An evaluation based on the analytic hierarchy process and GGEbiplot on French fry potato genotypes in Yunnan, China

A total of 33 potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars and breeding clones imported from the United States and two local cultivars (Yunshu 401 and Cooperation 88, CK) were planted and evaluated. To determine their suitability for processing into French fries at five locations (e1-e5) in Yunnan Province, China, we developed a comprehensive evaluation system using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Eleven evaluation indicators for French fry quality, yield, and agronomic characteristics with a relative importance (weight coefficients) of 0.483, 0.301 and 0.216, respectively, were used to analyze the 35 potato genotypes (designated g1-g35).The genotypes were ranked and the results revealed that (1) on the average, the 33 potato genotypes imported from the United States showed a lower performance compared to the local cultivars. Compared with the CK, they were classified as not vigorous (Mean 5.11 vs CK 7.75), matured earlier (Mean 5.79 vs CK 1.70), and had a low resistance to late blight (Mean 3735.59 vs CK 1418.55), requiring the use of fungicides to control the disease at the five trial locations. (2) The US cultivar ‘Defender’ (g3) ranked in the top six at all five test locations because it had higher yield (29.56 t h m-2), better fry quality (4.64), higher dry matter content (20.41%), better tuber length/width ratio (1.99), longer tubers (13.57cm), stronger plant vigor (7.17) and higher resistance to late blight (AUDPC: 3134.2). (3) By using GGEbiplot analysis, superior genotypes with high and stable yields were g3 and ‘Echo Russet’ (g33). ‘Yunshu 401’ (g34) and ‘Yukon Gem’ (g4) had high but not stable yields. The ideal test environments and hence experimental locations were Luquan (LQ, e2) and Lijiang (LJ, e4) which resulted in the best discrimination between genotypes among the five experimental locations in Yunnan. Overall, the developed evaluation system based on AHP and GGEbiplot analysis including 11 evaluation indicators for French fry quality, yield and agricultural traits can be a model for evaluation and promotion of new French fry cultivars, and evaluating and selecting the test location

High-Frequency Position Servo Control of Hydraulic Actuator with Valve Dynamic Compensation

Hydraulic actuators play an important role in various industries. In the last decades, to improve system performance, some advanced control methods have been developed. Backstepping control, which can deal with the system nonlinearities, is widely used in hydraulic system motion control. This paper focuses on the high-frequency position servo control of hydraulic systems with proportional valves. In backstepping controllers, valve dynamics are usually ignored due to difficulty of controller implementation. In this paper, valve dynamics of the proportional valve were decoupled into phase delay and amplitude delay. The valve dynamics are compensated without increasing the system order. The phase delay is compensated by desired engine valve lifts transformation. For amplitude delay, the paper proposes a compensation strategy based on the integral flow error. By introducing the feedback of the integral flow error to the backstepping controller, the system has faster dynamic responses. Besides, the controller also synthesized proportional valve dead-zone and system uncertainties. The comparative experiment results show that the controller with integral flow compensation can improve engine valve lift tracking precision both in steady and transient conditions

High-Frequency Position Servo Control of Hydraulic Actuator with Valve Dynamic Compensation

Hydraulic actuators play an important role in various industries. In the last decades, to improve system performance, some advanced control methods have been developed. Backstepping control, which can deal with the system nonlinearities, is widely used in hydraulic system motion control. This paper focuses on the high-frequency position servo control of hydraulic systems with proportional valves. In backstepping controllers, valve dynamics are usually ignored due to difficulty of controller implementation. In this paper, valve dynamics of the proportional valve were decoupled into phase delay and amplitude delay. The valve dynamics are compensated without increasing the system order. The phase delay is compensated by desired engine valve lifts transformation. For amplitude delay, the paper proposes a compensation strategy based on the integral flow error. By introducing the feedback of the integral flow error to the backstepping controller, the system has faster dynamic responses. Besides, the controller also synthesized proportional valve dead-zone and system uncertainties. The comparative experiment results show that the controller with integral flow compensation can improve engine valve lift tracking precision both in steady and transient conditions

Progress on Preparation of pH/Temperature-Sensitive Intelligent Hydrogels and Applications in Target Transport and Controlled Release of Drugs

Hydrogels with three-dimensional network structure, hydrophilic, and insoluble in water which are ideal carrier materials for intelligent drug delivery systems. Intelligent hydrogel has become a research frontier and hotspot because of its intelligence, high efficiency, safety, and convenience in drug controlled and prolonged release. It has a broad application prospect in the medicine and biomedicine fields and can lead the medicine fields into a new era of “precise treatment.” Based on the latest research progress, the main preparation methods of hydrogel and the development of the drug delivery system are briefly introduced. The most promising three intelligent hydrogels in the human physiological environment, namely, pH responsiveness, temperature responsiveness, and pH/temperature dual responsiveness, are emphatically reviewed. Their release mechanisms, targeting transport, and controlled-prolonged release of drug are also discussed. In addition, some suggestions for the main problems and future development were given

Research on the implementation of the convention on biological diversity among the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the most extensive and populous comprehensive regional cooperation organization in the world, covering about half of the world's population, with not only a huge consumer market, but also rich natural resources and strong productivity. As one of the important platforms for the implementation of the Green Belt and Road Initiative, it is an important opportunity for the SCO to actively participate in global governance and contribute to building a community of global life. To investigate the status of biodiversity conservation in the SCO countries, we used literature analysis approach. We surveyed the performance and international cooperation status of the SCO countries in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), listed facing problems and threats to biodiversity conservation, including not optimistic biodiversity conservation project implementation status, contradiction between ecological protection and economic development, impacts of human activities, lack of funds and talents, etc., and analyzed the biodiversity protection needs of the SCO countries from the perspectives of project and policy implementation status and international cooperation. According to the cooperation between China and the other SCO countries on biodiversity conservation and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework goals, we gave some recommendations: (1) promoting access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing; (2) integrating multiple funds and innovating the implementation of funding mechanism; (3) developing talent training and exchange programs and deepening multilateral cooperation; (4) strengthening cross-border cooperation and improving cooperation network; and (5) establishing a coordination mechanism for biodiversity conservation within the framework of the SCO

Device-associated infection rates in 398 intensive care units in Shanghai, China: International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) findings

Objectives: To determine device-associated healthcare-associated infection (DA-HAI) rates and the microorganism profile in 398 intensive care units (ICUs) of 70 hospitals in Shanghai, China. Methods: An open-label, prospective, cohort, active DA-HAI surveillance study was conducted on patients admitted to 398 tertiary-care ICUs in China from September 2004 to December 2009, implementing the methodology developed by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC). The data were collected in the participating ICUs, and uploaded and analyzed at the INICC headquarters on proprietary software. DA-HAI rates were registered by applying the definitions of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). We analyzed the rates of DAI-HAI, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and their microorganism profiles. Results: During the 5 years and 4 months of the study, 391 527 patients hospitalized in an ICU for an aggregate of 3 245 244 days, acquired 20 866 DA-HAIs, an overall rate of 5.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.3-5.4) and 6.4 (95% CI 6.3-6.5) infections per 1000 ICU-days. VAP posed the greatest risk (20.8 per 1000 ventilator-days, 95% CI 20.4-21.1), followed by CAUTI (6.4 per 1000 catheter-days, 95% CI 6.3-6.6) and CLABSI (3.1 per 1000 catheter-days, 95% CI 3.0-3.2). The most common isolated microorganism was Acinetobacter baumannii (19.1%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (11.9%), and Staphylococcus aureus (11.9%). Conclusions: DA-HAIs in the ICUs of Shanghai pose a far greater threat to patient safety than in ICUs in the USA. This is particularly the case for the VAP rate, which is much higher than the rates found in developed countries. Active infection control programs that carry out infection surveillance and implement prevention guidelines can improve patient safety and must become a priority. (C) 2011 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Comparison of bovine serum albumin glycation by ribose and fructose in vitro and in vivo

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) play a critical pathogenic role in the development of diabetic complications. Recent studies have shown that diabetes is associated with not only abnormal glucose metabolism but also abnormal ribose and fructose metabolism, although glucose is present at the highest concentration in humans. The glycation ability and contribution of ribose and fructose to diabetic complications remain unclear. Here, the glycation ability of ribose, fructose and glucose under a mimic physiological condition, in which the concentration of ribose or fructose was one-fiftieth that of glucose, was compared. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as the working protein in our experiments. Ribose generated more AGEs and was markedly more cytotoxic to SH-SY5Y cells than fructose. The first-order rate constant of ribose glycation was found to be significantly greater than that of fructose glycation. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed 41 ribose-glycated Lys residues and 12 fructose-glycated residues. Except for the shared Lys residues, ribose reacted selectively with 17 Lys, while no selective Lys was found in fructose-glycated BSA. Protein conformational changes suggested that ribose glycation may induce BSA into amyloid-like monomers compared with fructose glycation. The levels of serum ribose were correlated positively with glycated serum protein (GSP) and diabetic duration in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), respectively. These results indicate that ribose has a greater glycation ability than fructose, while ribose largely contributes to the production of AGEs and provides a new insight to understand in the occurrence and development of diabetes complications.</p