Three-Dimensional Self-Standing and Conductive MnCO3@Graphene/CNT Networks for Flexible Asymmetric Supercapacitors

The practical applications of flexible supercapacitor depend strongly on the successful fabrication of advanced electrode materials with high electrochemical performance. Herein, three-dimensional conductive network-based self-standing MnCO3@graphene/CNT hybrid film fabricated through a combination of a hydrothermal method and vacuum filtration for flexible solid-state supercapacitors is reported. The MnCO3@graphene structure is embedded in a CNT network, in which monodispersed MnCO3 nanorod is well confined in graphene nanosheets. This hierarchical structure provides rapid electron/electrolyte ion transport pathways and exhibits excellent structural stability, resulting in rapid kinetics and a long life cycle. The MnCO3@graphene/CNT electrode delivers high specific capacity (467.2 F g–1 at 1 A g–1). Asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) devices are assembled with the MnCO3@graphene/CNT film as positive electrode and activated carbon/carbon cloth as negative electrode, which exhibits a high energy density of 27 W h kg–1. Remarkably, 93% capacitance retention is obtained for the ASC devices after 6000 cycles

A novel mutation outside homeodomain of HOXD13 causes synpolydactyly in a Chinese family

AbstractIntroductionHuman synpolydactyly (SPD), belonging to syndactyly (SD) II, is caused by mutations in homeobox d13 (HOXD13). Here, we describe the study of a two-generation Chinese family with a variant form of synpolydactyly.Materials and methodsThe sequence of the HOXD13 gene was analyzed. Luciferase assays were conducted to determine whether the mutation affected the function of the HOXD13 protein.ResultsWe identified a novel c.659G>C (p.Gly220Ala) mutation outside the HOXD13 homeodomain responsible for the disease in this family. This mutation was not found in any of the unaffected family members and healthy control. Luciferase assays demonstrated that this mutation affected the transcriptional activation ability of HOXD13 (only approximately 84.7% of wild type, p<0.05).ConclusionPhenotypes displayed by individuals carrying the novel mutation present additional features, such as the fifth finger clinodactyly, which is not always associated with canonical SPD. This finding enhances our understanding about the phenotypic spectrum associated with HOXD13 mutations and advances our understanding of human limb development

Grinding Performance of Laser Cladding WC/Fe Coatings by Different Adding Methods of WC Particles

Laser cladding coatings generally need a follow-up grinding process to acquire the desired dimensional accuracy and surface roughness. In this paper, grinding experimental studies were set up to investigate the grinding performance of iron-based matrix composite coatings (WC/Fe with in situ and ex situ WC particles), using two types of grinding wheels. The influence of grinding parameters such as the cut depth, wheel speed and type of grinding wheel on grinding forces, force ratio, specific energy, surface roughness and the surface appearance of the two coatings was studied. The forming mechanism of the subsurface damages on the two ground coatings was discussed. Experimental results revealed that there were obvious differences between the two coatings in grinding forces, surface roughness and morphology, especially in the subsurface damages. These were attributed to their difference in size and the distribution of the WC particles, as well as their different mechanical properties

Internal fixation of acetabular fractures in an older population using the lateral-rectus approach: short-term outcomes of a retrospective study

Abstract Purpose This study aims to examine the clinical efficacy and surgical techniques of the lateral-rectus approach for treatment of acetabular factures in elderly patients. Methods After appropriate exclusion, 65 elderly patients with an acetabular fracture who was treated through the lateral-rectus approach from January 2011 and October 2016 were selected retrospectively. By analyzing the medical records retrospectively, the patients’ characteristics, fracture type, mechanism of injury, comorbid conditions, ASA class, operative time, intra-operative blood loss, and post-operative complications were assessed. Clinical examination radiographs have been taken, align with the Matta evaluation system. Functional outcomes were evaluated using surveys including SF-36, Harris hip score, and modified Merle D’Aubigne-Postel. Results All 65 patients had undergone the single lateral-rectus approach successfully. Surgery duration was 101.23 min on average (45–210), and intra-operative bleeding was 798.46 ml on average (250–1800). According to the Matta radiological evaluation, the quality of reduction evaluated 1 week after surgery was rated as “anatomical” in 41 (63.1%) cases, “imperfect” in 12 (18.5%) cases, and “poor” in 12 (18.5%) cases. The modified Merle D’Aubigne-Postel score performed 18 months after surgery was categorized as excellent in 40 (61.5%) cases, good in 10 (15.4%) cases, and fair in 15 (23.1%) cases. The mean Harris Hip score was similar as present researches, being 87.18. The mean SF-36 score was 69.12 which was considered as normal for the group age 60 and older. Several complications were found, including screw loosening in 10 cases, fat liquefaction of incision in 2 cases, deep vein thrombosis in 2 cases, and temporary weakness of hip adductors in 5 cases. None of the patients had heterotopic ossification. Conclusions The lateral-rectus approach is a valuable alternative to the ilioinguinal and modified Stoppa approach, being the treatment of acetabular fractures in elderly patients

Ship Recognition from Chaff Clouds with Sophisticated Polarimetric Decomposition

Ship recognition from chaff cloud jamming is challenging since they have similar dimensions and radar cross sections. In this paper, a polarimetric recognition technique with sophisticated polarimetric decomposition is proposed. To this end, a seven-component model-based decomposition is first put forward by integrating three sophisticated scattering models, thus the dominant and local scattering of ships can be characterized accurately. According to the derived scattering contributions, a robust discrimination feature is then designed based on the concept of contrast and suppression. Coupled with the average scattering angle estimated from eigen-based decomposition, the constructed feature vector is inputted into the support vector machine and the recognition is finally fulfilled. The proposed method is tested on simulated and real polarimetric radar data and the results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves the highest recognition rate of over 98%, which outperforms the state-of-the-art methods

Oils extracted from Eupatorium adenophorum leaves show potential to control Phythium myriotylum in commercially-grown ginger.

Oils extracted from the leaves of Eupatorium adenophorum were tested in vitro and in vivo against the soilborne pathogen Pythium myriotylum which causes soft rot, a devastating disease of commercial ginger production in China. Twelve compounds accounting for 99.15% of the total oil composition were identified by GC-MS. The major components were 10Hβ-9-oxo-agerophorone (37.03%), 10Hα-9-oxo-agerophorone (37.73%) and 9-oxo-10, 11-dehydro-agerophorone (23.41%). Antifungal activity was tested by the poisoned food technique against P. myriotylum, indicating minimum inhibitory concentrations of 100μg/ml after 7 days incubation. In addition, the oil extracts greatly inhibited the formation of both wet and dry mycelial biomass. The combination of E. adenophorum oil extracts and synthetic fungicides showed a strong synergistic effect, inhibiting the mycelial growth in in vitro assays. The synergistic effect of oil extracts with fungicides could allow fungicides to be used at reduced rates in the future which has environmental advantages. Oil extracts applied at 160 and 200μg/ml concentrations to ginger rhizomes before inoculation with P. myriotylum significantly reduced the infection rate in ginger. Examination by light and transmission electron microscopy revealed that oil extracts caused swelling of the hyphae, disruption of the cell wall, degradation of the cytoplasmic organelles and shortening of the cytoplasmic inclusion. These results suggested that the plasma membrane and endomembrane systems of P. myriotylum were severely damaged by the oil extracts of E. adenophorum which offer significant potential for use as a fungicide to control P. myriotylum

Controlled-release neurotensin-loaded silk fibroin dressings improve wound healing in diabetic rat model

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), which may lead to lower extremity amputation, is one of the severe and chronic complications of diabetic mellitus. This study aims to develop, and use dressings based on Silk fibroin (SF) as the scaffold material, gelatin microspheres (GMs) as the carrier for the neurotensin (NT), a neuropeptide that acts as an inflammatory modulator in wound healing and NT as accelerate wound healing drug to treat DFU. We evaluated the wound healing processes and neo-tissue formation in rat diabetic model by macroscopic observation, histological observation (H&E staining and Masson's trichrome staining) and immunofluorescence analysis at 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 post-operation days. Our results show that the NT/GMs/SF group performance the best not only in macroscopic healing and less scars in 28 post-operation days, but also in fibroblast accumulation in tissue granulation, collagen expression and deposition at the wound site. From release profiles, we can know the GMs are a good carrier for control release drugs. The SEM results shows that the NT/GMs/SF dressings have an average pore size are 40–80 μm and a porosity of ∼85%, this pore size is suit for wound healing regeneration. These results suggest that the NT/GMs/SF dressings may work as an effective support for control release NT to promote DFU wound healing. Keywords: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), Silk fibroin (SF), Gelatin microspheres (GMs), Neurotensin (NT), Rat diabetic mode

Effects of Biochar Amendment on Chloropicrin Adsorption and Degradation in Soil

The characteristics of biochar vary with pyrolysis temperature. Chloropicrin (CP) is an effective fumigant for controlling soil-borne pests. This study investigated the characteristics of biochars prepared at 300, 500, and 700 °C by michelia alba (Magnolia denudata) wood and evaluated their capacity to adsorb CP. The study also determined the potential influence of biochar, which was added to sterilized and unsterilized soils at rates of 0%, 1%, 5%, and 100%, on CP degradation. The specific surface area, pore volume, and micropores increased considerably with an increase in the pyrolytic temperature. The adsorption rate of biochar for CP increased with increasing pyrolytic temperature. The maximum adsorption amounts of CP were similar for the three biochars. Next, the study examined the degradation ability of the biochar for CP. The degradation rate constant (k) of CP increased when biochar was added to the soil, and k increased with increased amendment rate and pyrolysis temperature. The results indicate that biochar can accelerate CP degradation in soil. The findings will be instructive in using biochar as a new fertilizer in fumigating soil with CP