High-throughput Sequencing Analysis of Diversity and Spatial Heterogeneity of Fungal Community in Pit Muds of Different Ages for Baijiu Production

The fungal community structure, the relationship between fungal flora and physicochemical factors, and the prediction of fungal function in pit muds from different spatial positions of 10- and 50-year-old cellars at Jinhui liquor Co. Ltd. were studied by using Illumina NovaSeq high-throughput sequencing, redundancy analysis and Fungi Functional Guild (FUNGuild). The results showed that the fungal diversity and richness of the 10-year-old pit mud decreased with increasing depth; the fungal diversity of the 50-year-old pit mud showed an overall increasing trend, while the fungal richness initially decrease and then increased. Moreover, for the 10-year-old pit, the fungal diversity and richness of the upper layer of the pit wall were significantly higher than those of the other positions (P < 0.05), while for the 50-year-old cellar, the fungal diversity and richness of the bottom layer were significantly higher than those of the other locations (P < 0.05). The fungal diversity and richness were significantly higher in the wall of the 10-year-old cellar than the 50-year-old cellar (P < 0.05), but were significantly higher in the bottom of the 50-year-old cellar than the 10-year-old cellar (P < 0.05). A total of 21 fungal phyla and 520 genera were detected in all pit mud samples, the relative abundance of four dominant phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota and Rozellomycota) and most dominant genera such as Aspergillus and Kazachstania showed significant changes among pit ages and spatial locations (P < 0.05). Fusarium, Aspergillus, Saccharomyces and Monascus were positively correlated with the contents of water, humus, K+ and Ca2+, while Cladosporium and Vishniacozyma were positively correlated with pH. Seven nutritional modes of fungi were observed, mainly including saprophytic and pathological-saprophytic-symbiotic nutritional modes, and four single and seven mixed functional groups were determined. This study provides a theoretical basis for clarifying the structure and spatial distribution of fungal community in Jinhui Baijiu pit mud

Mouse Organ-Specific Proteins and Functions

Organ-specific proteins (OSPs) possess great medical potential both in clinics and in biomedical research. Applications of them—such as alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and troponins—in clinics have raised certain concerns of their organ specificity. The dynamics and diversity of protein expression in heterogeneous human populations are well known, yet their effects on OSPs are less addressed. Here, we used mice as a model and implemented a breadth study to examine the panorgan proteome for potential variations in organ specificity in different genetic backgrounds. Using reasonable resources, we generated panorgan proteomes of four in-bred mouse strains. The results revealed a large diversity that was more profound among OSPs than among proteomes overall. We defined a robustness score to quantify such variation and derived three sets of OSPs with different stringencies. In the meantime, we found that the enriched biological functions of OSPs are also organ-specific and are sensitive and useful to assess the quality of OSPs. We hope our breadth study can open doors to explore the molecular diversity and dynamics of organ specificity at the protein level.&nbsp

Capacity Fade Analysis of Sulfur Cathodes in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are receiving ever‐increasing attention due to their high theoretical energy density and inexpensive raw sulfur materials. However, their rapid capacity fade has been one of the key barriers for their further improvement. It is well accepted that the major degradation mechanisms of S‐cathodes include low electrical conductivity of S and sulfides, precipitation of nonconductive Li(2)S(2) and Li(2)S, and poly‐shuttle effects. To determine these degradation factors, a comprehensive study of sulfur cathodes with different amounts of electrolytes is presented here. A survey of the fundamentals of Li–S chemistry with respect to capacity fade is first conducted; then, the parameters obtained through electrochemical performance and characterization are used to determine the key causes of capacity fade in Li–S batteries. It is confirmed that the formation and accumulation of nonconductive Li(2)S(2)/Li(2)S films on sulfur cathode surfaces are the major parameters contributing to the rapid capacity fade of Li–S batteries

Capacity Fade Analysis of Sulfur Cathodes in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are receiving ever-increasing attention due to their high theoretical energy density and inexpensive raw sulfur materials. However, their rapid capacity fade has been one of the key barriers for their further improvement. It is well accepted that the major degradation mechanisms of S-cathodes include low electrical conductivity of S and sulfides, precipitation of nonconductive Li2S2 and Li2S, and poly-shuttle effects. To determine these degradation factors, a comprehensive study of sulfur cathodes with different amounts of electrolytes is presented here. A survey of the fundamentals of Li–S chemistry with respect to capacity fade is first conducted; then, the parameters obtained through electrochemical performance and characterization are used to determine the key causes of capacity fade in Li–S batteries. It is confirmed that the formation and accumulation of nonconductive Li2S2/Li2S films on sulfur cathode surfaces are the major parameters contributing to the rapid capacity fade of Li–S batteries

Characteristics of Arctic Summer Inversion and Its Correlation with Extreme Sea Ice Anomalies

Low tropospheric temperature inversion is very common in the Arctic region. Based on the hyperspectral Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) profiles from 2002 to 2020, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics and anomalies for low tropospheric inversions in the entire Arctic, especially during the summer period. Three types of inversion are classified here, representing the inversions under the clear-sky condition (“clear” inversion), under the cloudy condition with clouds under the inversion layer top (“cloud-I” inversion), and without clouds under the inversion layer top (“cloud-II” inversion). Obvious seasonality is revealed in these three types of inversion, which is stronger in winter than in summer, as per previous studies. We further found that a “summer” peak of inversions occurs in the Arctic, notably in July. Averaged over the study region (60−90° N, 180° W−180° E), the frequencies of “cloud-I” and “cloud-II” inversions peak in July with values of about 22.1% and 34.6%, respectively. Moreover, the three inversion types all display a small “July” peak of inversion strength, ranging from 2.14 to 3.19 K. The result reveals that when the frequency and strength of summer inversions are both with high positive anomalies, there would be a drop in sea ice concentration in September. This implied that the high positive anomalies, both in inversion frequency and strength in summer, might be a predicted signal for the extreme low sea ice event in September. It is also noted that during the extreme low sea ice events in 2007 and 2020, the summer inversion has a strong positive anomaly. However, the summer inversion in 2012, when the sea ice extent also broke the low record, was not extreme as in 2007 and 2020. Further study needs to be supported by follow-up models and observations to evaluate the impact of the inversions on the sea ice

Stabilization of Potentially Sticky Substances in Pulp Mill Process Water with Polysaccharides

Characterization of the dissolved and colloidal substances (DCS) in the process water of a bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP) production line showed that the major lipophilic substances (wood resins) were dehydroabietic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. Model compound experiments indicated that polysaccharides contained in DCS had significant effects on the stability of the system. Effects of neutral and acidic polysaccharides on the stability of wood resins (model resin acid R and fatty acid O) in the presence of metal ions were then investigated. No calcium-induced aggregation occurred when the concentration ratio of added neutral polysaccharide to R and O exceeded 0.2 and 1.0, respectively. Acidic polysaccharide could further degrade the stability of resin dispersions in the presence of calcium ions and yet have a positive effect in the presence of only sodium ions

Experimental study on the outlet flow field and cooling performance of vane-shaped pre-swirl nozzles in gas turbine engines

The pre-swirl nozzles are a crucial part of gas turbine's cooling pre-swirl system, because they directly affect the cooling performance of the system and the life of the turbine blades. Vane-shaped pre-swirl nozzles, including cascade vane nozzles (VN) and vane-shaped hole nozzles (VSH) proposed in recent years, are reported to have higher system temperature drop potential. In this paper, the pre-swirl performance as well as the cooling effect of these two types of nozzles were studied and compared experimentally. A five-hole probe was used to measure the flow field at nozzle exits under the outlet conditions of Mach number 0.2 and 0.3, and the comparisons of global deviation angle and pre-swirl effectiveness were carried out. The variations of pre-swirl effectiveness (η) with aerodynamic parameters, such as pressure ratio and Reynolds number in the range of 3 × 104 to 8 × 105 were also obtained with the help from numerical simulations. The cooling performance of two nozzles were further tested by a system test rig with rotating parts downstream of the two nozzles. Total pressure and outlet flow angle at nozzle exit illustrate that VN have obvious boundary layer separation from the suction surface, and the secondary endwall flow loss is high due to their narrow flow passages. As a result, when Mach number is 0.2, the deviation angle for VN is about 3° and the pre-swirl effectiveness is only 0.77. Well-designed VSH have improved flow passages with appropriate height to pitch ratio and a smaller trailing edge, and they suppress boundary layer separation and secondary flow development. This contributes to a significantly lower deviation angle near 0°, and an increased pre-swirl effectiveness of 0.86. In addition, the pre-swirl effectiveness of these two vane shaped nozzles will first increase with Reynolds number and then tend to a constant at Reynolds number about 4 × 105 and beyond. The maximum effectiveness of VN is 0.85 and that of VSH is about 0.94 and is 10.6% higher. Meanwhile, the measured temperature drop effectiveness of the pre-swirl system with VSH reaches 0.49, achieving an 8.9% improvement over the system with VN at 0.45. These results are consistent with the theoretical linear relationship between system temperature drop and nozzle pre-swirl effectiveness. The investigations in this paper also conclude that the pre-swirl effectiveness of nozzles is a more accurate parameter in classifying the nozzle performance and system cooling effect than traditionally used discharge coefficient