Find Modern Turning From the Rising Trend of Giving Consideration to the Han and Song Compromise School of the Academic History in the Qing Dynasty

As one of the important schools, the Han and Song compromise school was rising in the mid and late Qing Dynasty and it had lasted for hundreds of years. The reasons of the rise were very complex, but the remarks of Weng Fanggang (翁方綱) , Zhang Xuecheng (章學誠) and Xu Zongyan (許宗彥) of the Qianlong period undoubtedly enlightened the development of the school. Weng Fanggang considered that establishing a union of the Han school and the Song school was better for the both. Zhang Xuecheng thought that separating the Han school and the Song school would hurt the two. Xu Zongyan believed that the academic level of the Han school was lower and it should unite with the Song school to reach the way of sage (聖學). Although there were some differences in their opinions, they all wanted to correct the bias of the Han school and overcome shortcomings of the Song school. Their thoughts showed the changes of academic views from tradition to modernity in the Qing Dynasty. For us, studying this topic still has realistic significance

Proteomic Analysis of Bacillus thuringiensis Strain 4.0718 at Different Growth Phases

The growth process of Bacillus thuringiensis Bt4.0718 strain was studied using proteomic technologies. The proteins of Bt whole cells at three phases—middle vegetative, early sporulation, and late sporulation—were extracted with lysis buffer, followed with separation by 2-DE and identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Bioactive factors such as insecticidal crystal proteins (ICPs) including Cry1Ac(3), Cry2Aa, and BTRX28, immune inhibitor (InhA), and InhA precursor were identified. InhA started to express at the middle vegetative phase, suggesting its contribution to the survival of Bt in the host body. At the early sporulation phase, ICPs started their expression. CotJC, OppA, ORF1, and SpoIVA related to the formation of crystals and spores were identified, the expression characteristics of which ensured the stable formation of crystals and spores. This study provides an important foundation for further exploration of the stable expression of ICPs, the smooth formation of crystals, and the construction of recombinant strains

Scaled-up biodiesel synthesis from Chinese Tallow Kernel oil catalyzed by Burkholderia cepacia lipase through ultrasonic assisted technology: A non-edible and alternative source of bio energy.

Abstract In East Asia, for thousands of years, the fruit of Chinese tallow tree ( Sapium sebiferum ) has been used for multiple purposes because of its chemical composition; the presence of high amounts of lipids is remarkable, showing potential to be used as substrate for biodiesel synthesis. Previously have been reported the use of alkaline and enzymatic catalysts, microwave technology and the use of ionic liquids as co-solvents with the lipids of this tree species to produce biodiesel. This study shows the results of the use of Burkholderia cepacia lipase as enzymatic catalyst for transesterification of Chinese Tallow Kernel oil (CTK), extracted from the fruit of Chinese tallow tree, into biodiesel, with the use of ultrasonic assisted technology and without the usage of solvents. The optimal operational parameters were determined and the reactions were developed in a batch reactor with the use of ultrasonic irradiation and emulsification to enhance the mass transfer. The scaled-up experiments, in an especially designed 3 L capacity reactor, showed promising results, obtaining 55.20% biodiesel and a kinematic viscosity of 10.31 mm 2 .s −1 in only 4 h, in comparison with previously published ( in vitro ) methods. The valorization of this non-edible source of oil represents an opportunity to use as an alternative source for bioenergy and also to tackle the uncontrolled expansion of this oleaginous tree species in some ecologically fragile ecosystems

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of saccharopolyspora spinosa SP06081 and PR2 strains reveals the differentially expressed proteins correlated with the increase of spinosad yield

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Saccharopolyspora spinosa </it>produces the environment-friendly biopesticide spinosad, a mixture of two polyketide-derived macrolide active ingredients called spinosyns A and D. Therefore considerable interest is in the improvement of spinosad production because of its low yield in wild-type <it>S. spinosa</it>. Recently, a spinosad-hyperproducing PR2 strain with stable heredity was obtained from protoplast regeneration of the wild-type <it>S. spinosa </it>SP06081 strain. A comparative proteomic analysis was performed on the two strains during the first rapid growth phase (RG1) in seed medium (SM) by using label-free quantitative proteomics to investigate the underlying mechanism leading to the enhancement of spinosad yield.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 224 proteins from the SP06081 strain and 204 proteins from the PR2 strain were unambiguously identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, sharing 140 proteins. A total of 12 proteins directly related to spinosad biosynthesis were identified from the two strains in RG1. Comparative analysis of the shared proteins revealed that approximately 31% of them changed their abundance significantly and fell in all of the functional groups, such as tricarboxylic acid cycles, glycolysis, biosynthetic processes, catabolic processes, transcription, translation, oxidation and reduction. Several key enzymes involved in the synthesis of primary metabolic intermediates used as precursors for spinosad production, energy supply, polyketide chain assembly, deoxysugar methylation, and antioxidative stress were differentially expressed in the same pattern of facilitating spinosad production by the PR2 strain. Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that four of five selected genes showed a positive correlation between changes at the translational and transcriptional expression level, which further confirmed the proteomic analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study is the first comprehensive and comparative proteome analysis of <it>S. spinosa </it>strains. Our results highlight the differentially expressed proteins between the two <it>S. spinosa </it>strains and provide some clues to understand the molecular and metabolic mechanisms that could lead to the increased spinosad production yield.</p

Bayesian multimodel estimation of global terrestrial latent heat flux from eddy covariance, meteorological, and satellite observations

Accurate estimation of the satellite-based global terrestrial latent heat flux (LE) at high spatial and temporal scales remains a major challenge. In this study, we introduce a Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method to improve satellite-based global terrestrial LE estimation by merging five process-based algorithms. These are the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LE product algorithm, the revised remote-sensing-based Penman-Monteith LE algorithm, the Priestley-Taylor-based LE algorithm, the modified satellite-based Priestley-Taylor LE algorithm, and the semi-empirical Penman LE algorithm. We validated the BMA method using data for 2000–2009 and by comparison with a simple model averaging (SA) method and five process-based algorithms. Validation data were collected for 240 globally distributed eddy covariance tower sites provided by FLUXNET projects. The validation results demonstrate that the five process-based algorithms used have variable uncertainty and the BMA method enhances the daily LE estimates, with smaller root mean square errors (RMSEs) than the SA method and the individual algorithms driven by tower-specific meteorology and Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) meteorological data provided by the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), respectively. The average RMSE for the BMA method driven by daily tower-specific meteorology decreased by more than 5 W/m2 for crop and grass sites, and by more than 6 W/m2 for forest, shrub, and savanna sites. The average coefficients of determination (R2) increased by approximately 0.05 for most sites. To test the BMA method for regional mapping, we applied it for MODIS data and GMAO-MERRA meteorology to map annual global terrestrial LE averaged over 2001–2004 for spatial resolution of 0.05°. The BMA method provides a basis for generating a long-term global terrestrial LE product for characterizing global energy, hydrological, and carbon cycles

Research on Mechanical Properties and Sensitivity of a Novel Modified Double-Base Rocket Propellant Plasticized by Bu-NENA

The research and development of rocket propellants with a high solid content and superior mechanical and security performance is urgently needed. In this paper, a novel extruded modified double-base (EMDB) rocket propellant plasticized by N-butyl-N-nitratoethyl nitramine (Bu-NENA) was prepared to overcome this challenge. The results indicated that Bu-NENA decreased the mechanical sensitivity successfully, contributing to the mechanical properties against traditional nitroglycerin (NG) based EMDB propellants, while hexogen (RDX), which is beneficial to propellant energy, was not conducive to the elongation and sensitivity of the propellants. By contrast with the blank group (NG-based EMDB propellant, R0), the elongation of the optimized propellant at −40 °C was promoted by 100% from 3.54% to 7.09%. Moreover, the β-transition temperature decreased from −33.8 °C to −38.1 °C due to superior plasticization by Bu-NENA, which represents a better toughness. The friction sensitivity dropped by 100% from 46% to 0%. Simultaneously, the height for 50% probability of explosion (H50) increased by 87.2% from 17.2 cm to 32.2 cm. The results of this research could be used to predict a potential prospect in tactical weapons

Influence of Solid Filler on the Rheological Properties of Propellants Based on Energetic Thermoplastic Elastomer

Glycidyl azide polymer-energetic thermoplastic elastomer propellant (GAP-ETPE) has high development prospects as a green solid propellant, although the preparation of GAP-ETPE with excellent performance is still a challenge. Focusing on the demand of high-strength solid propellants for free-loading rocket motors, a GAP-ETPE model propellant with excellent overall performance was prepared in this work, and the influence of adhesive structure characteristics on its fluidity was studied. Furthermore, the influence of filler on the rheological properties of the model propellant was investigated by introducing hexogen (RDX) and Al, and a corresponding two-phase model was established. The results may provide a reference for the structural design, molding process, and parameter selection of high-performance GAP-based green solid propellants

Fabrication of Polytetrafluoroethylene Coated Micron Aluminium with Enhanced Oxidation

Aluminium (Al) powders of micron size are widely applied to energetic materials as a high energy fuel. However, its energy conversion efficiency is generally low due to low oxidation activity. In this paper, a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating layer with both protection and activation action was successfully introduced onto the surface of Al via adsorption and following heat treatment. The preparation conditions were optimized and the thermal activity of this core-shell composite material was studied. The potential enhancement mechanism for Al oxidation was proposed. The results showed that PTFE powders deformed into membrane on the surface of Al after the sintering process. This polymer shell could act as an effective passivation layer protecting internal Al from oxidation during aging. The reduction in metallic Al of Al/PTFE was decreased by 84.7%, more than that in original spherical Al when the aging time is 60 days. Moreover, PTFE could react with Al resulting in a thin AlF3 layer, which could promote the destruction of Al2O3 shell. Thus, PTFE could enhance oxidation activity of micro-Al. The conversion of Al was increased by a factor of 1.8 when heated to 1100 &deg;C. Improved aging-resistant performance and promoted oxidation activity of Al could potentially broaden its application in the field of energetic materials

Preparation and Properties of a Novel High-Toughness Solid Propellant Adhesive System Based on Glycidyl Azide Polymer–Energetic Thermoplastic Elastomer/Nitrocellulose/Butyl Nitrate Ethyl Nitramine

Glycidyl azide polymer (GAP)–energetic thermoplastic elastomer (GAP-ETPE) propellants have high development prospects as green solid propellants, but the preparation of GAP-ETPEs with excellent performance is still a challenge. Improving the performance of the adhesive system in a propellant by introducing a plasticizer is an effective approach to increasing the energy and toughness of the propellant. Herein, a novel high-strength solid propellant adhesive system was proposed with GAP-ETPEs as the adhesive skeleton, butyl nitrate ethyl nitramine (Bu-NENA) as the energetic plasticizer, and nitrocellulose (NC) as the reinforcing agent. The effects of the structural factors on its properties were studied. The results showed that the binder system would give the propellant better mechanical and safety properties. The results can provide a reference for the structure design, forming process, and parameter selection of high-performance GAP-based green solid propellants

Evaluating the Insecticidal Genes and Their Expressed Products in Bacillus thuringiensis Strains by Combining PCR with Mass Spectrometry▿ †

By a combination of PCR and mass spectrometry, a total of five cry genes (cry1Aa, cry1Ac, cry2Aa, cry2Ab, and cry1Ia) were detected in genomic DNA from the wild-type Bacillus thuringiensis strain 4.0718, and three protoxins (Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, and Cry2Aa) were identified in the strain's parasporal crystals. These results indicated that this complementary method may be useful in evaluating B. thuringiensis strains at both the gene and protein levels