Allometry of Bud Dynamic Pattern and Linkage Between Bud Traits and Ecological Stoichiometry of Nitraria tangutorum Under Fertilizer Addition

Affected by the pressure and constraints of available resources, plant growth and development, as well as plant life history strategies, usually vary with environmental conditions. Plant buds play a crucial role in the life history of woody plants. Nitraria tangutorum is a common dominant woody species in desertified areas of northern China and its growth is critical to the desert ecosystem. Revealing the allometry of N. tangutorum aboveground bud fates and the linkage between bud traits and plant nutrient contents and stoichiometric ratios can be useful in understanding plant adaptation strategy. We applied seven nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer addition treatments to natural N. tangutorum ramets in Ulan Buh Desert in three consecutive years. We surveyed three types of aboveground buds (dormant buds, vegetative buds, and reproductive buds) in each N. tangutorum ramet, then measured the plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents and ratios during three consecutive years. We specified that reserve growth potential (RGP), vegetative growth intensity (VGI) and sexual reproduction effort (SRE) are the three indices of bud dynamic pattern. The results showed that the bud dynamic pattern of N. tangutorum ramets differed significantly among different fertilizer addition treatments and sampling years. The allometry of RGP, VGI, and SRE was obvious, showing size dependence. The allometric growth relationship fluctuated among the sampling years. The linkage between bud traits and plant stoichiometric characteristics of N. tangutorum ramets showed close correlation with plant P content, C:P and N:P ratios, no significant correlation with plant C content, N content and C:N ratio. These results contribute to an improved understanding of the adaptive strategies of woody plants growing in desert ecosystems and provide insights for adoption of effective measures to restore and conserve plant communities in arid and semi-arid regions

Detecting GPC3-Expressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma with L5 Peptide-Guided Pretargeting Approach: An In Vitro MRI Experiment

Background and Aim: Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a novel molecular target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated the potential of an L5 peptide-guided pretargeting approach to identify GPC3-expressing HCC cells using ultra-small super-paramagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) as the MRI probe.Methods: Immunofluorescence with carboxyfluorescein (FAM)-labeled L5 peptide was performed in HepG2 and HL-7702 cells. Polyethylene glycol-modified ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (PEG-USPIO) and its conjugates with streptavidin (SA-PEG-USPIO) were synthesized, and hydrodynamic diameters, zeta potential, T2 relaxivity, and cytotoxicity were measured. MR T2-weighted imaging of HepG2 was performed to observe signal changes in the pretargeting group, which was first incubated with biotinylated L5 peptide and then with SA-PEG-USPIO. Prussian blue staining of cells was used to assess iron deposition.Results: Immunofluorescence assays showed high specificity of L5 peptide for GPC3. SA-PEG-USPIO nanoparticles had ≈36 nm hydrodynamic diameter, low toxicity, negative charge and high T2 relaxivity. MR imaging revealed that a significant negative enhancement was only observed in HepG2 cells from the pretargeting group, which also showed significant iron deposition with Prussian blue staining.Conclusion: MR imaging with USPIO as the probe has potential to identify GPC3-expressing HCC through L5 peptide-guided pretargeting approach

Hybrid Two-step Preparation of Nanosized MgAl Layered Double Hydroxides for CO₂ Adsorption

Hybrid Two-step synthesis method for preparation of MgAl LDHs materials for CO2 adsorption has been employed because of the features of fast micromixing and enhanced mass transfer by using a ‘T-mixer’ reactor. MgAl LDHs with different morphologies were successfully obtained by three different synthesis routes: ultrasonication-intensified in ‘T-mixer’ (TU-LDHs), conventional co-precipitation (CC-LDHs) and ultrasonic-intensified in ‘T-mixer’ pretreatment followed by conventional co-precipitation (TUC-LDHs). The synthesized samples characterized by the XRD showed that LDHs formed a typical layered double hydroxide structure and no other impurities were identified in the compound. The SEM and TEM analyses also confirmed that the size distribution of TUC-LDHs was relatively uniform (with an average size of approximate 100 nm) and layered structure was clearly visible. The BET characterization indicated that such LDHs had a large surface area (235 m2 g−1), which makes it a promising adsorbent material for CO2 capture in practical application. It can be found that the CO2 adsorption capacities of TU-LDHs, CC-LDHs and TUC-LDHs at 80°C were 0.30, 0.22 and 0.28 mmol g−1, respectively. The CO2 adsorption capacities of TU-LDHs, CC-LDHs and TUC-LDHs at 200°C were 0.33, 0.25 and 0.36 mmol g−1, respectively. The order of CO2 adsorption capacity to reach equilibrium at 80°C seen in Avrami model is: TU-LDHs > TUC-LDHs > CC-LDHs. The CO2 adsorption/desorption cycling test reveals that TU-LDHs and TUC-LDHs have good adsorption stability than CC-LDHs

The History and Outlook of Animal Drugs Treating Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, and Haze Episode-induced Respiratory Diseases

Animal drugs have been historically applied in Chinese remedies for more than two thousands. It was reported that Chinese medical animals consisting of 1,590 species took up 12.5% of the total number of all TCM resources. Those animal drugs such as, earthworm, gecko, periostracum cicadae, and scorpios, of commonly used in China, are very remarkable and traditional for the treatment of asthma or chronic bronchitis. This review presents research advance of animal drugs possessing significant implications for the development of novel anti-asthma or chronic bronchitis drugs. The experimental studies and clinical efficacies against asthma and chronic bronchitis of animal drugs were summarized herein. Moreover, the potential utilization of animal drugs on inhibiting haze/fog induced respiratory diseases was also discusse

Development of cost-effective PCM-carbon foam composites for thermal energy storage

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) has gained considerable interest for storing thermal energy originating from the solar irradiation, industrial waste heat and surplus heat. Here, we present the facile and scalable synthesis of PCM-carbon foam composites by using polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam derived carbon foam as porous support. The unique 3D molecular configuration of the carbon foam materials embedded the composites with high PCM loading capacity, excellent shape stabilization and thermal reliability and chemical stability. The carbon foams prepared by facile chemical activation method with high surface area up to 1968 m2/g exhibit high PCM loading capacity of up to 90.8 wt% and excellent energy storage capacity of up to 105.2 J/g. Advanced characterization demonstrated that the total pore volume of carbon foam governs the PCM loading capacity as well as the energy storage performance of the composites. This work provides a potential pathway to recycle PIR foams, which have been widely used in construction industry, by producing cost-effective PCM composites for thermal energy storage

Strategic Choices of China’s New Energy Vehicle Industry: An Analysis Based on ANP and SWOT

This goal of this paper is to provide a framework by which China should accelerate the development and production of new energy vehicles, which should effectively address current energy and environmental pressures, while promoting the sustainable development of the automotive industry, which is an urgent task. In addition, this paper provides guidelines that seek to transform China’s auto industry while developing a new economic growth point to gain an international competitive advantage with strategic initiatives. This study aims to provide an ANP-SWOT (Analytic Network Process and Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat analysis) approach for an interdependency analysis and to prioritize the new energy automobile industry in China. Firstly, a SWOT model is used to analyze the internal and external factors surrounding the development of the new energy automobile industry in China. Secondly, four types of development strategies are proposed by means of the SWOT matrix according to the conclusions of the factor analysis. Finally, the ANP network structure is designed to measure the effects of influential sub-factors, and then to define a strategic plan for China’s new energy automobile industry. The results of this study show that the optimal short-term development strategy for China’s new energy automotive industry is to increase the construction of new energy vehicle-related facilities, while the best long-term development strategy is to use local advantages and resources, through cost control measures which increase competition within the local new energy automotive industry

Microwave-based preparation and characterization of Fe-cored carbon nanocapsules with novel stability and super electromagnetic wave absorption performance

Microwave-metal discharge was proposed as a facile methodology to prepare unique Fe-cored carbon nanocapsules (Fe@CNCs) with high purity, novel stability and extraordinary electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance. The effect of microwave power, irradiation time and cyclohexane/ferrocene ratio on the production of Fe@CNCs was examined and the properties of the nanocapsules, such as their Fe content, phase, yield, degree of graphitization and associated microstructures were investigated in detail. It was found that the prepared Fe@CNCs, which can easily be separated from the reaction system, displayed exceedingly high electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance over the 2–18 GHz range. At the minimal reflection loss (RL) values over −10 dB, the EMW absorption bandwidth can reach up to 13.8 GHz with an absorber thickness of 1.5–5 mm. In addition, novel thermo-oxidative stability and super anti-corrosion property were also obtained for the Fe@CNCs as no signs of any corrosion or oxidative degradation loss were observed from the accelerated degradation tests in air and acid at temperatures up to 420 °C. The exceedingly high EMW absorption performance coupled with the superior anti-degradation and anti-corrosion properties of the prepared nanocomposite microcapsules highlights the novel capability of microwave-metal discharge in synthesizing advanced metal-cored nanocarbon microcapsules with promising application potentials in diverse fields, such as but not limited to microwave absorption, EM shielding and advanced separations etc