Thiol-Functionalized Covalent Organic Frameworks as Thermal History Indictor for Temperature and Time History Monitoring

Various products, including foods and pharmaceuticals, are sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Thus, temperature monitoring during production, transportation, and storage is critical. Facile indicators are required to monitor temperature conditions via color changes in real time. This study aimed to prepare and apply thiol-functionalized covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as a novel indicator for monitoring thermal history and temperature abuse. The COFs underwent obvious color changes from bright yellow to purple after exposure to different temperatures for varying durations. The reaction kinetics are analyzed under isothermal conditions, which reveal that the order of reaction rates is k_−20°C < k_4°C < k_20°C < k_35°C < k_55°C. The activation energy (E_a) of the COFs is calculated using the Arrhenius equation as 50.71 kJ moL⁻¹. The COFs are capable of sensitive color changes and offer a broad temperature tracking range, thereby demonstrating their application potential for the monitoring of temperature and time exposure history during production, transportation, and storage. This excellent performance thermal history indicator also shows promise for expanding the application field of COFs.     

西汉徐地鲁恭王宫苑园林——鲁灵光殿研究

汉代是中国园林的形成阶段,不仅园林建筑物有所增加,成为住宅的延伸与扩展,而且人工造景比重也增大,造园要素趋于完备。园林的内容与功能随着社会生活的改变而逐步多样和完善,不仅是射猎、走狗、跑马的场所,还可以是游船、宴乐、赏鱼虫走兽、观看百戏的地方。造园在布局上也采用灵活多变的手法,按功能的需要,穿插安置不同形式的厅堂、楼阁、亭榭等。通过对鲁灵光殿时代背景及汉代园林、建筑营造形式的深入研究,结合文献的相关记述,梳理出鲁灵光殿的沿革,并以此为依据,对鲁灵光殿进行复原。     

传统文化电视节目的发展特点

传统文化电视节目在探索发展的过程中,选题逐渐聚焦中国风物人文,视野逐步向百姓生活延伸,立意兼顾文化内涵与百姓情感需求,编排制作节目内容与造型双发展。在此基础上,传统文化节目迎来更大的繁荣。     

A full moon in another land: The Moon Bridge in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Library

In 1913, a so-called Moon Bridge was built in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, USA as a fruit of the Japonism in the Western world at that time. The master carpenter was Toichiro Kawai, a Japanese immigrant from Yokohama who was originally a ship carpenter.The bridge is made of wood and shaped in the exaggerated arch form, which classifies the bridge as a “drum bridge” (Taiko-bashi) in Japanese culture. However, the unique structural form of this bridge, the “woven arch,” is rare in building history.This paper aims to explore why and how such a bridge appeared in such a place and time. For this purpose, we go from the historical background to its construction history, from the concept of the designer to the detailed design methods. Data come partly from the author's first-hand investigation and the limited local archive. The most interesting discoveries were made during the detailed on-site investigation, including the fact that the bridge is designed to express the metaphor of “perfection” (full moon) through its geometrical features, and the design is based according to traditional Japanese methods.     

Pregnancy by Assisted Reproductive Technology Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Neonates

Telomere length (TL) influences the development of lifestyle-related diseases, and neonatal TL may influence their prevalence. Various factors have been reported to affect neonatal TL. Although the fetus is exposed to multiple conditions in utero, the main factors affecting the shortening of neonatal TL are still not known. In this study, we sought to identify factors that influence fetal TL. A total of 578 mother-newborn pairs were included for TL analysis. TL was measured in genomic DNA extracted from cord blood samples using quantitative PCR. The clinical factors examined at enrollment included the following intrauterine environmental factors: maternal age, assisted reproductive technology (ART) used, body mass index (BMI), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age, neonatal sex, and placental weight. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to verify the relationship between neonatal TL and these clinical factors. The median neonatal TL to single-copy gene ratio was 1.0. Pregnancy with ART was among the 11 factors associated with shorter neonatal TL. From multiple regression analysis, we determined that neonatal TL was significantly shorter for pregnancies in the ART group than in the other groups. We conclude that pregnancy with ART is associated with shorter neonatal TL.     

Report on inaugural workshop RSA ReHi-Network ‘Interdisciplinary connections between history & regional studies’*

The RSA Research Network on Regional Economic and Policy History (ReHi) aims to investigate the role of the historic perspective on regional studies through a series of events. During the inaugural two-day workshop, held in London in April 2017, the participants highlighted historical methodologies and approaches that establish a common thread in the various regional disciplines. They defined interdisciplinary connections that need to be addressed to overcome the discontinuous dialogue among researchers of regional studies and history. The research papers that were presented at the conference focused on improving methodologies, analysing economic strategies, developing techniques, and understanding policy development. The workshop aimed at establishing the foundation for a common research framework to improve the scientific debate and provide impact on regional policy regulations.     

Case history on failure of a 67 M tall reinforced soil slope

Construction of this 67 m high RSS was completed in December 2006. After seven years in-service, a tension crack was observed at the top of the slope. In March 2015 this RSS structure catastrophically collapsed. This RSS structure collapsed in a compound failure mode; as the failure plane passed beneath, partially behind, and partially through the reinforced soil mass. The failure plane beneath the RSS was along a shale-claystone interface. The failure surface partially behind the RSS was along sandstone bedrock with water-seeping bedding planes dipping out of the rock mass. The failure surface through the upper portion of the RSS is where the geogrid reinforcement was overwhelmed by stresses originating from underlying deformation. The RSS collapse occurred after 8.3 years in-service as the shear strength along the shale-claystone interface decreased and approached the fully softened strength. The primary causative factors of this failure are: (i) an insufficient subsurface investigation program and interpretation of data for design and detailing; (ii) insufficient specifications and construction plan details for both foundation preparation and rock backcut benching; (iii) insufficient foundation preparation and rock backcut benching during construction; and (iv) adaptations to the design made during construction.     

The Lise Meitner-Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry: 18 Years of Israeli-German Collaboration

We tell the story of the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center, its establishment and activities, its members and their scientific activity, and its instrumental role in weaving intense relationships with the theoretical community in Germany, and in amalgamating the Israeli community of computational quantum chemistry into a national center that enjoys a high international reputation.