Sedimentation Behavior of Fly Ash-Kaolinite Mixtures

The sedimentation behavior of fine grained soil is largely dependent on its pore fluid chemistry. Different ionic concentration will lead to different fabrics of soil suspension, such as dispersion, aggregation, and flocculation. The ionic concentration also influences the thickness of the Diffuse Double Layer (DDL), which leads to the change in the final sediment volumes. Besides the ionic concentration influence, adding different amount of fly ash (FA) can also cause different sedimentation behaviors. The objective of this research was to quantify the interaction between fly ash and fine grained soils by comparing the influence of ionic concentration with that of fly ash on the sedimentation behavior of kaolinite. It was found that an increase in the percentage of fly ash in FA-kaolinite mixture could cause an increase in the settling speed. The final sedimentation volume decreased as the ionic concentration increased. The addition of fly ash was found more efficiency than the ionic concentration, because the fly ash could not only interact with kaolinite particles but also increase the ionic concentration in the dissolution by precipitation of Calcium hydroxide and pozzolanic reaction products

Identifying Chinese Leading Venture Capital Firms Based on Graph Convolutional Neural Networks

It is a meaningful challenge to identify leading venture capital firms (VCs) in the analysis of the Chinese investment market. Identifying leading VCs is equal to determine influential nodes in the field of complex network analysis. Many studies have applied centrality measures to determine influence nodes. However, only a few studies have explored more efficient and flexible ways to accomplish this task. In this work, we propose a new approach which using graph convolutional neural networks to identify influential nodes in the network, so as to determine leading VCs. We build an undirected graph based on co-investment of VCs, then learn a VCs Graph Convolutional Neural Network (vcGCNN) for nodes classification. Our vcGCNN is labeled with ‘1’ and ‘0’ for ‘is leading VCs’ and ‘is not leading VCs’. The experiment results on VCs dataset demonstrate that vcGCNN outperforms multiple centrality measures and some typical spectral-based GNN methods for leading venture capital firms identification

Dual-bioorthogonal catalysis by a palladium peptide complex

Artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs) enrich bioorthogonal chemistry with new-to-nature reactions while limiting metal deactivation and toxicity. This enables biomedical applications such as activating therapeutics in situ. However, while combination therapies are becoming widespread anticancer treatments, dual catalysis by ArMs has not yet been shown. We present a heptapeptidic ArM with a novel peptide ligand carrying a methyl salicylate palladium complex. We observed that the peptide scaffold reduces metal toxicity while protecting the metal from deactivation by cellular components. Importantly, the peptide also improves catalysis, suggesting involvement in the catalytic reaction mechanism. Our work shows how a palladium-peptide homogeneous catalyst can simultaneously mediate two types of chemistry to synthesize anticancer drugs in human cells. Methyl salicylate palladium LLEYLKR peptide (2-Pd) succeeded to simultaneously produce paclitaxel by depropargylation, and linifanib by Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling in cell culture, thereby achieving combination therapy on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells

Microhabitat Segregation of Parapatric Frogs in the Qinling Mountains

Coexistence mechanisms for species with similar ecological traits and overlapping geographic distributions are basic questions in ecology and evolutionary biology. Specific habitat requirements often limit distribution range as well as facilitate partitioning resource utilization in ecological similar species. Understanding niche segregation and differences in microhabitat utilization can contribute to identifying coexistence mechanisms between parapatric species. Feirana quadranus and F. taihangnica are two closely related frog species with parapatric geographic ranges and an elongated contact zone within the Qinling Mountains, which is an important watershed for East Asia. Here, we analysed the difference in microhabitat utilization between the two frog species and explored the key ecological factors that induced their microhabitat differentiation based on quadrats sampled in the contact zone. Our comparison of twenty environmental variables showed that both species used microhabitats with alkalescent warm water and gentle slope conditions. The principal component analysis indicated that climate-related variables, vegetation conditions, and river width were the important factors for microhabitat utilization of these species. These findings contribute to our understanding on the coexistence mechanisms of these two related and parapatric Asian mountain frog species. This study can also be helpful for identifying target habitats to conduct conservation actions and management strategies effectively in the face of environmental changes

Effects of gradient distribution and aggregate structure of fibers on the flexibility and flexural toughness of natural moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis)

Article is a study proposing an original method to quantitatively evaluate the gradient distribution and aggregate structure of fibers on the flexibility and flexural toughness of natural moso (Phyllostachys edulis) bamboo, with a comparison to two other natural woods

How Does Adult Attachment Affect Human Recognition of Love-related and Sex-related Stimuli: An ERP Study

Journal articleThis paper reports the descriptive analysis of a large sample of safety climate survey data (n = 110,014) collected over 10 years from U.S. Naval aircrew using the Command Safety Assessment Survey (CSAS)

2D Covalent Organic Frameworks as Intrinsic Photocatalysts for Visible Light-Driven COMsub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Reduction

Covalent organic framework (COF) represents an emerging class of porous materials that have exhibited great potential in various applications, particularly in catalysis. In this work, we report a newly designed 2D COF with incorporated Re complex, which exhibits intrinsic light absorption and charge separation (CS) properties. We show that this hybrid catalyst can efficiently reduce CO2 to form CO under visible light illumination with high electivity (98%) and better activity than its homogeneous Re counterpart. More importantly, using advanced transient optical and X-ray absorption spectroscopy and in situ diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, we unraveled three key intermediates that are responsible for CS, the induction period, and rate limiting step in catalysis. This work not only demonstrates the potential of COFs as next generation photocatalysts for solar fuel conversion but also provide unprecedented insight into the mechanistic origins for light-driven CO2 reduction

Novel HLA-DRB1 alleles contribute risk for disease susceptibility in primary biliary cholangitis

Background: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a complex disease with high heritability. We investigated the association between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 alleles and PBC in families and sporadic cases to evaluate the genetic components of the disease. Methods: We performed whole exome sequencing in three PBC families. We genotyped HLA-DRB1 and calculated the association between HLA-DRB1 alleles and the encoding amino acid sequences with the clinical features. Results: Ten variants harboured the HLA-DRB1 gene associated with PBC. DRB1 x07:01, 14:01 and 14:05 were highly increased in PBC. Ten coding region polymorphisms were associated with PBC that encode the amino acid variants of HLA-DR beta 54, beta 59 and beta 66 located in the peptide-binding site of the MHC molecule. Glutamine at position 54 was confirmed as a risk amino acid, verifying the results of familial aggregation analysis of PBC families. Discussion: Familial aggregation analysis indicated that HLA-DRB1 is a candidate gene for the risk of disease course. Considering that amino acid variations are critical to peptide-binding properties, they underlie the major component of MHC association with PBC. (c) 2021 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved