Oxygen isotope composition of surface snow collected along the traverse route from Zhongshan Station toward Dome A, Antarctica

Oxygen isotope composition of surface snow sampled in the austral summer of 1998/1999 along the traverse route from Zhongshan Station toward Dome A, Antarctica is measured with the conventional mass spectrometer technique. The results of measurement show that oxygen isotope composition of surface snow varies in a wide range from -22.51‰ to -50.67‰, and has a tendency that isotopic values gradually decrease with increase of distance from Zhongshan Station and altitude. Linear regression analysis indicates that there exists good correlation between oxygen isotope composition of surface snow and distance from Zhongshan Station, altitude and/or latitude, which actually reflects the close relation between stable isotope composition and air temperature

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

DYNAMIC COMPLEXITIES OF A CHEMOSTAT MODEL WITH PULSED INPUT AND WASHOUT AT DIFFERENT TIMES

In this paper, we consider a predator–prey chemostat model with ratio-dependent Monod type functional response and periodic input and washout at different fixed times. We obtain an exact periodic solution with substrate and prey. The stability analysis for this periodic solutions yields an invasion threshold for the period of pulses of the predator. When the impulsive period is more than the threshold, there are periodic oscillations in the substrate, prey, and predator. If the impulsive period further increases, the system undergoes a complex dynamic process. By analyzing bifurcation diagrams, we can see that the impulsive system shows two kinds of bifurcation, which are period-doubling and period-halving.Predator–prey system, impulsive invasion and washout, chemostat, complexity

An alkaline protease from Bacillus cereus NJSZ-13 can act as a pathogenicity factor in infection of pinewood nematode

Abstract Endophytic bacteria are an important biological control for nematodes. We isolated the nematicidal Bacillus cereus NJSZ-13 from healthy Pinus elliottii trunks. Bioassay experiments showed killing of all tested nematodes by proteins from the NJSZ-13 culture filtrate within 72 h. Degradation of the nematode cuticles was observed, suggesting the action of extracellular bacterial enzymes. The responsible protease was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and SDS-PAGE. The protease had a molecular weight of 28 kDa and optimal activity at 55 °C and pH 9, indicating an alkaline protease. The study suggests the potential for using this B. cereus NJSZ-13 strain protease to prevent pinewood nematode infection

The Crystallization Behavior of TiO2-CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO Pentabasic Slag with a Basicity of 1.1–1.4

The utilization of titanium-containing blast furnace slag has been an unsolved problem for a long time. Failure to make effective use of the slag, which is caused by a high TiO2 content within it, not only results in a waste of resources, especially titanium, but also increases environmental risk. The key to address the problem is the enrichment and extraction of TiO2 from the slag first. Therefore, in order to study the enrichment of titanium, the crystallization behavior of TiO2-CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO pentabasic slag, the main compositions of titanium-containing blast furnace slag, within the basicity range of 1.1–1.4 was investigated theoretically and experimentally. Thermodynamic calculation shows that perovskite is the main titanium-containing phase and titanium can be enriched in perovskite. By decreasing the temperature, perovskite precipitates at first. Additionally, with the increase of basicity, perovskite precipitation temperature increases continuously, and its amount of precipitation almost does not change, while the amounts of other phases change obviously. The experimental results demonstrate similar results except for the amount of perovskite (with the increase of basicity, perovskite precipitation amount increases slightly), caused by kinetic reason. In addition, the morphology of the slag at different scales was observed. The surface of the cooled slag is granular, vein-like, and irregular, multilaterally shaped from outside to inside. The crystal is dendritic with a spine-like trunk, and the edge is blade-like. In terms of the structure of the crystal, the inner part of it is perovskite, and the outer part is covered with a layer of other phases with spinel inlaying it. Finally, the precipitated mechanism is proposed as well

Degradation Characteristics of Cellulose Acetate in Different Aqueous Conditions

Cellulose acetate (CA) is widely used in cigarette filters and packaging films, but due to its acetylation, it is difficult to degrade in the natural environment, and the problem of pollution has become a serious challenge. Understanding the degradation behavior and performance of CA in different environments is the basis and prerequisite for achieving its comprehensive utilization and developing efficient degradation methods. In this study, we investigated the degradation performance of CA in different aqueous environments to evaluate the effects of pH, salinity and microorganisms on CA degradation. The CA tows and films were immersed in HCl, NaOH solution, river water, seawater or homemade seawater for 16 weeks and the degradation mechanism was investigated by the changes in weight loss rate, degree of substitution, hydrophilicity, molecular structure and surface morphology. The results showed that the degradation of CA tow and film were the fastest in NaOH solution; the weight loss rates after 16 weeks were 40.29% and 39.63%, respectively, followed by HCl solution, and the degradation performance of CA tow was better than that of film. After 16 weeks of degradation in river water, seawater and homemade seawater, all the weight loss rates were less than 3%. In summary, this study illustrated that the environmental acidity, basicity and high concentration of inorganic salts had a critical promotion effect on the non-enzymatic hydrolysis of CA, whereas the number and type of microorganisms were the key factors affecting the biodegradation of CA