Bilinear effect in complex systems

The distribution of the lifetime of Chinese dynasties (as well as that of the British Isles and Japan) in a linear Zipf plot is found to consist of two straight lines intersecting at a transition point. This two-section piecewise-linear distribution is different from the power law or the stretched exponent distribution, and is called the Bilinear Effect for short. With assumptions mimicking the organization of ancient Chinese regimes, a 3-layer network model is constructed. Numerical results of this model show the bilinear effect, providing a plausible explanation of the historical data. Bilinear effect in two other social systems is presented, indicating that such a piecewise-linear effect is widespread in social systems.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

The modified method of reanalysis wind data in estuarine areas

High-quality wind field data are key to improving the accuracy of storm surge simulations in coastal and estuarine water. These data are also of great significance in studying the dynamic processes in coastal areas and safeguarding human engineering structures. A directional correction method for ECMWF reanalysis wind data was proposed in this paper based on the correlation with the measured wind speed and direction. The results show that the accuracies of wind speed and direction were improved after being modified by the correction method proposed in this paper. The modified wind data were applied to drive the storm surge model of the Yangtze Estuary for typhoon events, which resulted in a significant improvement to the accuracy of hindcasted water levels. The error of the hindcasted highest water levels was reduced by 16–19 cm

Highly Conductive and Water-Swelling Resistant Anion Exchange Membrane for Alkaline Fuel Cells

To ameliorate the trade-off effect between ionic conductivity and water swelling of anion exchange membranes (AEMs), a crosslinked, hyperbranched membrane (C-HBM) combining the advantages of densely functionalization architecture and crosslinking structure was fabricated by the quaternization of the hyperbranched poly(4-vinylbenzyl chloride) (HB-PVBC) with a multiamine oligomer poly(N,N-Dimethylbenzylamine). The membrane displayed well-developed microphase separation morphology, as confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, the corresponding high ionic conductivity, strongly depressed water swelling, high thermal stability, and acceptable alkaline stability were achieved. Of special note is the much higher ratio of hydroxide conductivity to water swelling (33.0) than that of most published side-chain type, block, and densely functionalized AEMs, implying its higher potential for application in fuel cells

Application of auto-regressive (AR) analysis to improve short-term prediction of water levels in the Yangtze estuary

Due to the complex interaction between the fluvial and tidal dynamics, estuarine tides are less predictable than ocean tides. Although the non-stationary tidal harmonic analysis (NS_TIDE) model can account for the influence of the river discharge, the predictive accuracy of the water levels in the tide-affected estuaries is yet to be improved. The results from recent studies using the NS_TIDE model in the lower reach of the Yangtze estuary showed the best root-mean-square-error (RMSE) between the predicted and measured water levels being in a range of 0.22 ~ 0.26 m. From the spectral analysis of the predictive errors, it was also found that the inaccurate description of tides in the sub-tidal frequency band was the main cause. This study is to develop a hybrid model in combination of the auto-regressive (AR) analysis and the NS_TIDE model in an attempt to further improve short-term (with time scale of days) water level predictions in the tide-affected estuaries. The results of the application of the hybrid model in the Yangtze estuary show a significant improvement for water level predictions in the estuary with the RMSE of 24 h prediction being reduced to 0.10 ~ 0.13 m

Baicalin Relieves LPS-Induced Lung Inflammation via the NF-κB and MAPK Pathways

Baicalin is an active ingredient extracted from the Chinese medicine Scutellaria and has many beneficial effects. Pulmonary interstitial and alveolar edema are common symptoms of an acute lung injury (ALI). We investigated the effects of baicalin on LPS-induced inflammation and the underlying mechanisms in mice and cells. The protein contents and mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells and mice were detected using ELISA and qRT-PCR. Baicalin significantly suppressed TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels and expression, both in vitro and in vivo, compared with the LPS group. Baicalin inhibits the expression of TLR4 and MyD88, resulting in significant decreases in p-p65, p-p38, p-ERK, and p-JNK, as measured by the Western blotting of RAW264.7 cells. A baicalin treatment for 12 h resulted in a rapid increasing of the white blood cell number and significantly improved the pathological changes in the lung. We also found that the baicalin pretreatment for 12 h could decrease the MPO content and wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio, which indicates that baicalin can significantly reduce pulmonary edema. Furthermore, the baicalin pretreatment also resulted in the recovery of TGF-β protein levels and decreased iNOS. Baicalin inhibits ALI inflammation in mice and cells and is a potential candidate for the treatment of ALI

Yield, yield components, total biomass, and HI as affected by various degrees of drought stress.

<p>Yield, yield components, total biomass, and HI as affected by various degrees of drought stress.</p

Effects of drought and waterlogging stress at the stages of elongation/heading on grain yield.

<p>CK, MD and MW denote control, mild drought and mild waterlogging, respectively. Different letters indicate statistical significance at the <i>P</i>≤0.05 level among different treatments.</p

Enantioseparation of N-derivatized amino acids by micro-liquid chromatography using carbamoylated quinidine functionalized monolithic stationary phase.

In order to obtain satisfactory column permeability, efficiency and selectivity for micro-HPLC, a capillary monolithic column containing O-9-[2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethylcarbamoyl]-10,11-dihydroquinidine (MQD) as chiral selector was re-optimized. The monolithic column was used to successfully enantioresolve a wide range of N-derivatized amino acids including alanine, leucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, valine, serine, isoleucine, tryptophan, and cysteine. The influence of mobile phase parameters, such as the organic solvent type and concentration, the apparent pH, and buffer concentration, on retention and enantioseparation of N-derivatized amino acids has been investigated. 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-amino acids and 3,5-dichlorobenzoyl-amino acids were resolved into enantiomers with exceptionally high selectivity and resolution. The chemoselectivity of the monolithic column for a multicomponent mixture of N-derivatized amino acids was also investigated. A mixture of three pairs of 3,5-dichlorobenzoyl-amino acids could be fully resolved in 22.5 min

Effects of drought stress during the stages of elongation and heading on grain yield and HI.

<p>CK, MD and SD denote control, mild drought, and severe drought, respectively. Different letters indicate statistical significance among treatments at the <i>P</i>≤0.05 level.</p