Activated graphene/sulfur structure sheathed in a flexible graphene layer is presented as the cathode material of lithium–sulfur battery. The surface coating graphite oxide sheets are reduced by a ...one-step in situ sulfur reduction method under vacuum at 600 °C without any additional reductant. The high reduction degree of in situ sulfur reduced graphite oxide (RGO) coating layer will facilitate the rapid charge transfer at high current rate. The flexible encapsulated RGO structure will retard the diffusion of polysulfides and adjust the volume change of sulfur in cycling. As a result, the electrochemical evaluation of the RGO–activated graphene (AG)/S electrode demonstrates superior capacity, cycling and rate performance. The RGO–AG/S electrode with 60 wt% sulfur loading achieves a stable cyclability over 2000 galvanostatic charge/discharge process (capacity-fade rate of only 0.03% per cycle at 1600 mA·g
−1
). The average Coulombic efficiency remains at ~ 96% with no electrolyte additives (such as LiNO
3
). The outstanding property of RGO–AG/S electrode is attributed to the distinctive in situ sulfur RGO-coated hierarchical texture.
Homeostatic responses of animals to environmentally induced changes in nutrient requirements provide a powerful basis for predictive ecological models, and yet, such responses are virtually unstudied ...in the wild.
We tested for macronutrient‐specific compensatory feeding responses by free‐ranging golden snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) inhabiting high altitude temperate forests, where they experience a substantial difference in ambient temperature in cold winters vs. warmer springs. The monkeys had free access to natural foods throughout the year, and to ensure that any seasonal differences in nutrient intake were due to homeostatic compensation and not constraints on food availability, we studied the monkeys during periods in which they were provisioned with the same amount of supplementary foods in winter and spring.
Thermoregulatory energy costs in winter and spring were calculated using partitional calorimetric estimations of convective and radiative heat loss obtained from thermal imaging of free‐ranging monkeys in situ. Daily nutrient intakes were measured using continuous focal follows (average 6.9 hr/day) of free‐ranging individuals (27 days in spring and 28 days in winter).
We used a nutritional geometry framework to integrate these data and test three predictions: (a) In order to remain thermoneutral (balance heat loss with heat expenditure), golden snub‐nosed monkeys increase daily energy consumption during the winter compared to spring; (b) this increase is achieved specifically by increasing intake of the primary energetic nutrients, carbohydrate and lipid, relative to protein; and (c) the seasonal increase in ingested fat and carbohydrate calories will quantitatively match the additional thermoregulatory costs in winter compared with spring.
Our results showed that daily metabolisable energy intake in winter (721.5 kJ/mbm) was 1.8 times that in spring (399 kJ/mbm). As predicted, this difference was specific to fat and carbohydrate, whereas seasonal protein intake did not differ significantly. Winter consumption of fat and carbohydrate was 326 kJ/mbm per day greater than in spring, a value that closely matched the seasonal difference in the daily energetic costs of thermoregulation (329 kJ/mbm).
This is the first study to test for a match between nutrient‐specific homeostatic compensation and environmentally induced perturbations in nutrient requirements in free‐ranging animals and underpins the potential for the homeostasis framework to provide predictive power to ecological models.
Foreign Language
动物应对环境改变而寻求营养上平衡可以基于稳健的生态模型进行预测,然而这种预测在野外研究上却很少实现
秦岭金丝猴生活在高寒高海拔山区,其环境温度在冬春两季差异剧烈。于是,我们对一个自由活动的金丝猴种群进行常量营养成分摄入进行研究,来分析常量营养成分摄入应对环境变化的补偿性的应答机制。为了保证我们的研究结果是由于动物自我平衡所致,而非是环境资源限制所致,我们让金丝猴全年都在自然食物环境中采食,只有在冬季和春季开展研究时段,我们才给研究对象提供等质等量的人工食物补充
根据我们采集的热成像照片,我们测量动物体表不同部位的温度,并依据金丝猴不同姿态下体表暴露的部位比例,来计算身体热对流和辐射导致的热损失。我们平均每天连续跟踪6.9小时的目标个体,来计算其每日能量摄入。冬季跟踪28天,春季跟踪27天
我们用营养几何模型整合分析了以上数据,对3种预测结果进行验证:1.金丝猴为了保证其体温的稳定(也就是平衡热损失和热收益),将在冬季增加能量摄入;2.在三种基础常量营养成分中,金丝猴在冬季预期将增加碳水化合物和脂类养分的摄入,而保持蛋白质稳定;3. 金丝猴对碳水化合物和脂类两种常量养分的能量摄入在冬春两季的差值,预期将等于其在冬春两季体表热能量损失的差值
我们的研究结果显示,金丝猴冬季代谢能摄入(721.5千焦/公斤体重)是春季的(399千焦/公斤体重) 1.8倍。正如预期所示,金丝猴的冬春能量摄入变异主要来源于碳水化合物和脂类产生的能量差异,蛋白质能量摄入在两个季节保持稳定不变。金丝猴摄入的碳水化化合物和脂类能量在冬季比春季每天多326 千焦/公斤体重, 而这个值恰恰与它们的每天在冬春两季体表热能损失的差值329千焦/公斤体重极为接近
该研究首次验证了自由活动的野生动物在对环境干扰时,具有营养摄入的自我平衡能力。对于自我平衡理论体系而言,该研究成果充分证明该体系下的生态模型的确具有预测能力
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Plain Language Summary
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common invasive malignancy worldwide with poor clinical outcomes. Increasing amount of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be involved ...in cancer development. However, lncRNAs that are functional in ESCC and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown.
Transcriptomic analysis was performed to identify dysregulated lncRNAs in ESCC tissue samples. The high expression of LINC00680 in ESCC was validated by RT-qPCR, and the oncogenic functions of LINC00680 was investigated by cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion assays in ESCC cells in vitro and xenografts derived from ESCC cells in mice. RNA-seq, competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network analysis, and luciferase reporter assays were carried out to identify LINC00680 target genes and the microRNAs (miRNAs) bound to LINC00680. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) were used for in vivo treatment.
Transcriptome profiling revealed that a large number of lncRNAs was dysregulated in ESCC tissues. Notably, LINC00680 was highly expressed, and upregulation of LINC00680 was associated with large tumor size, advanced tumor stage, and poor prognosis. Functionally, knockdown of LINC00680 restrained ESCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, LINC00680 was found to act as a ceRNA by sponging miR-423-5p to regulate PAK6 (p21-activated kinase 6) expression in ESCC cells. The cell viability and motility inhibition induced by LINC00680 knockdown was significantly reversed upon PAK6 restoration and miR-423-5p inhibition. Furthermore, ASO targeting LINC00680 substantially suppressed ESCC both in vitro and in vivo.
An oncogenic lncRNA, LINC00680, was identified in ESCC, which functions as a ceRNA by sponging miR-423-5p to promote PAK6 expression and ESCC. LINC00680/miR-423-5p/PAK6 axis may serve as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ESCC.
Obesity is closely associated with chronic diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and dyslipidemia. We analyzed the optimal obesity index cut-off values for metabolic ...syndrome (MetS), and identified the obesity index that is more closely associated with these chronic diseases, in a population of northern Chinese.
We surveyed 8940 adults (age, 20-74 years) living in northern China for chronic diseases. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, relative risk, and multivariate regression were used to develop an appropriate index and optimal cut-off values for MetS and obesity-related chronic diseases.
Waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were good markers for MetS, WC was a good marker for T2DM and dyslipidemia, and BMI was a good marker for hypertension. The optimal BMI cut-off value of MetS was 24 kg/m², and the optimal WC cut-offs were 86 cm and 78 cm in men and women, respectively. Relative risk regression models showed that BMI was associated with hypertension, T2DM, and hypertriglyceridemia and a higher prevalence ratio (PR) for hypertension: 2.35 (95% CI, 2.18-2.50). WC was associated with T2DM, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia, with PRs of 2.05 (1.63-2.55) for T2DM and 2.47 (2.04-2.85) for hypertriglyceridemia. In multivariate regression models, the standardized regression coefficients (SRCs) of BMI were greater for SBP and DBP, and the SRC of WC was greater for fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postload blood glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol.
Our analysis of a population of northern Chinese indicates that the optimal cut-off values for MetS are WCs of 86 cm in men and 78 cm in women and a BMI of 24 kg/m² in both sexes. BMI was strongly associated with hypertension, while WC was strongly associated with T2DM and dyslipidemia.
Objectives
Social animals often have dominance hierarchies, with high rank conferring preferential access to resources. In primates, competition among males is often assumed to occur predominantly ...over reproductive opportunities. However, competition for food may occur during food shortages, such as in temperate species during winter. Higher‐ranked males may thus gain preferential access to high‐profitability food, which would enable them to spend longer engaged in activities other than feeding.
Materials and methods
We performed a field experiment with a breeding band of golden snub‐nosed monkeys, a species that lives in a multi‐level society in high‐altitude forests in central China. We provisioned monkey's high‐profitability food during winter when natural foods are limited, and then recorded the times individual adult males spent engaged in different behaviors.
Results
Higher‐ranking males spent less time feeding overall and fed on provisioned foods at a higher rate than lower‐ranking males. Higher‐ranking males therefore had more time to spend on alternative behaviors. We found no significant difference according to rank in times spent moving or resting. However, high‐ranking males spend significantly longer on affiliative behaviors with other members of their social sub‐units, especially grooming and being groomed, behaviors known to promote social cohesion in primates.
Discussion
We show that preferential access to high‐profitability foods likely relaxes time‐budget constraints to higher‐ranking males. High‐ranking males thus spend more time on non‐feeding activities, especially grooming, which may enhance social cohesion within their social sub‐unit. We discuss the potential direct and indirect benefits to high‐ranking males associated with preferential access to high‐value food during winter.
A graph is symmetric if its automorphism group acts transitively on the set of arcs of the graph. Let
p
be a prime. In this paper, we proved that there is only one connected heptavalent symmetric ...graphs of order 40
p
, it is a vertex primitive graph of order 40.3 = 120 admitting S
7
as its full automorphism group.
The solvent extraction, complexing ability, and basicity of tetradentate N-donor 2,9-bis(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline (CyMe4-BT- Phen) and its ...derivatives functionalized by Br, hydroxyphenyl, nitryl were discussed and compared. It was demonstrated that four BTPhen ligands are able to selectively extract Am(lll) over Eu(lll). It was notable that the distribution ratio of 5-nitryl-CyMe4-BTPhen for Eu(lll) was suppressed under 0.02, which was much lower compared to DEu(lll) = 1 by CyMe4-BTPhen. The analysis of the effect of the substituent on the affinity to lanthanides was conducted by UV/vis and fluorescence spectroscopic titration. The stability constants of various ligands with Eu(lll) were obtained by fitting titration curve. Additionally, the basicity of various ligands was determined to be 3.1 ± 0.1, 2.3 ± 0.2, 0.9 ± 0.2, 0.5 ± 0.1 by NMR in the media of CD3OD with the addition of DClO4. The basicity of ligands follows the order of L1 > L2 > L3 > L4, indicating the tendency of protonation decreases with the electron-withdrawing ability increase.
A graph is edge-transitive if its automorphism group acts transitively on the set of edges of the graph. In this paper, we classify hexavalent edge-transitive graphs of order
3
p
2
for each prime
p
.
In non‐fullerene‐based photovoltaic devices, it is unclear how excitons efficiently dissociate into charge carriers under small driving force. Here, we developed a modified method to estimate ...dielectric constants of PM6 donor and non‐fullerene acceptors. Surprisingly, most non‐fullerene acceptors and blend films showed higher dielectric constants. Moreover, they exhibited larger dielectric constants differences at the optical frequency. These results are likely bound to reduced exciton binding energy and bimolecular recombination. Besides, the overlap between the emission spectrum of donor and absorption spectra of non‐fullerene acceptors allowed the energy transfer from donor to acceptors. Hence, based on the synergistic effect of dielectric property and energy transfer resulting in efficient charge separation, our finding paves an alternative path to elucidate the physical working mechanism in non‐fullerene‐based photovoltaic devices.
Based on the synergistic effect of the higher dielectric property of non‐fullerene acceptors and corresponding photoactive films and the energy transfer from donor to acceptor on charge separation of selected non‐fullerene‐based photovoltaic devices, these results well interpret the high device performance with a tiny driving force, and the intrinsic physical working mechanism on non‐fullerene‐based photovoltaic devices is proposed.
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