Stem Photosynthesis—A Key Element of Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) Acclimatisation to Salinity

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) is a leguminous plant of outstanding tolerance to abiotic stress. The aim of the presented study was to describe the mechanism of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) photosynthetic apparatus acclimatisation strategies to salinity stress. The seedlings were cultivated in a hydroponic system in media containing various concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, and 100 mM), imitating none, moderate, and severe salinity, respectively, for three weeks. In order to characterise the function and structure of the photosynthetic apparatus, Chl a fluorescence, gas exchange measurements, proteome analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis were done inter alia. Significant differences in the response of the leaf and stem photosynthetic apparatus to severe salt stress were observed. Leaves became the place of harmful ion (Na⁺) accumulation, and the efficiency of their carboxylation decreased sharply. In turn, in stems, the reconstruction of the photosynthetic apparatus (antenna and photosystem complexes) activated alternative electron transport pathways, leading to effective ATP synthesis, which is required for the efficient translocation of Na⁺ to leaves. These changes enabled efficient stem carboxylation and made them the main source of assimilates. The observed changes indicate the high plasticity of grass pea photosynthetic apparatus, providing an effective mechanism of tolerance to salinity stress.     

Sustainable optimization of waste management network over extended planning time horizon

This study proposes a multiperiod mixed integer linear programming model for the management of a single municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant with sustainability as the objective. Discrete and continuous variables define the capacity selections for diverse MSW technologies, and the operation of the MSW network, respectively. The economic target is considered to maximize the net present value. The environmental impact is the minimization of a normalized environmental objective function (NEOF). The social target is the maximization of jobs. An interesting feature about the research work is the requirement of biodrying technologies for MSW moisture content control. Due to the conflicted nature among the sustainability components, a multiobjective optimization (MO) is carried out to find the Pareto optimal solutions. The MO results show that the Pareto optimal solutions vary around profit range of $4.9–8.5 billion, NEOF impact range of 3.2–3.6 units, and social benefit range of 2700–4828 jobs.     

Effect of suspension characteristics on the performance of thermal barrier coatings deposited by suspension plasma spray

This paper investigates the influence of suspension characteristics on microstructure and performance of suspensions plasma sprayed (SPS) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Five suspensions were produced using various suspension characteristics, namely, type of solvent and solid load content, and the resultant suspensions were utilized to deposit five different TBCs under identical processing conditions. The produced TBCs were evaluated for their performance i.e. thermal conductivity, thermal cyclic fatigue (TCF) and thermal shock (TS) lifetime. This experimental study revealed that the differences in the microstructure of SPS TBCs produced using varied suspensions resulted in a wide-ranging overall TBC performance. All TBCs exhibited thermal conductivity lower than 1 W/(m. K) except water-ethanol mixed suspension produced TBC. The TS lifetime was also affected to a large extent where 10 wt % solid loaded ethanol and 25 wt % solid loaded water suspensions produced TBCs exhibited the highest and the lowest lifetime, respectively. On the contrary, TCF lifetime was not as significantly affected as thermal conductivity and TS lifetime, and all ethanol suspensions showed marginally better TCF lifetime than water and ethanol-water mixed suspensions deposited TBCs.     

面向智能客服的句子相似度计算方法

针对金融领域中智能客服的句子相似度计算方法进行了研究。利用基于词性的分词纠正模型减少中文歧义词、金融相关词汇的分词错误；通过词向量方法和循环神经网络分别提取词语级和句子级的语义特征，并且得到句子向量；用融合层计算出句子向量间的差异特征；对差异特征进行降维和归一化得到句子相似度计算结果。实验结果表明，该方法具有较高的准确率和[F1]值。     

Influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings

This paper presents influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings. Eight 1/1.5‐scale steel eave columns were constructed and tested under low cyclic reversed loading, including 4 specimens with bracket set and 4 specimens without bracket set. Based on the analysis of the strain of the specimens, the failure modes of the specimens were obtained. In addition, the hysteresis loops, skeleton curves, degradations of stiffness and strength, ductility, and dissipation capacities of the specimens were analyzed. Bracket set changed the force transfer mechanisms and failure modes of the specimens and had a significant influence on the seismic performance of the specimens. Compared with the specimens without bracket set, the yielded and ultimate bearing capacities of the specimens with bracket set improved by 30.7% and 24.0%, respectively. And also, the stiffness of the specimens with bracket set at the yielded and ultimate points increased by 52.8% and 135.6%. The dissipation capacities of the specimens with bracket set were 2.12 times those of the specimens without bracket set at yielded load. However, the ductility of the specimens with bracket set slightly decreased by 8.5%. It was shown that the seismic performance of the specimens with bracket set was better than that of the specimens without bracket set. The work in this paper provides a basis for further theoretical study on the seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings.     

Interrelated Mechanism by Which the Methide Quinone Celastrol,Obtained from the Roots of Tripterygium wilfordii,Inhibits Main Protease 3CLpro of COVID-19 and Acts as Superoxide Radical Scavenger

We describe the potential anti coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) action of the methide quinone inhibitor, celastrol. The related methide quinone dexamethasone is, so far, among COVID-19 medications perhaps the most effective drug for patients with severe symptoms. We observe a parallel redox biology behavior between the antioxidant action of celastrol when scavenging the superoxide radical, and the adduct formation of celastrol with the main COVID-19 protease. The related molecular mechanism is envisioned using molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations. It proposes a covalent bond between the S(Cys145) amino acid thiolate and the celastrol A ring, assisted by proton transfers by His164 and His41 amino acids, and a π interaction from Met49 to the celastrol B ring. Specifically, celastrol possesses two moieties that are able to independently scavenge the superoxide radical: the carboxylic framework located at ring E, and the methide-quinone ring A. The latter captures the superoxide electron, releasing molecular oxygen, and is the feature of interest that correlates with the mechanism of COVID-19 inhibition. This unusual scavenging of the superoxide radical is described using density functional theory (DFT) methods, and is supported experimentally by cyclic voltammetry and X-ray diffraction.     

300MW等级锅炉变工况低负荷稳燃能力数值模拟与预测

采用数值模拟软测量技术,在保证锅炉燃烧稳定和炉内温度较高水平的条件下,预测300 MW等级锅炉在实际运行中可降低到25%负荷稳定燃烧,并经过现场低负荷稳燃实验对结果进行验证。针对一次风速调整、磨煤机投运方式调整和配风方式及运行氧量调整三种方式对低负荷稳燃能力的影响进行分析,结果表明:在降负荷过程中调平一次风速偏差并适当降低一次风速,投运相邻层燃烧器,关小周界风,适当降低二次风量的同时适当降低运行氧量有利于提高低负荷稳燃特性。     

铁素体/贝氏体双相钢循环载荷作用下变形行为的模拟研究

为了避免铁素体/贝氏体双相钢管线管在服役过程中的交变载荷作用下引起的塑性损伤，采用有限元模拟方法，建立了Chaboche随动强化模型，研究了铁素体/贝氏体双相钢在循环应变载荷作用下的变形行为。结果显示，在循环应变作用下，应变优先在铁素体中形成累积，并在铁素体、贝氏体界面集中；随应变幅的增大，应变带在铁素体中形成，而贝氏体内累积应变增加不大，两相界面应变差增大。研究表明，铁素体内应变和两相应变差的增加将降低双相钢的塑性变形能力。     

A Tetrahedral Boronic Acid Diester Formed by an Unnatural Amino Acid in the Ligand Pocket of an Engineered Lipocalin

Boronic acids have long been known to form cyclic diesters with cis-diol compounds, including many carbohydrates. This phenomenon was previously exploited to create an artificial lectin by incorporating p-borono-l -phenylalanine (Bpa) into the ligand pocket of an engineered lipocalin, resulting in a so-called Borocalin. Here we describe the X-ray analysis of its covalent complex with 4-nitrocatechol as a high-affinity model ligand. As expected, the crystal structure reveals the formation of a cyclic diester between the biosynthetic boronate side chain and the two ortho-hydroxy substituents of the benzene ring. Interestingly, the boron also has a hydroxide ion associated, despite an only moderately basic pH 8.5 in the crystallization buffer. The complex is stabilized by a polar contact to the side chain of Asn134 within the ligand pocket, thus validating the functional design of the Borocalin as an artificial sugar-binding protein. Our structural analysis demonstrates how a boronate can form a thermodynamically stable diester with a vicinal diol in a tetrahedral configuration in aqueous solution near physiological pH. Moreover, our data provide a basis for the further engineering of the Borocalin with the goal of specific recognition of biologically relevant glycans.     

Study of Compatibilized Liquid Crystalline Polymer/Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Blends

The technology to produce compatibilized blends of liquid crystalline polymer and highly amorphous cyclic olefin copolymers through two novel approaches were studied. The first approach was to use silane-functionalized halloysite nanotube as nonspecific compatibilizer and the second method was reactive compatibilization. The study of blends and their resulting microstructure; their thermal, mechanical, and viscoelastic properties were investigated. The kinetic study of blends compatibilized through both routes was performed.