Sustainable phenolic thermosets coatings derived from urushiol

The over-exploitation of finite fossil resources and/or the increased environmental and sustainable awareness inspire scientists and technologists to search for inexpensive alternatives from renewable chemicals. Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins, the oldest type of synthetic polymers with good mechanical properties and heat resistance, are widely used in the production of coatings, laminates, molding compositions, and glues. Here, biobased urushiol-derived PF resins were synthesized from the alkali-catalyzed reaction between urushiol and formaldehyde. The chemical compositions and molecular structures of resole resins were characterized by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and their curing behaviors were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The as-prepared urushiol-derived resole resins had methylol (Ph−CH₂OH), ortho- and para-hemiformal groups (Ph−CH₂OCH₂OH), and the para−para/ortho−para/ortho−ortho links of methylene groups (Ph−CH₂−Ph), whereas the resole resins had low curing temperatures at about 100–113°C. Additionally, given the long side alkyl group moiety on the aromatic rings of urushiol, the films of cured urushiol-derived resole resins had low glass transition temperatures of 132 ± 2°C. Furthermore, the as-prepared urushiol-derived coatings exhibited excellent physical and mechanical properties.     

中国传统饮食文化融入食育路径研究

为国民身体素质、探索具有中国特色的现代食育之路，必须深入分析与探索中国饮食文化中的食育理念。文章以传统饮食文化为出发点和落脚点，概括出医食同源、饮食有节、饮食有礼等先进的食育观点。分析传统饮食与现代食育的关系，认为食育是弘扬传统饮食文化的重要途径，传统饮食文化是发展现代食育的基础。但探索现代食育仍面临着西方快餐文化冲击和国民食育进程缓慢等困境，必须采取强化国民食育意识、加强食育法制建设、健全食育教育体系、推进食育试点工作等措施促进中国传统饮食文化融入食育体系建设，真正探索具有中国特色的食育之路。     

Leucokinin and Associated Neuropeptides Regulate Multiple Aspects of Physiology and Behavior in Drosophila

Leucokinins (LKs) constitute a family of neuropeptides identified in numerous insects and many other invertebrates. LKs act on G-protein-coupled receptors that display only distant relations to other known receptors. In adult Drosophila, 26 neurons/neurosecretory cells of three main types express LK. The four brain interneurons are of two types, and these are implicated in several important functions in the fly’s behavior and physiology, including feeding, sleep–metabolism interactions, state-dependent memory formation, as well as modulation of gustatory sensitivity and nociception. The 22 neurosecretory cells (abdominal LK neurons, ABLKs) of the abdominal neuromeres co-express LK and a diuretic hormone (DH44), and together, these regulate water and ion homeostasis and associated stress as well as food intake. In Drosophila larvae, LK neurons modulate locomotion, escape responses and aspects of ecdysis behavior. A set of lateral neurosecretory cells, ALKs (anterior LK neurons), in the brain express LK in larvae, but inconsistently so in adults. These ALKs co-express three other neuropeptides and regulate water and ion homeostasis, feeding, and drinking, but the specific role of LK is not yet known. This review summarizes Drosophila data on embryonic lineages of LK neurons, functional roles of individual LK neuron types, interactions with other peptidergic systems, and orchestrating functions of LK.     

Hepatitis B Virus-Like Particle: Targeted Delivery of Plasmid Expressing Short Hairpin RNA for Silencing the Bcl-2 Gene in Cervical Cancer Cells

Gene therapy research has advanced to clinical trials, but it is hampered by unstable nucleic acids packaged inside carriers and there is a lack of specificity towards targeted sites in the body. This study aims to address gene therapy limitations by encapsidating a plasmid synthesizing a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) that targets the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene using truncated hepatitis B core antigen (tHBcAg) virus-like particle (VLP). A shRNA sequence targeting anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was synthesized and cloned into the pSilencer 2.0-U6 vector. The recombinant plasmid, namely PshRNA, was encapsidated inside tHBcAg VLP and conjugated with folic acid (FA) to produce FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP. Electron microscopy revealed that the FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP has an icosahedral structure that is similar to the unmodified tHBcAg VLP. Delivery of FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP into HeLa cells overexpressing the folate receptor significantly downregulated the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 at 48 and 72 h post-transfection. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay demonstrated that the cells’ viability was significantly reduced from 89.46% at 24 h to 64.52% and 60.63%, respectively, at 48 and 72 h post-transfection. As a conclusion, tHBcAg VLP can be used as a carrier for a receptor-mediated targeted delivery of a therapeutic plasmid encoding shRNA for gene silencing in cancer cells.     

Cognitive and affective processes for learning science in immersive virtual reality

As immersive virtual reality (IVR) systems proliferate in classrooms, it is important to understand how they affect learning outcomes and the underlying affective and cognitive processes that may cause these outcomes. Proponents argue that IVR could improve learning by increasing positive affective and cognitive processing, thereby supporting improved performance on tests of learning outcome, whereas opponents of IVR contend that it could hurt learning by increasing distraction, thereby disrupting cognitive learning processes and leading to poorer learning outcomes. In a media comparison study, students viewed a biology lesson either as an interactive animated journey in IVR or as a slideshow on a desktop monitor. Those who viewed the IVR lesson performed significantly worse on transfer tests, reported higher emotional arousal, reported more extraneous cognitive load and showed less engagement based on EEG measures than those who viewed the slideshow lesson, with or without practice questions added to the lessons. Mediational analyses showed that the lower retention scores for the IVR lesson were related to an increase in self-reported extraneous cognitive load and emotional arousal. These results support the notion that immersive environments create high affective and cognitive distraction, which leads to poorer learning outcomes than desktop environments.     

计及RSC控制的DFIG短路电流直流分量解析表达

现有文献针对计及转子变流器(RSC)控制的双馈感应风电机组(DFIG)定子短路电流解析表达,将定子磁链当作一阶直流衰减分量或忽略功率外环控制。基于DFIG电压、磁链和RSC控制方程,得到定子电流关于定子电压和定子功率的传递函数,提出定子电流的精确解析表达式。基于RSC内、外环PI参数关系,推导直流分量衰减时间常数和角频率关于PI参数的表达式。分析了RSC内外环PI参数对定子电流直流衰减分量的影响。仿真结果验证了解析表达式的准确性,为PI参数选取和保护装置测量、整定提供依据。     

中国传统白酒中微量成分的来源与作用

根据中国传统白酒微量成分研究取得的新成果,系统地总结了微量成分来源及其作用。主要来源有3条途径:发酵过程中微生物和酶的催化反应、贮存过程中的化学变化和生产原料特殊成分的化学反应,主要起到了呈香呈味、成格成型和生理功能三方面的作用。生产原料对中国传统白酒微量成分的影响、高产白酒主体风味成分的基因菌构建与应用和白酒功能因子的深入研究等方向是未来研究的重点。     

荸荠皮酚类物质超声波辅助提取工艺优化

采用超声波辅助提取荸荠皮中的酚类物质,考察溶剂种类、料液比、提取温度、超声功率及超声时间对酚类物质提取率的影响。在单因素试验的基础上,确定最佳提取溶剂,并利用响应面法优化工艺条件。结果表明,荸荠皮总酚的最佳提取工艺条件为:甲醇提取,料液比1:15 (g/mL),提取温度55℃,超声功率270 W,超声时间55 min,该条件下总酚含量的最大响应值为4. 42 mg/g;荸荠皮总黄酮最佳提取工艺条件为:甲醇提取,料液比1:20 (g/mL),提取温度60℃,超声功率240 W,超声时间55 min,该条件下总黄酮含量的最大响应值为15. 20 mg/g。     

基于并行多通道卷积长短时记忆网络的轴承寿命预测方法

在预测轴承剩余使用寿命时，数据间的时序特性是一个可以利用的重要隐藏信息。为了更好地提取具有时序信息的特征用于预测，提出了一种基于并行多通道卷积长短时记忆网络（PMCCNN-LSTM）的剩余使用寿命预测模型。该模型主要由两部分组成：前端为并行多通道卷积网络（PMCCNN），提取信号特征，挖掘数据的时序特性，并采用逐层训练和微调的方式提升参数的收敛性；后端为长短时记忆（LSTM）网络，基于特征进行剩余使用寿命预测，并采用加权平均的方法对预测结果进行平滑处理。在一个轴承加速寿命实验的公开数据集上使用留一法验证了该模型的准确性，实验结果表明：所提模型的平均误差与最大误差分别比传统的卷积神经网络（CNN）低23.38%和15.84%，比传统的LSTM低24.14%和19.01%，比卷积长短时记忆网络（CNN-LSTM）低30.32%和23.09%。