纳米TiO2对D16T铝合金微弧氧化膜耐磨性的影响及机理

目的 提高D16T铝合金的耐磨损性能。方法 通过向硅酸盐和磷酸盐混合电解液体系中添加2 g/L纳米TiO2添加剂,利用微弧氧化技术在其表面制备微弧氧化陶瓷膜。采用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电镜（SEM）、能谱分析仪（EDS）、显微硬度计、厚度测试仪、摩擦磨损试验机等,研究了纳米TiO2添加剂对D16T铝合金微弧氧化膜的结构和耐磨损性能的影响及机理。结果 纳米TiO2的添加使得微弧氧化膜层的表面变得更加平整、致密,具有更少的微孔和裂纹,大大改善了膜层结构。相比于未添加纳米TiO2的电解液中制得的微弧氧化膜,在含纳米TiO2的电解液中所制得的微弧氧化膜中有新相TiO2生成,并且促使更多的α-Al2O3相和γ-Al2O3相生成,使膜层厚度得到明显增加,膜厚达31.2 μm,显微硬度也得到显著提高,达510HV。纳米TiO2的添加,降低了D16T微弧氧化膜层试样的摩擦系数,平均摩擦系数为0.45,明显低于不含纳米TiO2的D16T微弧氧化膜层试样的摩擦系数（0.75）。结论 加入到电解液中的纳米TiO2在微弧氧化反应过程中已进入到所形成的氧化膜层,并且填充了膜层中的微孔和裂纹,改善了膜层结构,增加了膜层厚度,显著提高了微弧氧化膜层的显微硬度和耐磨损性能。     

Detection of Borreliae in Archived Sera from Patients with Clinically Suspect Lyme Disease

The diagnoses of Lyme disease based on clinical manifestations, serological findings and detection of infectious agents often contradict each other. We tested 52 blind-coded serum samples, including 20 pre-treatment and 12 post-treatment sera from clinically suspect Lyme disease patients, for the presence of residual Lyme disease infectious agents, using nested PCR amplification of a signature segment of the borrelial 16S ribosomal RNA gene for detection and direct DNA sequencing of the PCR amplicon for molecular validation. These archived sera were split from the samples drawn for the 2-tier serology tests performed by a CDC-approved laboratory, and are used as reference materials for evaluating new diagnostic reagents. Of the 12 post-treatment serum samples, we found DNA evidence of a novel borrelia of uncertain significance in one, which was also positive for the 2-tier serology test. The rest of the post-treatment sera and all 20 control sera were PCR-negative. Of the 20 pre-treatment sera from clinically suspect early Lyme disease patients, we found Borrelia miyamotoi in one which was 2-tier serology-negative, and a Borrelia burgdorferi in two—one negative and one positive for 2-tier serology. We conclude that a sensitive and reliable DNA-based test is needed to support the diagnosis of Lyme disease and Lyme disease-like borreliosis.     

WNT16B from Ovarian Fibroblasts Induces Differentiation of Regulatory T Cells through β-Catenin Signal in Dendritic Cells

Treatment for cancer can induce a series of secreted factors into the tumor microenvironment, which can affect cancer progression. Wingless-type MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus) integration site 16B (WNT16B) is a new member of the WNT family and has been reported to play growth-related roles in previous studies. In this study, we found WNT16B could be expressed and secreted into the microenvironment by human ovarian fibroblasts after DNA damage-associated treatment, including chemotherapy drugs and radiation. We also demonstrated that fibroblast-derived WNT16B could result in accumulation of β-catenin in dendritic cells and secretion of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), which contributed to the differentiation of regulatory T cells in a co-culture environment. These results shed light on the roles of WNT16B in immune regulation, especially in regard to cancer treatment.     

Electricity generation and microbial community structure of air-cathode microbial fuel cells powered with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and inoculated with different seeds

The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), normally exceeding 60% of the waste stream in developing countries, could constitute a valuable source of feed for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). This study tested the start-up of two sets of OFMSW-fed air-cathode MFCs inoculated with wastewater sludge or cattle manure. The maximum power density obtained was 123 ± 41 mW m⁻² in the manure-seeded MFCs and 116 ± 29 mW m⁻² in the wastewater-seeded MFCs. Coulombic efficiencies ranged between 24 ± 5% (manure-seeded MFCs) and 23 ± 2% (wastewater-seeded MFCs). Chemical oxygen demand removal was >86% in all the MFCs and carbohydrate removal >98%. Microbial community analysis using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing demonstrated the dominance of the phylum Firmicutes (67%) on the anode suggesting the possible role of members of this phylum in electricity generation. Principal coordinate analysis showed that the microbial community structure in replicate MFCs converged regardless of the inoculum source. This study demonstrates efficient electricity production coupled with organic treatment in OFMSW-fueled MFCs inoculated with manure or wastewater.     

Cultivable bacterial diversity and amylase production in three typical Daqus of Chinese spirits

Both culture‐dependent method and molecular technique were firstly used to simultaneously investigate the cultivable bacterial diversity and amylase production in three typical Daqus of Chinese spirits. The results showed that both cultivable bacterial diversity and amylase production were obviously different. The species of nine bacteria from Deshan, nine from Baisha and six from Wuling Daqus were identified. The total bacterial strains of 17, 15 and 14, and 9, 16 and 10 could produce α‐amylase and glucoamylase, respectively, from the Daqus, and the enzyme yields were different. Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens not only were dominant bacteria in the Daqus, but also possessed high activities of α‐amylase and glucoamylase. By comparison, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus oleronius were found to be another predominant bacterial species and good producers of α‐amylase and glucoamylase in Deshan and Wuling Daqus, respectively.     

Assessment of rumen bacteria in dairy cows with varied milk protein yield

The present study was conducted to assess rumen bacteria in lactating cows with different milk protein yield, aiming to understand the role of rumen bacteria in this trait. Cows with high milk protein yield (high milk yield and high milk protein content, HH; n = 20) and low milk protein yield (low milk yield and low milk protein content, LL; n = 20) were selected from 374 mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows fed a high-grain diet. Measurement of the rumen fermentation products showed that the concentrations of ruminal total volatile fatty acids, propionate, butyrate, and valerate and the proportion of isobutyrate were higher in the HH cows than in the LL cows. Amplicon sequencing analysis of the rumen bacterial community revealed that the richness (Chao 1 index) of rumen microbiota was higher in the LL cows than in the HH cows. Among the 10 predominant bacterial phyla (relative abundance being >0.10%, present in >60% of animals within each group), the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was 1.36-fold higher in the HH cows than in the LL cows. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Succinivibrio was significantly higher and that of Clostridium tended to be higher in the LL cows than in the HH cows. Sharpea was 2.28-fold enriched in the HH cows compared with the LL cows. Different relationships between the relative abundances of rumen microbial taxa and volatile fatty acid concentrations were observed in the HH and the LL animals, respectively. Succinivibrio and Prevotella were positively correlated with acetate, propionate, and valerate in the LL cows, whereas Sharpea was positively correlated with propionate and valerate concentrations in the HH cows. Collectively, our results revealed that rumen bacterial richness and the relative abundances of several bacterial taxa significantly differed between dairy cows with high and low milk protein yields, suggesting the potential roles of rumen microbiota contributing to milk protein yield in dairy cows.     

Further investigation on the modified hyperbolic function in the CAM16 color appearance model

In the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) color appearance model CIECAM02, a modified hyperbolic function is used to represent luminance adaptation. The same nonlinear function is also used in the new color appearance model CAM16 [Color Res Appl., 2017;42:703‐718]. Although the modified hyperbolic function seems reasonable based on physiological evidence, it has an infinite slope at the origin, which causes instability for both the forward and inverse modes of the CIECAM02/CAM16 models. In this article, various possible extensions to the nonlinear luminance adaptation function in CIECAM02/CAM16 are reviewed and evaluated. Based on these investigations, the Gill extension to the hyperbolic function that is used to represent luminance adaptation [Proceedings of 16th Color and Imaging Conference, pp. 327‐331, 2008], is recommended at both the lower end (q < q_L ) and the upper end (q > q_U ), where q is the appropriate R_c , G_c , B_c (or R_wc , G_wc , B_wc ) response. In addition, the new recommended function can be readily inverted for use in the appropriate inverse appearance model. From an extensive analysis using available experimental data sets, we also propose that, for the lower and upper limits of the luminance range in the extended model, the values q_L = 0.26 and q_U = 150 be used, respectively.     

Biochemical and molecular characterization of novel PAH-degrading bacteria isolated from polluted soil and sludge

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing more than three rings are mainly less biodegradable. Therefore, the isolation of PAHs-degrading bacteria is of great importance to be augmented for bioremediation of polluted sites with PAHs. PAHs-degrading bacteria were isolated from contaminated sites of an oil refinery. The strains were confirmed by biochemical tests and 16S rRNA, which were Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (two strains), Thermomonas koreensis (three strains), Achromobacter (two strains), Pseudomonas stutzeri (one strain), Azospirillum brasilense (one strain) and Brevibacillus brevis (one strain). The isolate strains can be applied as a bacterial consortium for purification of polluted soil with high levels of PAHs.     

Laboratory silo type and inoculation effects on nutritional composition,fermentation, and bacterial and fungal communities of oat silage

The objectives were to evaluate (1) the use of 2 types of experimental silos (S) to characterize whole-crop oat (Avena sativa L.) silage with or without addition of an inoculant (I), and (2) the effect of inoculation on the microbial community structure of oats ensiled using only plastic bucket silos (BKT). From each of 6 sections in a field, oats were harvested, treated (INO) or not (CON) with inoculant, packed into 19-L BKT or vacuum bags (BG), and ensiled for 217 d. The inoculant added contained Lactobacillus buchneri and Pediococcus pentosaceus (4 × 10⁵ and 1 × 10⁵ cfu/g of fresh oats, respectively). The experimental design was a complete randomized design replicated 6 times. Treatment design was the factorial combination of 2 S × 2 I. Some differences existed between BG versus BKT at silo opening (217 d), including a decreased CP (7.73 vs. 7.04 ± 0.247% of DM) and ethanol (1.93 vs. 1.55 ± 0.155) and increased lactic acid (4.28 vs. 3.65 ± 0.241), respectively. Also, WSC and mold counts were reduced in BG versus BKT for CON (1.78 vs. 2.70 ± 0.162% of DM and 0.8 vs. 2.82 ± 0.409 log cfu/fresh g) but not for INO (～1.53 and 1.55), respectively. Application of INO increased DM recovery (96.1 vs. 92.9 ± 0.63%), aerobic stability (565 vs. 133 ± 29.2 h), acetic acid (2.38 vs. 1.22 ± 0.116% of DM), and reduced NDF (65.0 vs. 67.0 ± 0.57), ADF (36.7 vs. 38.1 ± 0.60), ethanol (0.63 vs. 2.85 ± 0.155), and yeast counts (1.10 vs. 4.13 ± 0.484 log cfu/fresh g) in INO versus CON, respectively. At d 0, no differences were found for S and I on the nutritional composition and background microbial counts. Leuconostocaceae (82.9 ± 4.27%) and Enterobacteriaceae (15.2 ± 3.52) were the predominant bacterial families and unidentified sequences were predominant for fungi. A higher relative abundance of the Davidiellaceae fungal family (34.3 vs. 19.6 ± 4.47) was observed in INO versus CON. At opening (217 d), INO had a lower relative abundance of Leuconostocaceae (42.3 vs. 95.8 ± 4.64) and higher Lactobacillaceae (57.4 vs. 3.9 ± 4.65) versus CON. Despite several differences were found between BKT and BG, both techniques can be comparable for characterizing effects of INO on the most basic measures used in silage evaluation. The use of inoculant improved oat silage quality partially by a shift in the bacterial community composition during ensiling, which mainly consisted of an increased relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae and reduction of Leuconostocaceae relative to CON.