Chemical Composition, Fiber Morphology, and Pulping of P. Bolleana Lauche

The chemical composition and fiber morphology of the P. bolleana Lauche was assessed for its suitability for pulping and papermaking. The P. bolleana Lauche used in this study contained a low amount of lignin, but higher quantities of cellulose and hemicelluloses. It was found that morphological indices of P. bolleana Lauche were adequate for pulping and papermaking. The pulping of this wood was carried out using conventional kraft and soda pulping process under varying conditions. The results indicated that at higher sulfidity (24%-32%) with lower EA (14-16%), higher yields, and viscosity of pulping were obtained with an acceptable kappa number. Kraft pulp of P. bolleana Lauche obtained at given conditions (EA 14-16%; sulfidity 24-32%) provided paper sheets with greater tensile strength, burst index and tear index, at the same beating degree

A comparison of acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis of rutin

Rutin and its hydrolysis products (isoquercitrin and quercetin) are widely used as important materials in food and pharmaceutical industry. In this study, the effects of various acids and enzymes as catalysts on the hydrolysis reaction of rutin were studied. In comparison with acidic and enzymatic catalysis of rutin, the research results indicated that there was a sharp difference in the selectivity of hydrolysis product between the methods. When 2.5% H3PO4, 1% HCl and 0.5% H2SO4 were used as catalysts, transformation yields of isoquercitin hydrolyzed from rutin were 9.60, 0.69 and 1.25%, but those of quercetin were 11.13, 100 and 2.57%, respectively. When hesperidinase, snailase and cellulase-T2440 were used as catalysts, transformation yields of isoquercitin hydrolyzed from rutin were 43.21, 3.07 and 0.00%, but those of quercetin were 58.10, 96.39 and 30.89%, respectively. In conclusion, the aglycon of rutin was deglycosolated easily under mild acidic hydrolysis conditions at appropriate temperatures, but its secondary glucoside was difficult to be obtained. Contrarily, the prepared isoquercitrin by enzymatic hydrolysis of rutin was preferable to the acidic hydrolysis, especially for hesperidinase.Key words: Rutin, isoquercitrin, quercetin, hydrolysis, acid, enzym

Strain Softening Induced by High Pressure Torsion in Copper Alloys

Three kinds of Cu-Al alloys and a pure Cu sample with different stacking fault energies (SFEs) are deformed using room temperature rolling (RR) and high pressure torsion (HPT), respectively. The microstructure is analysed by means of transaction electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. It is found that HIPT is more feasible to obtain nanocrystals and profuse twins. Tailoring the SFE can promote sample strength without sacrificing the ductility of the Cu alloys. The tensile properties of samples processed by HPT and RR are compared. It is discovered that the HPT process leads to the strain softening phenomenon in samples with relatively high SFE. The excellent mechanical properties can be obtained in samples deformed by HPT with a SFE of 6 mJ/m(2), in which strain softening was restrained and strain hardening played a dominant role in the deformation process. The relationship between tensile properties and microstructures of the deformed metals is also investigated.110Ysciescopu

The Search for Higher TcT_c in Houston

It is a great pleasure to be invited to join the chorus on this auspicious occasion to celebrate Professor K. Alex Mueller's 90th birthday by Professors Annette Bussman-Holder, Hugo Keller, and Antonio Bianconi. As a student in high temperature superconductivity, I am forever grateful to Professor Alex Mueller and Dr. Georg Bednorz "for their important breakthrough in the discovery of superconductivity in the ceramic materials" in 1986 as described in the citation of their 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics. It is this breakthrough discovery that has ushered in the explosion of research activities in high temperature superconductivity (HTS) and has provided immense excitement in HTS science and technology in the ensuing decades till now. Alex has not been resting on his laurels and has continued to search for the origin of the unusual high temperature superconductivity in cuprates.Comment: Dedicated to Alex Mueller, whose "important breakthrough in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials" in 1986 has changed the world of superconductivit

Investigation of the Hemodynamic Effect of Stent Wires on Renal Arteries in Patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Treated with Suprarenal Stent-Grafts

The purpose of the study was to investigate the hemodynamic effect of stent struts (wires) on renal arteries in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) treated with suprarenal stent-grafts. Two sample patients with AAA undergoing multislice CT angiography pre- and postsuprarenal fixation of stent-grafts were selected for inclusion in the study. Eight juxtarenal models focusing on the renal arteries were generated from the multislice CT datasets. Four types of configurations of stent wires crossing the renal artery ostium were simulated in the segmented aorta models: a single wire crossing centrally, a single wire crossing peripherally, a V-shaped wire crossing centrally, and multiple wires crossing peripherally. The blood flow pattern, flow velocity, wall pressure, and wall shear stress at the renal arteries pre- and post-stent-grafting were analyzed and compared using a two-way fluid structure interaction analysis. The stent wire thickness was simulated with a diameter of 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0 mm, and hemodynamic analysis was performed at different cardiac cycles. The interference of stent wires with renal blood flow was mainly determined by the thickness of stent wires and the type of configuration of stent wires crossing the renal ostium. The flow velocity was reduced by 20–30% in most of the situations when the stent wire thickness increased to 1.0 and 2.0 mm. Of the four types of configuration, the single wire crossing centrally resulted in the highest reduction of flow velocity, ranging from 21% to 28.9% among three different wire thicknesses. Wall shear stress was also dependent on the wire thickness, which decreased significantly when the wire thickness reached 1.0 and 2.0 mm. In conclusion, our preliminary study showed that the hemodynamic effect of suprarenal stent wires in patients with AAA treated with suprarenal stent-grafts was determined by the thickness of suprarenal stent wires. Research findings in our study are useful for follow-up of patients treated with suprarenal stent-grafts to ensure long-term safety of the suprarenal fixation

Clinical Efficacy of Percutaneous Osteoplasty Under Fluoroscopy and Cone-Beam CT Guidance for Painful Sternal Metastases: A Case Series

Xun-Wei Liu,1,* Zhi-Guo Wang,1,* Peng Jin,1 Li-Li Yu,2 Gang Sun1 1Department of Radiology, The 960th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA, Jinan, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Information, The 960th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA, Jinan, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Gang Sun, Department of Radiology, The 960th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250031, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Although percutaneous osteoplasty (POP) has been widely accepted and is now being performed for the treatment of painful bone metastases outside the spine. It is emerging as one of the most promising procedures for patients with painful bone metastasis who are unsuitable for surgery or who show resistance to radiotherapy and/or analgesic therapies. However, there are only scarce reports regarding osteoplasty in painful sternal metastases.Subjects and Method: We report four patients with sternal metastases suffered with severe pain of anterior chest wall. The original tumors included lung cancer and thyroid cancer. For the initially pain medication failing, all the four patients received POP procedure under fluoroscopic and cone-beam CT (CBCT) guidance, and obtained satisfying resolution of painful symptoms at 6-month postop follow-up.Conclusion: POP is a safe and effective treatment for pain caused by metastatic bone tumors in the sternum. In practice, however, percutaneous puncture of pathologic sternal fractures can be a challenge because of the long flat contour and the defacement by lytic tumor of bony landmarks. We find that the use of fluoroscopic and CBCT can facilitate POP for flat bone fractures with displacing the trajectory planning, needle advancement, and cement delivery in time.Keywords: osteoplasty, bone metastasis, Pain, palliative care, sternu

Capsular profiling of the Cronobacter genus and the association of specific Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus capsule types with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus can cause serious diseases especially in infants where they are associated with rare but fatal neonatal infections such as meningitis and necrotising enterocolitis. Methods: This study used 104 whole genome sequenced strains, covering all seven species in the genus, to analyse capsule associated clusters of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the O-antigen, colanic acid, bacterial cellulose, enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), and a previously uncharacterised K-antigen. Results: Phylogeny of the gnd and galF genes flanking the O-antigen region enabled the defining of 38 subgroups which are potential serotypes. Two variants of the colanic acid synthesis gene cluster (CA1 and CA2) were found which differed with the absence of galE in CA2. Cellulose (bcs genes) were present in all species, but were absent in C. sakazakii sequence type (ST) 13 and clonal complex (CC) 100 strains. The ECA locus was found in all strains. The K-antigen capsular polysaccharide Region 1 (kpsEDCS) and Region 3 (kpsMT) genes were found in all Cronobacter strains. The highly variable Region 2 genes were assigned to 2 homology groups (K1 and K2). C. sakazakii and C. malonaticus isolates with capsular type [K2:CA2:Cell+] were associated with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. Other capsular types were less associated with clinical infections. Conclusion: This study proposes a new capsular typing scheme which identifies a possible important virulence trait associated with severe neonatal infections. The various capsular polysaccharide structures warrant further investigation as they could be relevant to macrophage survival, desiccation resistance, environmental survival, and biofilm formation in the hospital environment, including neonatal enteral feeding tubes

A Comprehensive Demand Response Strategy Considering Household Comfort and Economy

With the emerging smart grid technology, communication between residential customers and load aggregator (LA) is becoming more common which facilitates the implementation of incentive-based demand response (IBDR). As a type of IBDR, load shedding plays a potential role in reducing supply cost and improving extra revenue in electric utilities sector as well as increasing the energy efficiency and economic income in residential side. In this paper, a residential welfare model based on utility function is proposed, by considering the electricity consumption preferences to analyze the welfare of users after participating in IBDR which includes comfort loss and incentives. Subsequently, an IBDR strategy considering consumption is presented considering household comfort and economy. The purpose of this strategy is to maximize the revenue of load aggregators while increasing the welfare of residential sector in IBDR event.Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project 201804010245; Department of Finance and Education of Guangdong Province 2016 [202]: Key Discipline Construction Program, China; Education Department of Guangdong Province: New and Integrated Energy System Theory and Technology Research Group [Project Number 2016KCXTD022]

Two-stage study designs combining genome-wide association studies, tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and exome sequencing: accuracy of genetic effect estimates

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) test for disease-trait associations and estimate effect sizes at tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which imperfectly capture variation at causal SNPs. Sequencing studies can examine potential causal SNPs directly; however, sequencing the whole genome or exome can be prohibitively expensive. Costs can be limited by using a GWAS to detect the associated region(s) at tag SNPs followed by targeted sequencing to identify and estimate the effect size of the causal variant. Genetic effect estimates obtained from association studies can be inflated because of a form of selection bias known as the winner’s curse. Conversely, estimates at tag SNPs can be attenuated compared to the causal SNP because of incomplete linkage disequilibrium. These two effects oppose each other. Analysis of rare SNPs further complicates our understanding of the winner’s curse because rare SNPs are difficult to tag and analysis can involve collapsing over multiple rare variants. In two-stage analysis of Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 simulated data sets, we find that selection at the tag SNP produces upward bias in the estimate of effect at the causal SNP, even when the tag and causal SNPs are not well correlated. The bias similarly carries through to effect estimates for rare variant summary measures. Replication studies designed with sample sizes computed using biased estimates will be under-powered to detect a disease-causing variant. Accounting for bias in the original study is critical to avoid discarding disease-associated SNPs at follow up

Sacrificial-template-free synthesis of core-shell C@Bi2S3 heterostructures for efficient supercapacitor and H-2 production applications

Core-shell heterostructures have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique properties and broad range of applications in lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, and catalysis. Conversely, the effective synthesis of Bi2S3 nanorod core@ amorphous carbon shell heterostructure remains an important challenge. In this study, C@Bi2S3 core-shell heterostructures with enhanced supercapacitor performance were synthesized via sacrificial-template-free one-pot-synthesis method. The highest specific capacities of the C@Bi2S3 core shell was 333.43 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1). Core-shell-structured C@Bi2S3 exhibits 1.86 times higher photocatalytic H-2 production than the pristine Bi2S3 under simulated solar light irradiation. This core-shell feature of C@Bi2S3 provides efficient charge separation and transfer owing to the formed heterojunction and a short radial transfer path, thus efficiently diminishing the charge recombination; it also facilitates plenty of active sites for the hydrogen evolution reaction owing to its mesoporous nature. These outcomes will open opportunities for developing low-cost and noble-metal-free efficient electrode materials for water splitting and supercapacitor applications