Stoichiometric modeling of aboveground-belowground interaction of herbaceous plant

Grassland ecosystems are the most widely distributed terrestrial ecosystems of the world. Many studies focus on aboveground grassland, but the belowground grassland is less explored because of the difficulty of sampling. Furthermore, the above-and-below ground biomass allocation mechanism of herbs is still disputed between the isometric growth hypothesis and the optimal partitioning hypothesis. In this study, a regrowth dynamic model, based on nutrient dynamics and stoichiometry, is proposed and analyzed to investigate the interaction between the aboveground and belowground herbaceous plants. The global dynamics of the belowground and aboveground biomass is well analyzed. Numerical simulations conclude that the herbaceous plant’s biomass allocation mechanism for the aboveground and the belowground is in conformity with optimal partitioning at the beginning of growth, when the environment changes, it conforms to the constraints of isometric growth. Moreover, the dynamics of the model agree well with experimental data, which reveals that the model can express the relationship between aboveground and belowground biomass. Finally, a regrowth-herbivore model is established to explore the e ects of nutrition and light intensity on the dynamics of plant and herbivore biomass.This work is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of P. R. China (No. 11671072, 11271065) and the Research Fund for Chair Professors of Changbai Mountain Scholars Program of Jilin Province (No. 2013039)

A Fast Way to Make a Monolithic Column for a High Pressure Electroosmotic Pump

A simple way was proposed to make a monolithic column for a high pressure electroosmotic pump (EOP). It is in-situ synthesized inside the silica capillary from potassium silicate solution and no frit is required. Compared with common approaches to make columns for EOP, the present method is robust and fast (<4 h). For pure water, a stand-alone EOP operated at 15 kV applied voltage is capable of generating a flow rate of 3.1 mu L/min and a maximum static pressure of similar to 5.4 MPa

Fabrication of a novel cascade high-pressure electro-osmotic pump

Fabrication of a novel cascade high-pressure electro-osmotic pumpA novel cascade electro-osmotic pump (EOP) has been fabricated by alternately connecting a cation monolithic column and anion monolithic column in series. In this manner, the change of electric polarity between each stage of the cascade EOP is easily achieved and the pressure output of the EOP could be greatly enhanced without increase of the applied voltage

Salinomycin, as an autophagy modulator-- a new avenue to anticancer: a review

Abstract Since Salinomycin (Sal) emerged its ability to target breast cancer stem cells in 2009, numerous experiments have been carried out to test Sal’s anticancer effects. What deserve to be mentioned is that Sal can efficiently induce proliferation inhibition, cell death and metastasis suppression against human cancers from different origins both in vivo and in vitro without causing serious side effects as the conventional chemotherapeutical drugs on the body. There may be novel cell death pathways involving the anticancer effects of Sal except the conventional pathways, such as autophagic pathway. This review is focused on how autophagy involves the effects of Sal, trying to describe clearly and systematically why autophagy plays a vital role in predominant anticancer effects of Sal, including its distinctive characteristic. Based on recent advances, we present evidence that a dual role of Sal involving in autophagy may account for its unique anticancer effects - the preference for cancer cells. Further researches are required to confirm the authenticity of this suppose in order to develop an ideal anticancer drug

Recursive Zero-COVID model and quantitation of control efforts of the Omicron epidemic in Jilin province

Since the beginning of March 2022, the epidemic due to the Omicron variant has developed rapidly in Jilin Province. To figure out the key controlling factors and validate the model to show the success of the Zero-COVID policy in the province, we constructed a Recursive Zero-COVID Model quantifying the strength of the control measures, and defined the control reproduction number as an index for describing the intensity of interventions. Parameter estimation and sensitivity analysis were employed to estimate and validate the impact of changes in the strength of different measures on the intensity of public health preventions qualitatively and quantitatively. The recursive Zero-COVID model predicted that the dates of elimination of cases at the community level of Changchun and Jilin Cities to be on April 8 and April 17, respectively, which are consistent with the real situation. Our results showed that the strict implementation of control measures and adherence of the public are crucial for controlling the epidemic. It is also essential to strengthen the control intensity even at the final stage to avoid the rebound of the epidemic. In addition, the control reproduction number we defined in the paper is a novel index to measure the intensity of the prevention and control measures of public health

Reversible Activation of V4+/V5+V^{4+}/V^{5+} Redox Couples in NASICON Phosphate Cathodes

Na superionic conductor structured Na$_3$V$_2$(PO$_4$)$_3$ cathodes have attracted great interest due to their long cycling lifespan and high thermal stability rendered by the robust 3D framework. However, their practical application is still hindered by the high cost of raw materials and limited energy density. Herein, a doping strategy with low-cost Fe$^{2+}$ is developed to activate $V^{4+}/V^{5+}$ redox, in an attempt to increase the energy density of phosphate cathodes. It is also revealed that reversible activation of $V^{4+}/V^{5+}$ redox is related to the Na positions (Na1, 6b; Na2, 18e). Only the V-based compounds with enough Na2 content can activate the $V^{4+}/V^{5+}$ reversibly. More importantly, without presodiation treatment and addition of any sodiation agent, Na$_{3.4}$V$_{1.6}$Fe$_{0.4}$(PO$_4$)$_3$ is delicately designed as both cathode and the Na self-compensation agent in full cells, allowing a promising energy density of ≈260 Wh kg$^{-1}$. This work sheds light on enhancing the energy density, and designing Na self-compensation for practical Na-ions batteries

Reversible Activation of V4+/V5+ Redox Couples in NASICON Phosphate Cathodes

Na superionic conductor structured Na3V2(PO4)(3) cathodes have attracted great interest due to their long cycling lifespan and high thermal stability rendered by the robust 3D framework. However, their practical application is still hindered by the high cost of raw materials and limited energy density. Herein, a doping strategy with low-cost Fe2+ is developed to activate V4+/V5+ redox, in an attempt to increase the energy density of phosphate cathodes. It is also revealed that reversible activation of V4+/V5+ redox is related to the Na positions (Na1, 6b; Na2, 18e). Only the V-based compounds with enough Na2 content can activate the V4+/V5+ reversibly. More importantly, without presodiation treatment and addition of any sodiation agent, Na3.4V1.6Fe0.4(PO4)(3) is delicately designed as both cathode and the Na self-compensation agent in full cells, allowing a promising energy density of approximate to 260 Wh kg(-1). This work sheds light on enhancing the energy density, and designing Na self-compensation for practical Na-ions batteries