Bis­{μ-3,3′-(1,3,4-thia­diazole-2,5-diyl­dithio)bis­[penta­ne­dionato(1−)]}bis­[diaqua­nickel(II)] dimethyl­formamide disolvate trihydrate

The title compound, [Ni2(C12H12N2O4S3)(H2O)4]·2C3H7NO·3H2O, is made up of a centrosymmetric, bimetallic complex containing a 24-membered macrocyclic ring, two dimethyl­formamide and three water solvent mol­ecules. The Ni atom adopts a slightly distorted NiO6 octahedral geometry arising from two O,O-bidentate ligands and two water molecules. There are inter­molecular O—H⋯O and O—H⋯N inter­actions in the crystal structure. One of the uncoordinated water molecules is diordered over two sets of sites of equal occupancy

An explanation of capital structure of China\u27s listed property firms

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the capital structure of listed property firms in China.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on quantitative methods such as dynamic panel data models and a panel data set containing financial and accounting data for all listed property companies from 2006 to 2010 in China.Findings– The findings confirm that the state-own shares, the fixed asset values, the total size of assets and profitability have a positive and significant impact on the leverage ratio of listed property firms in China. The negative impact of the tax shields and the currency ratio, and significant impact of state-own shares on capital structure cannot be explained by existing capital structure theory but the unique property market regulation environment and market conditions in China.Research limitations/implications– The findings confirm the applicability of trade-off theory (except for the correlation between leverage and the tax shield) on property companies in China. They also highlight the importance of government policies and special market conditions in explaining the financing behaviour of property companies in transaction countries like China.Practical implications– Complimentary policies should be established along with property market restriction policies to offset their unequal negative effect on property companies with less state-owned shares. Furthermore, government should invest efforts to eliminate the discrimination credit treatment of banks against property companies with non-existent or few state-owned shares.Originality/value– The special financial behaviour of China\u27s property firms and the unique financial and property market conditions highlight the necessity of researching the capital structure of listed property firms in China. However, most of the existing literature focuses on the company financial behaviour in developed countries, and very few studies have been done concerning property firms’ financing behaviour in emerging economies such as China, and this research prospects to fill this blank

Free Space Optical Communication for Inter-Satellite Link: Architecture, Potentials and Trends

The sixth-generation (6G) network is expected to achieve global coverage based on the space-air-ground integrated network, and the latest satellite network will play an important role in it. The introduction of inter-satellite links (ISLs) can significantly improve the throughput of the satellite network, and recently gets lots of attention from both academia and industry. In this paper, we illustrate the advantages of using the laser for ISLs due to its longer communication distance, higher data speed, and stronger security. Specifically, space-borne laser terminals with the acquisition, pointing and tracking mechanism which realize long-distance communication are illustrated, advanced modulation and multiplexing modes that make high communication rates possible are introduced, and the security of ISLs ensured by the characteristics of both laser and the optical channel is also analyzed. Moreover, some open issues such as advanced optical beam steering, routing and scheduling algorithm, and integrated sensing and communication are discussed to direct future research

Expanding CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Capacity in Zebrafish Using SaCas9.

The type II CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used widely for genome editing in zebrafish. However, the requirement for the 5'-NGG-3' protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) of Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpCas9) limits its targeting sequences. Here, we report that a Cas9 ortholog from Staphylococcus aureus (SaCas9), and its KKH variant, successfully induced targeted mutagenesis with high frequency in zebrafish. Confirming previous findings, the SpCas9 variant, VQR, can also induce targeted mutations in zebrafish. Bioinformatics analysis of these new Cas targets suggests that the number of available target sites in the zebrafish genome can be greatly expanded. Collectively, the expanded target repertoire of Cas9 in zebrafish should further facilitate the utility of this organism for genetic studies of vertebrate biology

Proprioceptive Learning with Soft Polyhedral Networks

Proprioception is the "sixth sense" that detects limb postures with motor neurons. It requires a natural integration between the musculoskeletal systems and sensory receptors, which is challenging among modern robots that aim for lightweight, adaptive, and sensitive designs at a low cost. Here, we present the Soft Polyhedral Network with an embedded vision for physical interactions, capable of adaptive kinesthesia and viscoelastic proprioception by learning kinetic features. This design enables passive adaptations to omni-directional interactions, visually captured by a miniature high-speed motion tracking system embedded inside for proprioceptive learning. The results show that the soft network can infer real-time 6D forces and torques with accuracies of 0.25/0.24/0.35 N and 0.025/0.034/0.006 Nm in dynamic interactions. We also incorporate viscoelasticity in proprioception during static adaptation by adding a creep and relaxation modifier to refine the predicted results. The proposed soft network combines simplicity in design, omni-adaptation, and proprioceptive sensing with high accuracy, making it a versatile solution for robotics at a low cost with more than 1 million use cycles for tasks such as sensitive and competitive grasping, and touch-based geometry reconstruction. This study offers new insights into vision-based proprioception for soft robots in adaptive grasping, soft manipulation, and human-robot interaction.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, submitted to the International Journal of Robotics Research for revie

Enhancement of polar phases in PVDF by forming PVDF/SiC nanowire composite

Different contents of silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires were mixed with Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to facilitate the polar phase crystallization. It was shown that the annealing temperature and SiC content affected on the phase and crystalline structures of PVDF/SiC samples. Furthermore, the addition of SiC nanowire enhanced the transformation of non-polar α phase to polar phases and increased the relative fraction of β phase in PVDF. Due to the nucleating agent mechanism of SiC nanowires, the ion-dipole interaction between the negatively charged surface of SiC nanowires and the positive CH2 groups in PVDF facilitated the formation of polar phases in PVDF

Research Progress on the Injury Mechanism and the Protective Effect of Blood-Brain Barrier

The Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) is important structure to maintaining the stabilization of central nervous system. It is composed of endothelial cell and tight junction, the basal lamina, astrocytic endfeet. BBB’s injuries is a important symbol when central nervous system generate lesion in cerebral ischemical reperfusion injury (CIRI), its’ the injury mechanism including that matrix metalloproteinases’ activity raise induce that basal lamina and extracellular matrix degradation, the augmentation of Aquaporin-4’s expression cause vasogenic edema, destruction of tight junction and decrease of related protein expression lead to raise of BBB permeability, the adhesion molecules and cytokines stimulate the inflammatory reaction, a lot of free radicals production and nitric oxide toxicity can pose the damage of endothelial cells and basal lamina. BBB’s protection mainly by reducing the change of BBB’s morphological structure; decreasing BBB’s permeability; reducing the harmful substances go into BBB; maintaining stabilize of central nervous system’s internal environment. Now the mechanism was constantly expounded that BBB’s injury, adjustment and repair, more and more medicines will be applied to the prevention and treatment of the BBB. In this paper, we will review about research progress on the injury mechanism of BBB and the protective effect of it

Effects of Chloride ions on Carbonation Rate of Hardened Cement Paste by X-ray CT Techniques

Corrosion of steel bars in concrete structures is initiated as a result of concrete carbonation and/or chloride intrusion, and influenced by their interaction. This paper presents an experimental investigation into the effect of chloride ions on carbonation of cement paste by means of X-ray CT techniques and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP), which is benchmarked by the conventional phenolphthalein method. A group of the cement paste cylinders with different amounts of chlorides ions were manufactured and cured before they were subjected to an accelerated carbonation process in a conditional cabinet regime for different ages. The carbonation front of the cement paste was first evaluated using phenolphthalein method. This was followed by an investigation of microstructure evolution of the cement paste using XCT and MIP techniques. The experimental results show that the carbonation of a cement paste increases with its water to cement ratio and with carbonation ages, but decrease with its amount of chloride ions. In particular, it has been found that increases of chloride ion of a cement paste refine its porous structures, decrease its porosity and eventually mitigate its carbonation rate. The relevant results can be referred to for durability design and prediction of reinforced concrete structures