Defect-enhanced performance of a 3D graphene anode in a lithium-ion battery.

Morphological defects were generated in an undoped 3D graphene structure via the involvement of a ZnO and Mg(OH)2 intermediate nanostructure layer placed between two layers of vapor-deposited graphene. Once the intermediate layer was etched, the 3D graphene lost support and shrank; during this process many morphological defects were formed. The electrochemical performance of the derived defective graphene utilized as the anode of a lithium (Li)-ion battery was significantly improved from ∼382 mAh g-1 to ∼2204 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 compared to normal 3D graphene. The derived defective graphene exhibited an initial capacity of 1009 mAh g-1 and retention of 83% at 4 A g-1 for 500 cycles, and ∼330 mAh g-1 at a high rate of 20 A g-1. Complicated defects such as wrinkles, pores, and particles formed during the etching of the intermediate layer, were considered to contribute to the improvement of the electrochemical performance.

[Cloning and expression analysis on full length CDS of zeaxanthin epoxidase gene in Pseudostellaria heterophylla].

Zeaxanthin epoxidase plays an important role in indirect pathway of plant abscisic acid biosynthesis. According to the data of Pseudostellaria heterophylla transcriptome, zeaxanthin epoxidase gene was isolated and named as PhZEP. The results of bioinformatics analysis showed that the coding sequence of PhZEP was 1 263 bp long and encoded 420 amino acids. The putative protein molecular weight was 47.34 kDa and its theoretical isoelectric point was 6.64. The characteristic structure domains were predicted, including binding site of lipoprotein and flavoprotein monooxyenase. A signal peptide was discovered at the N-terminal of amino acids. The Real-time PCR revealed that PhZEP had a higher expression level in leaves than other tissues of P.heterophylla. Highly expressed PhZEP was also observed at 10 d and 40 d tuberous root after flowering. PhZEP presented a different expression after treatment with ABA, fluridone and ABA +fluridone compared to the control. The expression of PhZEP in tuberous root after ABA treatment was close to that in control group, while PhZEP showed significant up-regulation in the fluridone treatment group. In this study, the PhZEP gene from P. heterophylla was cloned and this result has important significance for its functional identification. This research provides a basis for the further analysis on functional mechanism of ABA during development of P. heterophylla.

[Cloning and expression analysis of four carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases genes from Pseudostellaria heterophylla].

To investigate the molecular mechanism of quality formation of Pseudostellaria heterophylla, the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) genes were cloned from the transcriptome database of P. heterophylla, and analyzed them with bioinformatics analysis and expression analysis. The sequence length of four new gene were 1 617, 1 461, 1 746, 1 875 bp, and subsequently, named as PhCCD1,PhNCED2,PhNCED3 and PhCCD4 according to its genetic relationship with Arabidopsis thaliana. The sequence analysis showed that four new gene were all containing REP65 domains and binding sites of ferrous ion, such as histidine, glutamates and aspartates. Analysis phylogeny showed that PhNCED2 and PhNCED3 were the cluster of NCEDs, PhCCD1 and PhCCD4 were the cluster of CCDs. In addition, PhCCD1 and AtCDD1 of Arabidopsis thaliana, PhCCD4 and AtCCD4 of A. thaliana,PhNCED2, PhNCED3 and AtNCED3 of A. thaliana have high similarities. Analysis of real-time fluorescence quantitative showed that PhNCED2 and PhNCED3 were expressed mainly in underground part, the expression quantity of PhNCED2 reached the highest in fibrous root, PhNCED3 keeps higher in phloem and xylem, it may be the key enzymes of ABA biosynthesis genes. Moreover,PhCCD1 and PhCCD4 were expressed mainly in aerial part,the expression quantity of PhCCD1 reached the highest in leaf,PhCCD4 keeps higher in stem and leaf.It may be involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids for P. heterophylla. The study obtained CDDs gene of P. heterophylla for the first time,this would lay the foundation of developing the response mechanism of P. heterophylla about external stress further,and then exploring the biological approach of quality formation in P. heterophylla.

[Cloning and bioinformatics analysis of abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase from Pseudostellariae Radix].

Abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase was one of key enzymes genes in the metabolism of abscisic acid (ABA). Seven menbers of abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase were identified from Pseudostellaria heterophylla transcriptome sequencing results by using sequence homology. The expression profiles of these genes were analyzed by transcriptome data. The coding sequence of ABA8ox1 was cloned and analyzed by informational technology. The full-length cDNA of ABA8ox1 was 1 401 bp,with 480 encoded amino acids. The predicated isoelectric point (pI) and relative molecular mass (MW) were 8.55 and 53 kDa,respectively. Transmembrane structure analysis showed that there were 21 amino acids in-side and 445 amino acids out-side. High level of transcripts can detect in bark of root and fibrous root. Multi-alignment and phylogenetic analysis both show that ABA8ox1 had a high similarity with the CYP707As from other plants,especially with AtCYP707A1 and AtCYP707A3 in Arabidopsis thaliana. These results lay a foundation for molecular mechanism of tuberous root expanding and response to adversity stress.

Significant risk factors for intensive care unit-acquired weakness: A processing strategy based on repeated machine learning.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is a common complication that significantly impacts the patient's recovery process, even leading to adverse outcomes. Currently, there is a lack of effective preventive measures. AIM: To identify significant risk factors for ICU-AW through iterative machine learning techniques and offer recommendations for its prevention and treatment. METHODS: Patients were categorized into ICU-AW and non-ICU-AW groups on the 14th day post-ICU admission. Relevant data from the initial 14 d of ICU stay, such as age, comorbidities, sedative dosage, vasopressor dosage, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, and rehabilitation therapy, were gathered. The relationships between these variables and ICU-AW were examined. Utilizing iterative machine learning techniques, a multilayer perceptron neural network model was developed, and its predictive performance for ICU-AW was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Within the ICU-AW group, age, duration of mechanical ventilation, lorazepam dosage, adrenaline dosage, and length of ICU stay were significantly higher than in the non-ICU-AW group. Additionally, sepsis, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, hypoalbuminemia, acute heart failure, respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, anemia, stress-related gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, hypertension, coronary artery disease, malignant tumors, and rehabilitation therapy ratios were significantly higher in the ICU-AW group, demonstrating statistical significance. The most influential factors contributing to ICU-AW were identified as the length of ICU stay (100.0%) and the duration of mechanical ventilation (54.9%). The neural network model predicted ICU-AW with an area under the curve of 0.941, sensitivity of 92.2%, and specificity of 82.7%. CONCLUSION: The main factors influencing ICU-AW are the length of ICU stay and the duration of mechanical ventilation. A primary preventive strategy, when feasible, involves minimizing both ICU stay and mechanical ventilation duration.

Structural design and effect analysis on a new type of hydraulic oscillator driven with double valve groups.

A new hydraulic oscillator was designed, which was able to adjust pressure fluctuations through two sets of dynamic and fixed valves. Hydraulic oscillators can meet the frequency and axial force requirements of drilling at lower drilling fluid flow than general hydraulic oscillators. Oscillator structure was described in detail and over-flow area between the two sets of dynamic and fixed valves was calculated. Based on drilling fluid flow difference, the influence of different fluid flows on oscillator pressure drops was analyzed, its influence law was determined by the finite element software Fluent, and its effect was verified by numerical simulations. The related research is of great significance in the selection of dynamic and fixed valves and provides the theoretical basis for the optimization of the structural parameters of double-valve hydraulic oscillators.

The impact of socio-economic institutional change on agricultural carbon dioxide emission reduction in China.

With the change of social economic system and the rapid growth of agricultural economy in China, the amount of agricultural energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions has increased dramatically. Based on the estimation of agricultural carbon dioxide emissions from 1991 to 2018 in China, this paper uses EKC model to analyze economic growth and agricultural carbon dioxide emissions. The Kaya method is used to decompose the factors affecting agricultural carbon dioxide emissions. The experimental results show that there is a co-integration relationship between economic growth and the total intensity of agricultural carbon emissions, and between economic growth and the intensity of carbon emissions caused by five types of carbon sources: fertilizer, pesticide, agricultural film, agricultural diesel oil and tillage. Economic growth is the main driving factor of agricultural carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, technological progress has a strong role in promoting carbon emission reduction, but it has a certain randomness. However, the impact of energy consumption structure and population size on carbon emissions is not obvious.

Gestational diabetes mellitus in women increased the risk of neonatal infection via inflammation and autophagy in the placenta.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) produces numerous problems for maternal and fetal outcomes. However, the precise molecular mechanisms of GDM are not clear. METHODS: In our study, we randomly assigned 22 pregnant women with fasting glucose concentrations, 1 hour oral glucose tolerance test (1H-OGTT) and 2 hour oral glucose tolerance test (2H-OGTT), different than 28 normal pregnant women from a sample of 107 pregnant women at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University in China. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were measured from blood plasma of pregnant women and umbilical arteries using ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E), Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) or Masson staining were performed to examine whether diabetes mellitus altered the morphology of placenta. Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), western blotting and immunofluorescent staining were performed to examine whether diabetes mellitus and autophagy altered the gene expressions of the placental tissue. RESULTS: We found that women with GDM exhibited increased placental weight and risk of neonatal infection. The concentrations of IL-6 protein and IL-8 protein in GDM were increased in both maternal and umbilical arterial blood. H&E, Masson and PAS staining results showed an increased number of placental villi and glycogen deposition in patients with GDM, but no placental sclerosis was found. Q-PCR results suggested that the expression levels of HIF-1α and the toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)/ myeloid differential protein-88 (MyD88)/ nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway were increased in the GDM placenta. Through Western Blotting, we found that the expression of NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IKBα) and Nuclear factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) in GDM placenta was significantly enhanced. We also showed that the key autophagy-related genes, autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) and microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3), were increased in GDM compared with normal pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that women with GDM exhibit an increased risk of neonatal infection via inflammation and autophagy in the placenta.

A generalized strategy for the synthesis of two-dimensional metal oxide nanosheets based on a thermoregulated phase transition.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal oxide (MO) nanomaterials, like graphene, possess unique electrical, mechanical, optical and catalytic performances, and have attracted substantial research interest recently. However, it remains a challenge to easily obtain 2D MO nanosheets by a generalized synthetic pathway. Here, we report a general and facile strategy for the synthesis of 2D MO nanosheets induced by nonionic surfactant micelles. Notably, the novel strategy primarily relies on the thermoregulated phase transition of the micelles. The resulting 2D MO nanosheets show high specific surface areas. As a demonstration, Sb2O3 nanosheets synthesized by our method as anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have a high reversible capacity of 420 mA h g-1 and a high capacity retention of 99% after 150 cycles at 0.1 A g-1. Mn3O4 nanosheets for supercapacitors have a remarkable specific capacitance of 127 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1. Even at a large current density of 5 A g-1 after 10 000 cycles, 96% of the specific capacitance is retained, demonstrating the remarkable performance of these nanosheets for energy storage applications.