both EA at Neiguan (PC 6) and Hegu (LI 4) can alleviate the pathological damage to myocardium in MIRI rats, and increase the adenine nucleotide level in myocardial tissues, and thus protect MIRI rats. EA at Hegu (LI 4) has a better protective effect than Neiguan (PC 6).
Objective
To observe the effect of point-moxibustion on gastrointestinal motility, mRNA and protein expressions of ghrelin and growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR-1a) in lateral septal ...nucleus of rats with diabetic gastroparesis (DGP), and to investigate the central regulatory mechanism of DGP treatment with point-moxibustion.
Methods
Forty SPF-grade Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, an electroacupuncture (EA) group and a point-moxibustion group, with 10 rats in each group. A DGP rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 2% streptozotocin (STZ) with 8-week irregular high-sugar and high-fat diet in the model group, the EA group and the point-moxibustion group; and rats in the blank group were injected intraperitoneally with 0.1 mmoL/L (pH 4.5) citric acid-sodium citrate buffer with 8-week normal diet. Eight weeks later, rats in the EA group were treated by EA at Zusanli (ST 36), Liangmen (ST 21) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6); while rats in the point-moxibustion group were treated by point-moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36), Liangmen (ST 21) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) for successive 15 d. Rats in the blank group and the model group were fixed as the control without intervention. After treatment, intestinal propulsion rate and gastric emptying rate were measured. The mRNA and protein expressions of ghrelin and GHSR-1a in the lateral septal nucleus were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot (WB).
Results
Compared with the blank group, the intestinal propulsion rate and gastric emptying rate of the model group were significantly lower (both
P
<0.01); compared with the model group, the intestinal propulsion rate and gastric emptying rate of the EA group and the point-moxibustion group increased significantly (all
P
<0.05). The mRNA and protein expressions of ghrelin and GHSR-1a were lower in the model group than those in the blank group (all
P
<0.01). The mRNA and protein expressions of ghrelin and GHSR-1a were significantly higher in the EA group and the point-moxibustion group than those in the model group (all
P
<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the EA group and the point-moxibustion group (all
P
>0.05).
Conclusion
Point-moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36), Liangmen (ST 21) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) can increase the intestinal propulsion rate and gastric emptying rate of DGP rats, and promote the mRNA and protein expressions of ghrelin and GHSR-1a in the central nervous system. The mechanism may be related to the activation of ghrelin pathway in hypothalamic arcuate nucleus-lateral septal nucleus.
When dealing with power system emergency caused by natural disaster, information survey is the important foundation of emergency power supply and repair. The information credibility would directly ...inflect the credibility and timeliness of electric system emergency work. Therefore, this paper starts the study from the point of information credibility and sets minimizing total cost and loss as the objective function, taking time constraint, transportation road constraint, information credibility constraint, and the parameters of different facilities into consideration and building a location and storage optimization model for electric system emergency facility. And a corresponding facility transportation model was built considering the power loss in demand points. The simulation result shows that the models proposed by this paper could satisfy the requirement of information credibility, improve the adaptability to demand change, and cut down total cost and loss.
The type strain Lentibacillus amyloliquefaciens LAM0015(T) with considerably highly NaCl tolerance is a member of halophiles. Here we report its genome sequence, the first to publish complete genome ...sequence of the Lentibacillus genus. It contains 3,858,520bp with an average GC content of 42.12%, encoding multiple valuable proteins academically and industrially. The genome sequence of strain LAM0015(T) provides basic information for further elucidation of halophilic mechanism and wider exploitation of functional genes.
A contingent valuation survey was conducted in Taiwan to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid a recurrence of the episode of acute respiratory illness most recently experienced by the respondent. ...We estimate a model in which willingness to pay depends on the attributes of the illness (duration and number of symptoms, and nature of the illness) and on respondent characteristics (such as income and health history), and allow mitigating behavior to be endogenously determined with willingness to pay. WTP of Taiwanese households is compared with benefits transfer extrapolations that adjust WTP for the United States by Taiwan household income, relative to U.S. household income.
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