现代气压沉箱施工的环境监测及分析

现代气压沉箱施工多应用于大城市繁华地段,为把其对周边环境的影响降到最小,试点工程对气压沉箱施工进行了环境监测方案,并对监测结果进行了分析。监测结果表明:现代气压沉箱施工对周边环境的影响较小,周边土体、邻近建筑物以及地管线的变位能够控制在允许范围之内。     

为建筑工人设计的房子

作品紧扣设计大赛主题,将改善建筑工人的居住生活条件作为目标,通过社会调查和深入研究,设计出了拆装方便、实用美观的建筑集合体。该集合体主要由居住空间和公共服务空间两部分组成,基本组成单元可通过内部构件的灵活布置转换成学习空间和娱乐空间;采用钢架结构,预制构件的规格较为统一,便于施工并且可重复使用。     

鱼鳞胶原蛋白肽钙螯合物制备工艺的优化

采用响应面法对罗非鱼鳞胶原蛋白肽钙螯合物的制备工艺进行优化,建立了肽钙螯合率与时间、肽与氯化钙质量比、温度、pH的数学模型。最佳制备参数为:时间39min、肽与氯化钙质量比3.3∶1、温度61℃和pH7.2,此条件下肽钙螯合率的验证值为65.01%,与预测值(65.05%)无显著性差异。红外光谱分析表明罗非鱼鳞胶原蛋白肽与钙形成了螯合物。为新型钙制剂的开发及鱼鳞的高值化利用提供了理论依据。      

七种试剂对单针藻的絮凝作用

针对单针藻(Monoraphidium sp.)规模化培养采收成本较高问题,考察硫酸铝钾、硫酸铝、氢氧化钙、氯化铁、氯化铝、聚丙烯酰胺、壳聚糖7种试剂对单针藻絮凝效率和细胞完整性的影响。结果表明单针藻采收最佳絮凝剂为壳聚糖,用量为0.04g/L,壳聚糖对单针藻细胞无损伤。适当浓度的氯化铁(0.2~0.4g/L)和氯化铝(0.4~0.8g/L)能够较好的絮凝单针藻细胞,但过高的浓度会影响絮凝效率;氯化铁在实验浓度条件下藻细胞完整性好,氯化铝在低浓度(0.4g/L)下对藻细胞损伤较小,但过高浓度(1.0g/L)会破坏藻细胞。硫酸铝钾和氢氧化钙絮凝效率较低,当浓度为1.0g/L时仅能絮凝70%的藻细胞,并且氢氧化钙对单针藻细胞有较大的破坏。聚丙烯酰胺对单针藻细胞基本无絮凝效果。      

Development of a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Evaluating the Comprehensive Application of Herbaceous Peony at Low Latitudes

The growing region of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora) has been severely constrained due to the intensification of global warming and extreme weather events, especially at low latitudes. Assessing and selecting stress-tolerant and high-quality peony germplasm is essential for maintaining the normal growth and application of peonies under adverse conditions. This study proposed a modified multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model for assessing peonies adapted to low-latitude climates based on our previous study. This model is low-cost, timesaving and suitable for screening the adapted peony germplasm under hot and humid climates. The evaluation was conducted through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), three major criteria, including adaptability-related, ornamental feature-related and growth habits-related criteria, and eighteen sub-criteria were proposed and constructed in this study. The model was validated on fifteen herbaceous peonies cultivars from different latitudes. The results showed that ‘Meiju’, ‘Hang Baishao’, ‘Hongpan Tuojin’ and ‘Bo Baishao’ were assessed as Level I, which have strong growth adaptability and high ornamental values, and were recommended for promotion and application at low latitudes. The reliability and stability of the MCDM model were further confirmed by measuring the chlorophyll fluorescence of the selected adaptive cultivars ‘Meiju’ and ‘Hang Baishao’ and one maladaptive cultivar ‘Zhuguang’. This study could provide a reference for the introduction, breeding and application of perennials under everchanging unfavorable climatic conditions.     

Advanced EPI-X4 Derivatives Covalently Bind Human Serum Albumin Resulting in Prolonged Plasma Stability

Advanced derivatives of the Endogenous Peptide Inhibitor of CXCR4 (EPI-X4) have shown therapeutic efficacy upon topical administration in animal models of asthma and dermatitis. Here, we studied the plasma stability of the EPI-X4 lead compounds WSC02 and JM#21, using mass spectrometry to monitor the chemical integrity of the peptides and a functional fluorescence-based assay to determine peptide function in a CXCR4-antibody competition assay. Although mass spectrometry revealed very rapid disappearance of both peptides in human plasma within seconds, the functional assay revealed a significantly higher half-life of 9 min for EPI-X4 WSC02 and 6 min for EPI-X4 JM#21. Further analyses demonstrated that EPI-X4 WSC02 and EPI-X4 JM#21 interact with low molecular weight plasma components and serum albumin. Albumin binding is mediated by the formation of a disulfide bridge between Cys10 in the EPI-X4 peptides and Cys34 in albumin. These covalently linked albumin–peptide complexes have a higher stability in plasma as compared with the non-bound peptides and retain the ability to bind and antagonize CXCR4. Remarkably, chemically synthesized albumin-EPI-X4 conjugates coupled by non-breakable bonds have a drastically increased plasma stability of over 2 h. Thus, covalent coupling of EPI-X4 to albumin in vitro before administration or in vivo post administration may significantly increase the pharmacokinetic properties of this new class of CXCR4 antagonists.     

Construction of Dual-Shell Mo2C/C Microsphere towards Efficient Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Carbon-based carbides have attracted tremendous attention for electromagnetic energy attenuation due to their adjustable dielectric properties, oxidation resistance, and good chemical stability. Herein, we reasonably regulate the growth of dopamine hydrochloride on the surface of the Mo-glycerate (Mo-GL) microsphere and then transform the resultant Mo-polydopamine (Mo-PD) microsphere into a dual-shell Mo₂C/C (DS-Mo₂C/C) microsphere in a high-temperature pyrolysis process under an inert atmosphere. It is found that the pyrolysis temperature plays an important role in the graphitization degree of the carbon matrix and internal architecture. The fabrication of a dual-shell structure can be propitious to the optimization of impedance matching, and the introduction of Mo₂C nanoparticles also prompts the accumulation of polarization loss. When the pyrolysis temperature reaches 800 °C, the optimized composite of DS-Mo₂C/C-800 exhibits good EM absorption performance in the frequency range of 2.0–18.0 GHz. DS-Mo₂C/C-800′s qualified bandwidth can reach 4.4 GHz at a matching thickness of 1.5 mm, and the integrated qualified bandwidth (QBW) even exceeds 14.5 GHz with a thickness range of 1.5–5.0 mm. The positive effects of the dual-shell structure and Mo₂C nanoparticles on EM energy attenuation may render the DS-Mo₂C/C microsphere as a promising candidate for lightweight and broad bandwidth EM absorption materials in the future.     

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Supplementation Improves Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Rescues Cellular Senescence by NAD+/Sirt3 Pathway in Mesenchymal Stem Cells

In vitro expansion-mediated replicative senescence has severely limited the clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Accumulating studies manifested that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) depletion is closely related to stem cell senescence and mitochondrial metabolism disorder. Promoting NAD⁺ level is considered as an effective way to delay aging. Previously, we have confirmed that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor of NAD⁺, can alleviate NAD⁺ deficiency-induced MSC senescence. However, whether NMN can attenuate MSC senescence and its underlying mechanisms are still incompletely clear. The present study herein showed that late passage (LP) MSCs displayed lower NAD⁺ content, reduced Sirt3 expression and mitochondrial dysfunction. NMN supplementation leads to significant increase in intracellular NAD⁺ level, NAD⁺/ NADH ratio, Sirt3 expression, as well as ameliorated mitochondrial function and rescued senescent MSCs. Additionally, Sirt3 over-expression relieved mitochondrial dysfunction, and retrieved senescence-associated phenotypic features in LP MSCs. Conversely, inhibition of Sirt3 activity via a selective Sirt3 inhibitor 3-TYP in early passage (EP) MSCs resulted in aggravated cellular senescence and abnormal mitochondrial function. Furthermore, NMN administration also improves 3-TYP-induced disordered mitochondrial function and cellular senescence in EP MSCs. Collectively, NMN replenishment alleviates mitochondrial dysfunction and rescues MSC senescence through mediating NAD⁺/Sirt3 pathway, possibly providing a novel mechanism for MSC senescence and a promising strategy for anti-aging pharmaceuticals.     

Increasing the Grain Yield and Grain Protein Content of Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum) by Introducing Missense Mutations in the Q Gene

Grain yield (GY) and grain protein content (GPC) are important traits for wheat breeding and production; however, they are usually negatively correlated. The Q gene is the most important domestication gene in cultivated wheat because it influences many traits, including GY and GPC. Allelic variations in the Q gene may positively affect both GY and GPC. Accordingly, we characterized two new Q alleles (Q^s1 and Q^c1-N8) obtained through ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutagenesis. Compared with the wild-type Q allele, Q^s1 contains a missense mutation in the sequence encoding the first AP₂ domain, whereas Q^c1-N8 has two missense mutations: one in the sequence encoding the second AP₂ domain and the other in the microRNA172-binding site. The Q^s1 allele did not significantly affect GPC or other processing quality parameters, but it adversely affected GY by decreasing the thousand kernel weight and grain number per spike. In contrast, Q^c1-N8 positively affected GPC and GY by increasing the thousand kernel weight and grain number per spike. Thus, we generated novel germplasm relevant for wheat breeding. A specific molecular marker was developed to facilitate the use of the Q^c1-N8 allele in breeding. Furthermore, our findings provide useful new information for enhancing cereal crops via non-transgenic approaches.