Existence and multiplicity of Homoclinic solutions for the second order Hamiltonian systems

In this paper we study the existence and multiplicity of homoclinic solutions for the second order Hamiltonian system $\ddot{u}-L(t)u(t)+W_u(t,u)=0$, $\forall t\in\mathbb{R}$, by means of the minmax arguments in the critical point theory, where $L(t)$ is unnecessary uniformly positively definite for all $t\in \mathbb{R}$ and $W_u(t, u)$ sastisfies the asymptotically linear condition.Comment: published in International Mathematical Forum, Vol. 6, 2011, no. 4, 159 - 17

Infinitely many periodic solutions for second order Hamiltonian systems

In this paper, we study the existence of infinitely many periodic solutions for second order Hamiltonian systems $\ddot{u}+\nabla_u V(t,u)=0$, where $V(t, u)$ is either asymptotically quadratic or superquadratic as $|u|\to \infty$.Comment: to appear in JDE(doi:10.1016/j.jde.2011.05.021

Distribution, occurrence characteristics and geological origin of typical hazardous elements in low-medium ash coal of Huainan coalfield

With the continuous development, processing and utilization of coal resources in our province, the existence of typical harmful elements in coal is bound to have a negative impact on the efficient and clean utilization of coal resources. Based on the mass data analysis of typical hazardous elements in coal of Huainan coalfield, taking the main coal seams (No.13-1, No.11-2, No.8, No.6, No.4 and No.1) as the research objects, the occurrence characteristics and geological genesis of typical hazardous elements were comprehensively analyzed by the means of ICP-MS, AFS, stepwise chemical extraction and cluster analysis. The results were as follows: ① Typical hazardous elements Cr, Co, Se and Pb in coal of Huainan coalfield are “lightly enriched”, Hg is “highly enriched” and other elements are in “normal range”; ② The high value area of As element content in Huainan coalfield was mainly located in the west of coalfield; the high value region of Hg element was located in the east of coalfield, followed by the west; the remaining eight elements (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Cd, Sb and Pb) were all higher in coal of Panji mining area of Huainan coalfield (especially near Pansan coal mine). The late magmatic hydrothermal process in Panji-Zhuji region may be the main reason for the relative enrichment of hazardous elements such as Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Cd, Sb and Pb. ③ There were many ion-exchange States in the occurrence state of Hg, and the inorganic components brought by magmatic hydrothermal action may have little influence on the enrichment degree of Hg element. The magmatic hydrothermal intrusion in the late diagenesis period had no obvious influence on As, and the low content of As in coal may be related to the low content of As in coal-forming plants

Contemporary survival and anticoagulation of patients with atrial fibrillation: A community based cohort study in China

BackgroundsThe understanding of death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in China is limited. This study aimed to assess the contemporary survival of AF patients in China and to explore risk factors for deaths.MethodsThis was a prospective community-based cohort study including 559 AF patients, who were followed-up from July 2015 to December 2020.ResultsDuring 66-month follow-up, there were 200 deaths (56.5% cardiovascular, 40.0% non-cardiovascular, and 3.5% unknown causes) among 559 AF patients with the median age of 76 years. The top three causes of death were heart failure (33.0%), ischemic stroke (17.0%) and cancer (16.5%). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated baseline variables positively associated with all-cause death were age (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.08–1.13), AF subtype (HR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.08–1.73), prior myocardial infarction (HR: 3.40, 95% CI: 1.48–7.78), previous tumor (HR: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.37–4.98), hypoglycemic therapy at baseline (HR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.13–2.91), but body weight (HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97–1.00) and use of calcium channel blocker (CCB) (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41–0.95) played a protective role to all-cause death. Of patients who were alive at the end of follow-up, 24.0% were on oral anticoagulants (OAC) alone, 4.5% on dual antithrombotic therapy, 33.1% on antiplatelet agents alone and 38.4% weren't on any antithrombotic medication.ConclusionIschemic stroke still remains one of the leading causes of death and OAC is seriously underused in AF patients in China. Independent risk factors for death are age, AF subtype, previous tumor, prior myocardial infarction, hypoglycemic therapy, low body weight and no CCB use.Clinical Trial Registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn/ (ChiCTR-ICR-15007036)

Co‐evolutionary adaptations of Acinetobacter baumannii and a clinical carbapenemase‐encoding plasmid during carbapenem exposure

Abstract: OXA‐23 is the predominant carbapenemase in carbapenem‐resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. The co‐evolutionary dynamics of A. baumannii and OXA‐23‐encoding plasmids are poorly understood. Here, we transformed A. baumannii ATCC 17978 with pAZJ221, a blaOXA−23‐containing plasmid from clinical A. baumannii isolate A221, and subjected the transformant to experimental evolution in the presence of a sub‐inhibitory concentration of imipenem for nearly 400 generations. We used population sequencing to track genetic changes at six time points and evaluated phenotypic changes. Increased fitness of evolving populations, temporary duplication of blaOXA−23 in pAZJ221, interfering allele dynamics, and chromosomal locus‐level parallelism were observed. To characterize genotype‐to‐phenotype associations, we focused on six mutations in parallel targets predicted to affect small RNAs and a cyclic dimeric (3′ → 5′) GMP‐metabolizing protein. Six isogenic mutants with or without pAZJ221 were engineered to test for the effects of these mutations on fitness costs and plasmid kinetics, and the evolved plasmid containing two copies of blaOXA−23 was transferred to ancestral ATCC 17978. Five of the six mutations contributed to improved fitness in the presence of pAZJ221 under imipenem pressure, and all but one of them impaired plasmid conjugation ability. The duplication of blaOXA−23 increased host fitness under carbapenem pressure but imposed a burden on the host in antibiotic‐free media relative to the ancestral pAZJ221. Overall, our study provides a framework for the co‐evolution of A. baumannii and a clinical blaOXA−23‐containing plasmid in the presence of imipenem, involving early blaOXA−23 duplication followed by chromosomal adaptations that improved the fitness of plasmid‐carrying cells

The impact of cellulose nanocrystals on the aggregation and initial adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria

Deposition on silica surfaces of two Pseudomonas fluorescens strains (CHA0 and CHA19-WS) having different extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) producing capacities was studied in the absence and presence of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Batch (batch soaking) and continuous flow (quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation) methods were used to evaluate the impact of CNCs on bacterial initial adhesion. This study demonstrated that bacterial initial adhesion to solid surfaces can be significantly hindered by CNCs using both methods. In the presence of CNCs, it was observed that bacteria with more EPS aggregated more significantly compared to bacteria with less EPS, and that bacterial deposition under this condition decreased to a greater extent. The classic DLVO theory failed to predict bacterial adhesion behavior in this study. A detailed discussion is provided regarding potential antibacterial adhesion mechanisms of CNCs.</p

Molecular interactions of mussel protective coating protein, mcfp-1, from Mytilus californianus

Protective coating of the byssus of mussels (Mytilus sp.) has been suggested as a new paradigm of medical coating due to its high extensibility and hardness co-existence without their mutual detriment. The only known biomacromolecule in the extensible and tough coating on the byssus is mussel foot protein-1 (mfp-1), which is made up with positively charged residues (similar to 20 mol%) and lack of negatively charged residues. Here, adhesion and molecular interaction mechanisms of Mytilus californianus foot protein-1 (mcfp-1) from California blue mussel were investigated using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) in buffer solutions of different ionic concentrations (0.2-0.7 M) and pHs (3.0-5.5). Strong and reversible cohesion between opposed positively charged mcfp-1 films was measured in 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer with 0.1 M KNO3. Cohesion of mcfp-1 was gradually reduced with increasing the ionic strength, but was not changed with pH variations. Oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) residues of mcfp-1, a key residue for adhesive and coating proteins of mussel, didn&apos;t change the cohesion strength of mcfp-1 films, but the addition of chemicals with aromatic groups (i.e., aspirin and 4-methylcatechol) increased the cohesion. These results suggest that the cohesion of mcfp-1 films is mainly mediated by cation-it interactions between the positively charged residues and benzene rings of DOPA and other aromatic amino acids (similar to 20 mol% of total amino acids of mcfp-1), and pi-pi interactions between the phenyl groups in mcfp-1. The adhesion mechanism obtained for the mcfp-1 proteins provides important insight into the design and development of functional biomaterials and coatings mimicking the extensible and robust mussel cuticle coating. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.X1146Nsciescopu

Mapping the Barriers of Utilizing Public Private Partnership into Brownfield Remediation Projects in the Public Land Ownership

The financing issue is increasingly becoming a key problem for brownfield remediation in public land ownership, and Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode is considered a potentially effective solution. However, some barriers impede the utilization of the PPP mode into brownfield remediation projects in the situation of public land ownership. By taking China as an example, the study investigates the barriers when the PPP mode is used in brownfield remediation projects to deal with financing dilemmas. Specifically, 39 original barriers are first obtained from existing related literature. Based on these original barriers, a semi-structured questionnaire is designed and used in a Delphi process to achieve 14 final barriers, which can reflect the particular situation in China. To identify the interrelationship among these barriers, Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) is used to map the hierarchical structure of the final barriers, and the Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis is applied to show the relationship strengths of barriers. According to the results of the ISM and MICMAC analyses, three key barriers are determined, and several corresponding recommendations are provided from the perspective of the public administration