Cooperative Fuzzy Games Approach to Setting Target Levels of ECs in Quality Function Deployment

Quality function deployment (QFD) can provide a means of translating customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs) for each stage of product development and production. The main objective of QFD-based product planning is to determine the target levels of ECs for a new product or service. QFD is a breakthrough tool which can effectively reduce the gap between CRs and a new product/service. Even though there are conflicts among some ECs, the objective of developing new product is to maximize the overall customer satisfaction. Therefore, there may be room for cooperation among ECs. A cooperative game framework combined with fuzzy set theory is developed to determine the target levels of the ECs in QFD. The key to develop the model is the formulation of the bargaining function. In the proposed methodology, the players are viewed as the membership functions of ECs to formulate the bargaining function. The solution for the proposed model is Pareto-optimal. An illustrated example is cited to demonstrate the application and performance of the proposed approach

Basic aluminum sulfate@graphene hydrogel composites: preparation and application for removal of fluoride

National Natural Science Foundation of China [21104041]Porous composites based on basic aluminum sulfate and graphene hydrogel (BAS@GHG) were prepared via homogeneous precipitation of BAS in GHG, and used as adsorbents for fluoride removal from water. The BAS@GHG composites have a porous structure with a chemically converted graphene three dimensional network coated by a thin layer of amorphous BAS. These composites showed high adsorption capacities of up to 33.4 mg g(-1) at equilibrium fluoride concentrations of 10.7 mg L-1 and temperatures of 298 K, higher than those of previously reported graphene and aluminum-based adsorbents. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm were analyzed by fitting experimental data with pseudo-first-order kinetics, the Weber-Morris model and Langmuir equations. The effects of temperature, pH value, and co-existing anions on the adsorption of fluoride were also investigated

A novel botybirnavirus with a unique satellite dsRNA causes latent infection in Didymella theifolia isolated from tea plants

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The unique, recently discovered fungus Didymella theifolia specifically infects local varieties of tea plant Camellia sinensis in China, and therefore, the characterization of its mycoviruses is important. Three double-stranded (ds) RNAs (1, 2, and 3, with 6,338, 5,910, and 727 bp in size, respectively) were identified in the avirulent D. theifolia strain CJP4-1, which exhibits normal growth and morphology. Characterization of these double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) revealed that the two largest elements are the genomic components of a novel botybirnavirus, tentatively named Didymella theifolia botybirnavirus 1 (DtBRV1). Conversely, dsRNA3 shares no detectable similarity with sequences deposited in public databases but has high similarity with the 5′-terminal regions of dsRNAs 1 and 2 and contains a duplicated region encoding a putative small peptide. All three dsRNAs are encapsidated in isometric virions ca. 40 nm in diameter, supporting the notion that dsRNA3 is a DtBRV1 satellite. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in combination with peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed that the DtBRV1 capsid protein consists of polypeptides encoded by the 5′-terminal regions of both genomic components dsRNA1 and dsRNA2. Vertical transmission of DtBRV1 through conidia is efficient, while its horizontal transmission from CJP4-1 to other strains was not detected. DtBRV1, with or without dsRNA3, has no obvious effects on fungal growth and virulence, as illustrated following transfection of the virulent D. theifolia strain JYC1-6. In summary, DtBRV1 exhibits unique molecular traits and contributes to our understanding of mycovirus diversity.Peer reviewe

A Metabolomics Profiling Study in Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Modulated Pathways of Clinical Intervention Using Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD), with poorly understood pathogenesis, has become a major public health threat across Asia Pacific. In order to characterize the metabolic changes of HFMD and to unravel the regulatory role of clinical intervention, we have performed a metabolomics approach in a clinical trial. In this study, metabolites profiling was performed by liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS) platform from the HFMD clinical patient samples. The outcome of this study suggested that 31 endogenous metabolites were mainly involved and showed marked perturbation in HFMD patients. In addition, combination therapy intervention showed normalized tendency in HFMD patients in differential pathway. Taken together, these results indicate that metabolomics approach can be used as a complementary tool for the detection and the study of the etiology of HFMD

Synthesis of metal nanoparticle@graphene hydrogel composites by substrate-enhanced electroless deposition and their application in electrochemical sensors

National Natural Science Foundation of China [21104041]In this paper, a green and facile method based on substrate-enhanced electroless deposition is designed for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) metal nanoparticle@ graphene hydrogel (MNP@GHG) composites. A galvanic cell was constructed by inducing nickel foam as the substrate of GHG, to enhance the deposition of MNPs via galvanic cell reaction. Various MNPs with redox potential higher than that of Ni, including Au, Pt, Pd and Cu, were successfully deposited onto GHG. The produced gold nanoparticles/GHG composite showed good electrocatalytic activity and was used to fabricate an amperometric sensor towards uric acid with good sensitivity