Research Progress on the Modification Methods of Clay Minerals

Clay minerals are widely distributed in nature, and their applications have been rapidly developed in the last decade or so due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Since the most researched is the modification of clay minerals, this paper introduces the types of clay, basic structural characteristics and common modification methods. The methods of modified clay include high-temperature excitation and acid-base excitation methods to stimulate the activity of clay minerals, as well as interlayer ion exchange modification methods, clay surface grafting techniques such as sol-gel method, surface hydroxyl grafting modification and other methods, and also introduces the intercalation methods, including solution intercalation method, In situ polymerization intercalation method, etc. The applications and developments of clay minerals are summarized, from traditional industrial applications to environmental protection and high-tech nanomaterials, mainly in the automotive industry, environment-friendly materials and catalysts

Temporal attention affects contrast response function by response gain

Orienting attention to a specific point in time has been shown to improve the contrast sensitivity at the attended time point and impair it earlier or later. This phenomenon could be explained by temporal attention increasing the effective contrast of the target presented at the attended time point which leads to changes in contrast psychometric function by contrast gain. Another explanation is that temporal attention multiplicatively amplifies the amplitude of behavioral or neural response to contrast, resulting in alterations in contrast psychometric function by response gain. To explore the underlying mechanism, we adopted a temporal cueing orientation discrimination task using audio pre-cues composed of different frequency components to induce different attentional allocations in the time domain and targets of various contrast intensities to measure contrast psychometric functions. Obtained psychometric functions for contrast sensitivity were fitted for different conditions with discrepant attentional states in time. We found that temporal attention manipulated by cue affected contrast psychometric function by response gain, indicating that multiplying the contrast response of the visual target occurring at the selected point in time by a fixed factor is a crucial way for temporal attention to modulate perceptual processing

Uterine perivascular epithelioid tumors (PEComas) with lung metastasis showed good responses to mTOR and VEGFR inhibitors: A case report

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are extremely rare mesenchymal neoplasms for which the uterus is the most common site. The prognosis of malignant PEComa is poor as it is characterized by resistance to classical chemotherapies. Both mTOR inhibitors and VEGFR inhibitors exhibited clinical utility in treating malignant PEComas, but the combination of these two regimens has rarely been reported. In the present case, a uterine PEComa patient developed lung and bone metastases after the failure of chemotherapies and derived benefit from the combination regimen of an mTOR inhibitor (everolimus) and a VEGFR inhibitor (apatinib), achieving a 15-month progression-free survival. Targeted NGS revealed TP53 and TSC2 mutations in the patient’s primary uterine tumors and plasma ctDNA at disease progression. Plasma ctDNA clearance was consistent with a radiologic partial response determined by RECIST 1.1 and a reduction of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) levels. Thus, we provided clinical evidence supporting the administration of combined therapy of mTOR and VEGFR inhibitors to metastatic uterine PEComa patients and highlighted the application of serial plasma ctDNA profiling for dynamic disease monitoring

Cobalt Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube as Bifunctional-Catalyst for Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries

Developing economic and efficient non-noble-metal electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is vitally important to improve the performance and economic outlook of alkaline-based rechargeable Zn-air battery technologies. In this work, a nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube encapsulated with metallic cobalt nanoparticles (Co@NC) was synthesized through a facile method and subsequent pyrolysis treatment. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectra investigations demonstrate that the presence of Co induces the formation of carbon nanotube during the pyrolysis process and increase degree of graphitization of carbon nanotubes. The electrode activity is assessed by comparing OER with ORR indicators (ΔE). The ΔE value of Co@NC is 0.91 V, which is lower than the commercialized Pt/C (1.1 V) and nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) (1.17 V). The Co@NC-based primary Zn-air battery display an open circuit potential of 1.4 V, a high power density of 137 mW·cm−2, and outstanding energy density (708.3 mAh·kgZn-1 and 868.9 Wh kgZn-1 at 10 mA·cm−2), which batter than the commercialized Pt/C

Spatial Distribution Pattern and Sampling Plans for Two Sympatric <i>Tomicus</i> Species Infesting <i>Pinus yunnanensis</i> during the Shoot-Feeding Phase

Tomicus minor (Hartig) and Tomicus yunnanensis Kirkendall and Faccoli are two sympatric species that infest Pinus yunnanensis (Franchet) in southwest China, contributing to growth losses. Accurate sampling plans are needed to make informed control decisions for these species. We investigated three pine forests within experimental sites in Yuxi, Yunnan province, China from 2016 to 2018. The spatial distribution patterns of two pine shoot beetles during the shoot-feeding phase were determined using Taylor’s power law. The optimum sample sizes and stop lines for precision levels of 0.25 and 0.10 were calculated. The model was validated using an additional 15 and 17 independent field datasets ranging in density from 0.06 to 1.90 beetles per tree. T. minor and T. yunnanensis adults showed aggregated spatial distributions. For T. minor, sample sizes of 41 and 259 trees were adequate for a D of 0.25 and 0.10, respectively, while for T. yunnanensis, a mean density of one individual per tree required sample sizes of 33 plants (D = 0.25) and 208 plants (D = 0.10). The software simulations of this sampling plan showed precision levels close to the desired levels. At a fixed-precision level of 0.25, sampling is easily achievable. This sampling program is useful for the integrated pest management (IPM) of two sympatric Tomicus species

Dynamic Doppler Characteristics of Maritime Airborne Corner Reflector

The maritime airborne corner reflector (ACR) is a radar reflector that can measure wind speed in an unknown sea area in real time over a long distance. To improve our understanding of how the ACR works, we investigated the Doppler characteristics of the ACR for the first time from a dynamic perspective. First, we constructed a radar echo signal model of the ACR. Then, we obtained the dynamic Doppler characteristics through pulse Doppler processing and discussed the special phenomenon of Doppler broadening. Finally, we proposed a rectangular window decomposition method to analyze the inner principle of the Doppler broadening phenomenon in more detail. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the Doppler characterization of an ACR from a dynamic viewpoint, which contributes to enriching the basic theory of this equipment

Initial Location Preference Together with Aggregation Pheromones Regulate the Attack Pattern of <i>Tomicus brevipilosus</i> (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on <i>Pinus kesiya</i>

Research Highlights: We found that the initial attack location together with the aggregation pheromones played an important role in mediating the aggressive behavior of T. brevipilosus on P. kesiya. Background and Objectives: T. brevipilosus was identified as an aggressive species, which possesses the ability to kill live, healthy P. kesiya. In this scenario, we study the top-down attack pattern of T. brevipilosus on P. kesiya during the entirety of the reproductive period. Materials and Methods: We investigated the phenology of trunk attack on P. kesiya over a period of three years in Pu&#8217;er City, China. The hindguts extracts of the females and males T. brevipilosus were analyzed by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The candidate aggregation pheromone compounds of T. brevipilosus were determined through electrophysiology experiments (electroantennographic detection, EAD and electroantennography, EAG), laboratory olfactometer bioassays, and field trapping. Results: we found that the pioneer beetles preferentially infested the crown of P. kesiya at the early stage of attack following spring flight with the later arriving beetles selectively attacking the lower area of the trunk to avoid intraspecific competition and better utilize limited resources, which exhibits a top-down attack pattern. During gallery initiation, the beetles release aggregation pheromones to attract conspecifics to conduct a mass attack. The chemical analyses indicated that the hindgut extracts of gallery-initiating beetles contained a larger amount of myrtenol, cis-verbenol, trans-verbenol, and verbenone. Myrtenol and trans-verbenol were identified as candidate aggregation pheromone compounds. In addition, a blend of these two components with S-(&#8722;)-&#945;-pinene and S-(&#8722;)-&#946;-pinene attracted more T. brevipilosus individuals in a field bioassay. Conclusions: We concluded that the preference for the initial attack location together with the aggregation pheromones played an important role in mediating the top-down attack pattern of T. brevipilosus on P. kesiya