University Teachers’ Performance Comprehensive Evaluation Based on Principal Component Analysis

The performance of college teachers may affect the development of the university and individual progress at the aspect of teaching and research, so the effective evaluation should consider all the above factors and achieve a satisfied result. In the paper, an evaluation system is, firstly, designed according to three aspects including teaching, research and the development of the subject or major to improve the scientific nature and feasibility of the evaluation of the performance of college teachers. Secondly, the multiple indexes may affect the final evaluation results, then it is necessary to select some of the indexes to make evaluation easily. The principal component analysis is adopted for data dimensionality reduction. Thirdly, the paper proposes seven methods to make a comprehensive evaluation, and the he final sorting result is also given by comparing different methods’ outputs and integrating them. Finally, an example illustrates the feasibility and availability of the proposed methods

Performance Evalution Analysis for College Teachers Based on Weighted Idealpoint

The evaluation methods of college teachers’ performance should be scientific and feasible. To accomplish this goal, we design the performance evaluation index system from three aspects as teaching, scientific research and professional disciplines development. By using the principal component analysis method we reduce the data dimension, through combining with the weighted idealpoint method, we get the final ranking result. Finally, an example is given to show the rationality and effect of the evaluation method.Key words: College teachers; Performance evaluation method; Principal component analysis method; Weighted ideal-point metho

Asymmetric oxygen vacancies : the intrinsic redox active sites in metal oxide catalysts

This work was financially supported by the Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation (Grant 17JCYBJC22600), MOE Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (IRT13R30), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.To identify the intrinsic active sites in oxides or oxide supported catalysts is a research frontier in the fields of heterogeneous catalysis and material science. In particular, the role of oxygen vacancies on the redox properties of oxide catalysts is still not fully understood. Herein, some relevant research dealing with M1–O–M2 or M1–□–M2 linkages as active sites in mixed oxides, in oxide supported single‐atom catalysts, and at metal/oxide interfaces of oxide supported nanometal catalysts for various reaction systems is reviewed. It is found that the catalytic activity of these oxides not only depends on the amounts of oxygen vacancies and metastable cations but also shows a significant influence from the local environment of the active sites, in particular, the symmetry of the oxygen vacancies. Based on the recent progress in the relevant fields, an “asymmetric oxygen vacancy site” is introduced, which indicates an oxygen vacancy with an asymmetric coordination of cations, making oxygen “easy come, easy go,” i.e., more reactive in redox reactions. The establishment of this new mechanism would shed light on the future investigation of the intrinsic active sites in oxide and oxide supported catalysts.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The active oxygen species promoted catalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural on facet-specific Pt nanocrystals

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (Grant No. 17JCYBJC22600) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.The aerobic oxidation of alcohols and aldehydes over noble metal catalysts is a critical reaction for the catalytic conversion of carbohydrates into value-added chemicals from biomass. However, to fully understand the reaction mechanism, in particular the role of O2 and the generated active oxygen species in these reactions is still a challenging target. In the present work, the sub-10 nm Pt nanocrystals with cubic (Pt-NCs), octahedral (Pt-NOs) and spherical (Pt-NSs) morphologies were synthesized and used as catalysts in aerobic oxidation of HMF. Through experimental and computational investigations, the facet-dependent O2 conversion pathway and catalytic oxidation performance were discussed. The molecular O2 tends to be dissoci-ated to generate •OH on Pt(100) surface, but prefers to be reduced to •O2- on Pt(111) surface. Moreover, Pt-NCs enclosed by the {100} facets exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity than Pt-NOs enclosed by the {111} facets and Pt-NSs, in particular for alcohol oxidation step. Based on the experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, an active oxygen species promoted dehydrogenation mechanism for aerobic oxidation of HMF was proposed. The dehydrogena-tion of alcohol group is more favourable on the Pt(100) surface with an assistance of •OH, which are the dominant active oxygen species on the Pt(100) surface. We anticipate that this work would provide a new insight into the role of active oxy-gen species in aerobic oxidation of alcohols and aldehydes over noble metal catalysts.PostprintPeer reviewe

Effect of oxygen coordination environment of Ca-Mn oxides on catalytic performance of Pd supported catalysts for aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (Grant No. 17JCYBJC22600) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Computational support was provided by the Beijing Computing Center (BCC).Four types of Ca-Mn oxides, including CaMnO3, CaMn2O4, CaMn3O6 and Ca2Mn3O8, have been prepared and used as supports for Pd nanoparticles. The oxygen activation capacity of these oxides and the catalytic activity of the oxide supported Pd nanocatalysts have been investigated using the aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural as a model reaction. It is found that the local coordination environment of lattice oxygen sites plays a crucial role on their redox property and charge transfer ability from Pd nanoparticles to the support. In particular, the Ca-Mn oxide with lower oxygen coordination number, weaker metal-oxygen bonds and tunnel crystal structure, e.g. CaMn2O4, exhibits promoted oxygen activation capacity, and stronger electron transfer ability. Consequently, Pd/CaMn2O4 exhibits the highest catalytic activity among these catalysts, providing a promising yield of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. This work may shed light on the future investigation on the design of local structure of active oxygen sites in oxides or oxide supported catalysts for redox reactions.PostprintPeer reviewe

Covalently immobilized lipase on a thermoresponsive polymer with an upper critical solution temperature as an efficient and recyclable asymmetric catalyst in aqueous media

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21203102), the Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 14JCQNJC06000), China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 201606200087), MOE (IRT13R30) and 111 Project (B12015).A thermoresponsive lipase catalyst with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) of about 26 °C was exploited by covalent immobilization of an enzyme, Pseudomonas cepacia lipase (PSL), onto poly(acrylamide-co-acrylonitrile) via glutaraldehyde coupling. The experimental conditions for the PSL immobilization were optimized. The immobilized PSL was much more stable for wide ranges of temperature and pH than the free PSL. The material was also evaluated as an asymmetric catalyst in the kinetic resolution of racemic α-methylbenzyl butyrate at 55 °C in an aqueous medium and exhibited high catalytic performance and stability. Up to 50% conversion and 99.5% product enantiomeric excess were achieved, thus providing highly pure enantiomers. More importantly, this biocatalyst could be easily recovered by simple decantation for reuse based on temperature-induced precipitation. It showed good reusability and retained 80.5% of its original activity with a well reserved enantioselectivity in the 6th cycle. This work would shed light on the future development of new UCST-type enzyme catalysts.PostprintPeer reviewe

Long-term effects of straw and straw-derived biochar on soil aggregation and fungal community in a rice–wheat rotation system

Background Soil aggregation is fundamental for soil functioning and agricultural productivity. Aggregate formation depends on microbial activity influencing the production of exudates and hyphae, which in turn act as binding materials. Fungi are also important for improving soil quality and promoting plant growth in a symbiotic manner. There is a scarcity of findings comparing the long-term impacts of different yearly double-crop straw return modes (e.g., straw return to the field and straw-derived biochar return to the field) on soil aggregation and fungal community structure in rice–wheat rotation systems. Methods The effects of 6-year continuous straw and straw-derived biochar amendment on soil physicochemical properties and the fungal community were evaluated in an intensively managed crop rotation system (rice–wheat). Soil samples of different aggregates (macroaggregates, microaggregates, and silt clay) from four different fertilization regimes (control, CK; traditional inorganic fertilization, CF; straw returned to field, CS; straw-derived biochar addition, CB) were obtained, and Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis of the fungal internal transcribed spacer gene was performed. Results Compared to CF, CS and CB enhanced soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and aggregation in 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil, with CB exhibiting a stronger effect. Additionally, agrowaste addition increased the mean weight diameter and the geometric diameter and decreased the fractal dimension (p < 0.05). Principal coordinates analysis indicated that fertilization management affected fungal community structure and aggregation distribution. In addition, CS increased fungal community richness and diversity, compared to CK, CB decreased these aspects. Ascomycota, unclassified_k_Fungi, and Basidiomycota were the dominant phyla in all soil samples. At the genus level, CB clearly increased fungi decomposing biosolids (Articulospora in macroaggregates in 0–20 cm soil and Neurospora in macroaggregates in 20–40 cm soil); decreased pathogenic fungi (Monographella in macroaggregates and Gibberella in microaggregates in 0–20 cm soil) and CO2-emission-related fungi (Pyrenochaetopsis in microaggregates and silt clay in 0–40 cm soil) (p < 0.05). Straw and biochar with inorganic fertilizer counteracted some of the adverse effects of the inorganic fertilizer with biochar showing better effects than straw

M3+O(-Mn4+)2 clusters in doped MnOx catalysts as promoted active sites for aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

This work was supported by Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation (No. 17JCYBJC22600), China Scholarship Council (No. 201606200096), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Computational support was provided by the Beijing Computing Center (BCC).Based on various experimental results, M3+O(-Mn4+)2 clusters in (Fe, Co, Ni)-doped MnOx catalysts were identified as principal active sites for aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural due to their special property that makes oxygen to be easy come, easy go.PostprintPeer reviewe

The China plant trait database: toward a comprehensive regional compilation of functional traits for land plants

Plant functional traits provide information about adaptations to climate and environmental conditions, and can be used to explore the existence of alternative plant strategies within ecosystems. Trait data are also increasingly being used to provide parameter estimates for vegetation models. Here we present a new database of plant functional traits from China. Most global climate and vegetation types can be found in China, and thus the database is relevant for global modelling. The China Plant Trait Database contains information on morphometric, physical, chemical and photosynthetic traits from 122 sites spanning the range from boreal to tropical, and from deserts and steppes through woodlands and forests, including montane vegetation. Data collection at each site was based either on sampling the dominant species or on a stratified sampling of each ecosystem layer. The database contains information on 1215 unique species, though many species have been sampled at multiple sites. The original field identifications have been taxonomically standardized to the Flora of China. Similarly, derived photosynthetic traits, such as electron-transport and carboxylation capacities, were calculated using a standardized method. To facilitate trait-environment analyses, the database also contains detailed climate and vegetation information for each site

Ternary CdS/Au/3DOM-SrTiO3 composites with synergistic enhancement for hydrogen production from visible-light photocatalytic water splitting

This work was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2012AA063008), the Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 17JCYBJC22600 and 15JCTPJC63500), China Scholarship Council (Grant 201606200096), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.New ternary composites based on three dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) SrTiO3 (CdS/Au/3DOM-SrTiO3) were prepared and used as photocatalysts in visible light (λ > 420 nm) photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution. Through optimizing the pore size of 3DOM-SrTiO3 materials and the loading amounts of Au and CdS, CdS/Au/3DOM-SrTiO3(300), templated by 300 nm sized poly(methyl methacrylate) colloids, was found to exhibit a remarkably enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (2.74 mmol/h•g), which was 3.2 times as high as that of CdS/Au/C-SrTiO3 catalyst based on commercial SrTiO3. This notably enhanced photocatalytic performance was mainly attributed to the slow photon enhancement effect of 3DOM-SrTiO3(300) material, which significantly promoted the light harvesting efficiency of ternary composite for the slow photon region of 3DOM-SrTiO3(300) was well matched with the optical absorption band of photocatalyst. Further depositing Pt nanoparticles on CdS/Au/3DOM-SrTiO3(300) composite as a co-catalyst, an extraordinarily high hydrogen evolution rate (up to 5.46 mmol/g•h) and apparent quantum efficiency (42.2% at 420 nm) were achieved because of the synergistic effect of efficient carrier separation, Au SPR effect, and slow photon effect. Furthermore, these ternary CdS/Au/3DOM-SrTiO3 composite photocatalysts were very stable and could be easily recycled four times in visible light photocatalytic water splitting experiments without any loss in activity.PostprintPeer reviewe