TrajStat: GIS-based software that uses various trajectory statistical analysis methods to identify potential sources from long-term air pollution measurement data

Statistical analysis of air mass back trajectories combined with long-term ambient air pollution measurements are useful tools for source identification. Using these methods, the geographic information system (GIS) based software, TrajStat, was developed to view, query, and cluster the trajectories and compute the potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analyses when measurement data are included.     

Modelling net primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia based on an improved CASA ecosystem model

By using a land cover map, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data sets, monthly meteorological data and observed net primary productivity (NPP) data, we have improved the method of estimating light use efficiency (LUE) for different biomes and soil moisture coefficients in the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) ecosystem model. Based on this improved model we produced an annual NPP map (in 1999) for the East Asia region located at 10–70° N, 70–170° E (about 19.66% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth). The results show that the mean NPP for the study area in 1999 was 374.12 g carbon (C) m^?2 year^?1 and the total NPP was 1.096 × 10¹⁴ kg C year^?1, making up 17.51–18.39% of the global NPP. Comparison between the estimated NPP obtained from this improved CASA ecosystem model and the observed NPP obtained from two NPP databases indicates that the estimated NPP is close to the observed NPP, with an average error of 5.15% for the study region. We used two different land cover maps of China to drive the improved CASA model by keeping other inputs unchanged to determine how the classification accuracy of the land cover map affects the estimated NPP, and the results indicate that an accurate land cover map is important for obtaining an accurate and reliable estimate of NPP for some regions, especially for a particular biome.     

Annotation of miRNAs in COVID-19 coronavirus

The COVID-19 coronavirus is a new strain of coronavirus that had not been previously detected in humans. As its severe pathogenicity is concerned, it is important to study it thoroughly to aid in the discovery of a cure. In this study, the microRNAs (miRNAs) of COVID-19 were annotated to provide a powerful tool for the study of this novel coronavirus. We obtained 16 novel coronavirus genome sequences and the mature sequences of all viruses in the microRNA database (miRbase), and then used the miRNA mature sequences of the virus to perform the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis in the coronavirus genome, extending the matched regions of approximately 20 bp to two segments by 200 bp. Six sequences were obtained after deleting redundant sequences. Then, the hairpin structures of the mature miRNAs were determined using RNAfold. The mature sequence on one hairpin arm was selected into a total of 4 sequences, and finally the relevant miRNA precursor prediction tools were used to verify whether the selected sequences are miRNA precursor sequences of the novel coronavirus. The miRNAs of the novel coronavirus were annotated by our newly developed method, which will lay the foundation for further study of this virus.     

Reproducible and Sensitive Plasmonic Sensing Platforms Based on Au-Nanoparticle-Internalized Nanodimpled Substrates

Electromagnetic enhancement effects through localized surface plasmon resonance considerably amplify the intensity of incident light when molecules are positioned in the vicinity of miniscule nanogaps. The aggregation of plasmonic nanoparticles synthesized using bottom-up methods has been extensively used to generate hot spots in solutions. These methods assist in obtaining non-periodic plasmonic signals, because the realization of uniform nanogaps through particle aggregation is difficult. Nanostructured substrates with gaps of 20–100 nm have also been fabricated using the top-down approach. However, the fabrication of smaller nanogap templates using these methods is difficult owing to high costs and low throughput. Therefore, a nanodimple array internalized with AuNPs is developed in this study to mitigate the challenges encountered in the bottom-up and top-down approaches. Precise nanogaps are generated by regularly internalizing AuNPs in the cavities of nanodimples through DNA hybridization. Simulations of the electric field distribution indicate that the incorporation of 80 nm-sized AuNPs into a curved nanodimpled Au substrate generate high-density volumetric hot spots within a detection volume, and result in a high plasmonic enhancement factor of 8.25 × 10⁷. The tremendous potential of the proposed plasmonic platform as an SERS-based biomedical diagnostic device is also verified.     

取代位置对香豆素衍生物二阶非线性光学性质影响的DFT研究

采用密度泛函理论（DFT）B3LYP/6-31G方法,对设计的6个不同位置取代氨基的香豆素衍生物的几何构型进行优化。在所得优化结构的基础上对这些分子的稳态二阶NLO系数β值进行计算分析,并采用含时密度泛函理论（TD-DFT）方法计算了其电子性质,研究了取代位置对香豆素类衍生物分子的二阶NLO性质的影响规律。结果表明：当氨基取代在4号位时香豆素分子中的羰基表现出供电性,对分子内电荷转移非常不利,不利于提高分子的β值;当氨基取代在在3、5、6、7、8位时分子中的羰基表现出吸电性,使分子形成D-π-A构型,并且氨基在3、7位的取代能够扩大体系的共轭范围,有效增加了香豆素分子的βtot值。     

基于激光偏振技术的海洋牧场水下成像技术研究

良好的水下视觉环境是推动海洋经济发展的前提,海洋牧场的建设对水下成像技术提 出 新的要求,但是受水体环境吸收及散射影响,光信息丢失严重,用常规光学成像方式进行水 下 图像获取会有可视距离短,图像模糊不清,对比度低等缺点。为解决海洋牧场水下成像清晰 度 低的问题,提出一种通过532 nm激光光源与偏振技术相结合的方法并 集成了一款水下相机。 532 nm波段的绿色激光光源在水体环境中受到水体影响较小,传播效 果更佳,偏振成像技术在去 背景光散射中应用广泛,采用532 nm激光光源与偏振成像技术相结合 的方法进行水下图像的获 取,并在模拟海水环境的水池中进行了海参图像获取的实验,实验结果证明在某一偏振角度 下, 532 nm激光光源与偏振成像技术相结合的方式获取的海参图像相比于 自然光下获取的原图像对比 度、清晰度更高,含有的图像信息更加丰富,验证了此方法在水下成像的可行性。     

没食子酸和芦丁对鱼皮明胶凝胶的溶胀性及水的状态的影响

研究没食子酸和芦丁对鱼皮凝胶的溶胀性及水的状态的影响。结果表明,没食子酸和芦丁均可使凝胶的平衡溶胀率降低,以芦丁的影响较显著。在凝胶溶胀初期,未交联凝胶和没食子酸添加量20mg/g凝胶以及芦丁添加量为6和8mg/g凝胶均表现非Fick扩散过程,而30mg/g没食子酸交联的凝胶表现Fick扩散过程。同时发现,无论是未交联凝胶还是多酚交联凝胶,在溶胀过程中均是凝胶高分子链的松弛过程为速控步骤。通过差示扫描量热法(DSC)对多酚交联凝胶中水的状态分析发现,没食子酸和芦丁对凝胶的平衡水分含量没有明显影响,但可改变凝胶中可冻结水和非冻结结合水的分布。20和30mg/g的没食子酸使凝胶中非冻结结合水含量降低,而6和8mg/g的芦丁却使凝胶中非冻结结合水含量升高。      

Computational analysis methods to quantify a.c. impedance data

For the interpretation of a.c. impedance data, two data analysis techniques are described and evaluated. The first method is a least squares analysis of a nonlinear model. Modifications to a previously published algorithm, CIRFIT, include a least squares estimate of the double layer capacitance. Also, two convergence techniques for CIRFIT were explored and evaluated. The second method is a nonlinear least squares analysis of an equivalent circuit consisting of three RC parallel combinations, the final circuit containing a diffusion limiting impedance. The method satisfactorily estimated the component values of the proposed equivalent circuit, even when two time constants were closely spaced. Both methods could be valuable in analyzing, modeling, and interpreting experimental a.c. impedance data.     

N-doped hierarchically macro/mesoporous carbon with excellent electrocatalytic activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction

A novel kind of N-doped hierarchically porous carbon materials (HPC-Ns) has been successfully synthesized with hierarchically macro/mesoporous silica as a hard template followed by a simple N-doping procedure using low-cost and nontoxic urea as the nitrogen source. The synthesized HPC-N samples demonstrated extensive three-dimensional (3D) connected macroporosity and partially ordered mesoporosity, extremely large specific surface area, favorable graphitization degree, and high relative content of pyridinic N, which is active to the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Due to the combined contributions of the above features, the metal-free HPC-Ns demonstrated excellent performance in ORR with a highly comparable limiting current density but much higher current output stability and resistance towards the fuel crossover effect compared to the commercial Pt/C, as well as the dominant 4 e⁻ reduction mechanism. Thus, it is believed that HPC-N has the potential to be used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.     

Antifungal properties of chitosan salts in laboratory media

Some aliphatic carboxylic acids were used to produce chitosan (CS) salts by reaction with CS, and their antifungal activity against three kinds of phytopathogens was estimated by hypha measurement in vitro. The fungicidal assessment showed that all of the CS salts had excellent activity against the tested fungi. Their inhibitory indices were 41.15–64.15, 56.25–76.56, and 35.94–68.75% for Cladosporium cucumerinum (Ell.) et Arthur, Monilinia fructicola (Wint.) Honey, and Fusarium oxysporum sp. Cucumis sativus L., respectively, at 1000 μg/mL; these indices were higher than that of CS. It was confirmed that the amino groups' protonation was important for the antifungal activity of CS derivatives. The substituted groups with stronger electronegativity drew more electrons from the nitrogen atoms in the derivative molecules, which relatively strengthened the polycationic character of the CS derivatives. Therefore, the antifungal activity of the CS salts was improved. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010