Cervid Prion Protein Polymorphisms: Role in Chronic Wasting Disease Pathogenesis

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease found in both free-ranging and farmed cervids. Susceptibility of these animals to CWD is governed by various exogenous and endogenous factors. Past studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms within the prion protein (PrP) sequence itself affect an animal’s susceptibility to CWD. PrP polymorphisms can modulate CWD pathogenesis in two ways: the ability of the endogenous prion protein (PrP^C) to convert into infectious prions (PrP^Sc) or it can give rise to novel prion strains. In vivo studies in susceptible cervids, complemented by studies in transgenic mice expressing the corresponding cervid PrP sequence, show that each polymorphism has distinct effects on both PrP^C and PrP^Sc. It is not entirely clear how these polymorphisms are responsible for these effects, but in vitro studies suggest they play a role in modifying PrP epitopes crucial for PrP^C to PrP^Sc conversion and determining PrP^C stability. PrP polymorphisms are unique to one or two cervid species and most confer a certain degree of reduced susceptibility to CWD. However, to date, there are no reports of polymorphic cervid PrP alleles providing absolute resistance to CWD. Studies on polymorphisms have focused on those found in CWD-endemic areas, with the hope that understanding the role of an animal’s genetics in CWD can help to predict, contain, or prevent transmission of CWD.     

粗糙集理论及其在图像处理中的应用*

首先描述了粗糙集理论的基本概念,包括粗糙集知识表示方法和粗糙集约简理论;叙述了粗糙集理论及其与其他非线性理论相结合在图像处理中的应用情况;最后指出了粗糙集理论应用于图像处理的基本思路,并指出将粗糙集理论与其他非线性理论相结合应用于图像处理,将会产生更加有效的结果.     

硫化胶中炭黑燃烧特性的研究

研究硫化胶中炭黑燃烧特性与对应炭黑原材料特性的关系,利用两者间的关系分析不同硫化胶中的炭黑品种,评价炭黑分散性。结果表明:硫化胶中炭黑燃烧特征温度与对应炭黑的压缩吸油值和氮吸附表面积均呈显著线性关系,相关因数分别为0.806 9和0.954 1;根据炭黑燃烧特征温度及线性回归方程推导出硫化胶中炭黑的压缩吸油值和氮吸附表面积,可以判定硫化胶中的炭黑品种;硫化胶中炭黑燃烧特征温度低,在一定程度上可以表明炭黑分散性良好。     

光伏发电接入对配电网低压台区线损的影响

随着可再生能源的不断开发,越来越多的光伏发电接入配电网,而光伏发电的不稳定性会对配电网的稳定造成影响。为此,针对光伏发电对配电网低压台区线损的影响,建立了电源接入模型并进行了仿真计算。     

Synthesis and characterization of caprolactone based polyurethane with degradable and antifouling performance

In this work,a degradable polyurethane composed of caprolactone(CL)and L-Lactide(LLA)as soft seg-ments,and 4,4'-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate)(H12MDI)and polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG)as hard segments,was prepared.Hydrolytic degradation experiment revealed that the degrad-able polyurethane(PU)could be degraded in artificial seawater.It also showed that caprolactone-co-polyurethane(CL-PU)copolymer with higher crystallinity degraded much slower in artificial seawater.However,the introduction of LLA resulted in an increase in the hydrophilicity and reduction in the crys-tallinity of degradable PU,as demonstrated by the contact angle analysis.The result of the scanning elec-tron microscope showed that the surface of degradable PU renewed under static condition.Moreover,degradable PU was able to be used as a carrier,and it controlled the release rate of 4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-isothiazolone(DCOIT).The anti-diatom(Navicula incerta)test demonstrated that the(caprolactone-co-L-lactide)-co-polyurethane 4(CL/LAx-PU4)with DCOIT contents prevented the adhe-sion of diatom Navicula incerta(88.37％reduction)due to their self-polishing and the release of antifou-lants.Therefore,the degradable PU consisted of CL,LLA,and DCOIT could be a durable resin with good antifouling activity for the application in the marine anti-biofouling field.     

脉冲作用下Tesla变压器绕组形变故障机理

Tesla变压器在高功率脉冲电源中占有重要地位,其次级绕组是机械故障损坏的主要部位.为了研究次级绕组充电过程中所受动态电磁力以及绕组机械故障机理,建立了有限元模型与集总电路相结合的绕组受力仿真模型.先使用COMSOL有限元分析软件提取Tesla变压器的分布参数,构建求解集总参数电路得到次级线圈的电位电流分布,然后将电流分布赋给有限元模型中的次级线圈作为磁场场源,计算磁场以及电磁力分布.仿真结果验证了平行于锥形线圈母线上的电磁力分量是引起绕组线圈错位的主要原因,且错位力的分布集中在两端,垂直于线圈母线上的压紧力有抵抗绕组变形的能力,在同样卷绕力下大径端的压紧力最小,是整个绕组受力的薄弱点,与实际统计结果大径端处故障频率高一致.在Tesla变压器的设计中应着重考虑加强次级绕组大径端处的机械强度.     

中国煤电生命周期二氧化碳和大气污染物排放相互影响建模分析

煤电在中国电力供应结构中占据主导地位,其环境影响是研究热点之一。建立中国煤电生命周期二氧化碳和大气污染物排放分析模型,基于文献调研构建参数数据库,测算中国煤电的单位发电量排放。结果表明,近年来中国煤电生命周期单位发电量的CO₂、SO₂、NO_x和PM_2.5排放分别为838.6 g/（kW·h）、0.34 g/（kW·h）、0.32 g/（kW·h）和0.08 g/（kW·h）。其中煤电单位发电量大气污染物排放,比实施超低排放改造前,下降幅度超过90%。研究发现,增大单机机组规模和进行超低排放改造能够有效降低煤电发电过程的大气污染物排放,采用煤电燃烧后碳捕集和存储(carbon capture and storage, CCS)处理技术能够使煤电CO₂排放下降到144 g/（kW·h）,助力碳中和目标实现。如果不采用更加严格的大气污染物排放标准和处理方式,CCS技术可能会使煤电大气污染物排放强度上升30%~40%,这与碳捕集过程使用的技术有关。     

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Based on 1-Phenyl-4-Benzoyl-1-Hydro-Triazole ERRα Inverse Agonists

Estrogen-related receptor α (ERRα), which is overexpressed in a variety of cancers has been considered as an effective target for anticancer therapy. ERRα inverse agonists have been proven to effectively inhibit the migration and invasion of cancer cells. As few crystalline complexes have been reported, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out in this study to deepen the understanding of the interaction mechanism between inverse agonists and ERRα. The binding free energy was analyzed by the MM-GBSA method. The results show that the total binding free energy was positively correlated with the biological activity of an inverse agonist. The interaction of the inverse agonist with the hydrophobic interlayer composed of Phe328 and Phe495 had an important impact on the biological activity of inverse agonists, which was confirmed by the decomposition of energy on residues. As Glu331 flipped and formed a hydrogen bond with Arg372 in the MD simulation process, the formation of hydrogen bond interaction with Glu331 was not a necessary condition for the compound to act as an inverse agonist. These rules provide guidance for the design of new inverse agonists.     

A Dual Physical Cross-Linking Strategy to Construct Tough Hydrogels with High Strength,Excellent Fatigue Resistance,and Stretching-Induced Strengthening Effect

Hydrogels with excellent stiffness, toughness, anti-fatigue, and self-recovery properties are regarded as promising water-containing materials. In this work, a dual physically cross-linked (DPC) sodium alginate (SA)/poly[acrylamide (AAm)-acrylic acid (AAc)-octadecyl methacrylate (OMA)]-Fe³⁺ hydrogel is reported, which is constructed by hydrophobic association (HA) and ionic coordination (IC). The optimal DPC hydrogel demonstrates excellent mechanical performance: tensile modulus of 0.65 MPa, tensile strength of 3.31 MPa, elongation at break of 1547%, and toughness of 27.8 MJ m^–3. SA/P(AAm-AAc-OMA)-Fe³⁺ DPC hydrogels also exhibit prominent anti-fatigue and self-recovery performance (99.1–109.7% modulus recovery and 90.4–108.9% dissipated energy recovery after resting for 5 min without additional stimuli at ambient temperature) through the reconstruction of reversible physical cross-linking. Some of the SA/P(AAm-AAc-OMA)-Fe³⁺ DPC hydrogels even exhibit a stretching-induced strengthening effect, which is similar to the performance of muscle—“the more training, the more strength.” Hence, the combination of HA and IC will provide an effective approach to design DPC hydrogels with desirable mechanical performances and a longer service life for wider applications of soft materials.