Secretory profile of metapleural gland cells of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex coronatus (Formicidae: Attini)

Ants present a pair of metapleural glands located at the posterolateral end of the thorax. Because of its importance in the social organization of ants, the present study was aimed at describing the morphophysiology of this gland in three worker castes of Acromyrmex coronatus, focused on secretory activity using histological and histochemical techniques. Our findings revealed that the secretory and the storage portions of this gland are connected by extracytoplasmic portion of canaliculi that drain the secretion from each secretory cell to the collecting chamber. This secretion contains glycoproteins. In minor workers, the secretion contains higher levels of polysaccharides when compared to that of major workers, supporting the role of the metapleural gland in the maintenance of the fungus garden. The nucleus as well as cytoplasm of secretory cells were strongly positive for RNA indicating that these cells are active in the synthesis of proteins and lipids, compounds found in the final secretion. The variant of the CEC revealed that the secretory activity of the entire gland is synchronous, as all cells exhibit the result.     

光伏电池最大功率点跟踪方法比较

根据太阳能光伏电池的工程数学模型,在Matlab环境下建立了光伏电池仿真模型,分析了光照强度和温度变化对光伏电池输出特性的影响。针对扰动观察法采用固定的扰动步长而难以获得较高跟踪精度和响应速度的问题,提出了一种基于变步长的改进的扰动观察法,并通过对光伏电池控制系统进行仿真,比较了这2种最大功率点跟踪方法的仿真曲线。结果表明,采用改进的扰动观察法的光伏电池控制系统能更快速跟踪最大功率点,且在最大功率点处稳定性较好。     

基于光伏电池输出特性的MPPT算法研究

为了寻找更好的实现光伏发电系统最大功率点跟踪控制方法,基于单个光伏电池的物理特性建立了太阳能光伏电池阵列的Matlab仿真模型,分析了太阳能光伏电池阵列所具有的随着光照强度和温度不同而变化的P-U和I-U非线性特性.基于光伏电池的动态特性,在最大功率点跟踪算法的设计中增加一个电流监测回路,并结合自寻优技术对电导增量法进行改进,提出了一种自适应变步长寻优算法.仿真结果表明,该算法能够快速准确的跟踪最大功率点.     

结合先天和适应性免疫的蠕虫检测免疫模型

现有的蠕虫检测方法大多通过关闭不安全的端口,切断感染主机与未感染主机之间通信等方法延缓蠕虫传播而达到将损害减少到最低程度的目的.实际上在实施这些方法时往往有许多障碍需要克服,其中的最大障碍就是存在错误检测率高的问题.现将免疫危险理论中的DCs(树突状细胞,Dendritic Cells)-T细胞协同机制用于蠕虫检测,其中DCs属于先天免疫系统细胞,T细胞属于适应性免疫系统细胞.本模型将蠕虫进程触发的系统调用序列当作抗原,将感染蠕虫导致的主机和网络异常当作危险信号.在该模型中,DCs负责危险信号的收集检测并提呈与该危险信号关联的抗原给T细胞检测器进行抗原结构检测.理论分析说明,这样的双重检测方法可以降低伪肯定率和伪否定率,并且记忆T细胞检测器的采用能使系统对类似蠕虫的再次感染反应更加迅速.     

RADIOIMMUNOTOXICOLOGICAL EFFECT OF ENRICHED URANIUM ON CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL IMMUNE CELLS AND THE PROTECTIVE ACTION OF IL－1 AND IL－2

ＲＡＤＩＯＩＭＭＵＮＯＴＯＸＩＣＯＬＯＧＩＣＡＬＥＦＦＥＣＴＯＦＥＮＲＩＣＨＥＤＵＲＡＮＩＵＭＯＮＣＥＮＴＲＡＬＡＮＤＰＥＲＩＰＨＥＲＡＬＩＭＭＵＮＥＣＥＬＬＳＡＮＤＴＨＥＰＲＯＴＥＣＴＩＶＥＡＣＴＩＯＮＯＦＩＬ－１ＡＮＤＩＬ－２￥ＺｈｕＳｈｏｕｐｅ...     

Carbon Black-Supported Single-Atom Co?N?C as an Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalyst for H2O2 Production in Acidic Media and Microbial Fuel Cell in Neutral Media

Single metal atom isolated in nitrogen-doped carbon materials (M N C) are effective electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which produces H₂O₂ or H₂O via 2-electron or 4-electron process. However, most of M N C catalysts can only present high selectivity for one product, and the selectivity is usually regulated by complicated structure design. Herein, a carbon black-supported Co N C catalyst (CB@Co N C) is synthesized. Tunable 2-electron/4-electron behavior is realized on CB@Co-N-C by utilizing its H₂O₂ yield dependence on electrolyte pH and catalyst loading. In acidic media with low catalyst loading, CB@Co N C presents excellent mass activity and high selectivity for H₂O₂ production. In flow cell with gas diffusion electrode, a H₂O₂ production rate of 5.04 mol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ is achieved by CB@Co N C on electrolyte circulation mode, and a long-term H₂O₂ production of 200 h is demonstrated on electrolyte non-circulation mode. Meanwhile, CB@Co N C exhibits a dominant 4-electron ORR pathway with high activity and durability in pH neutral media with high catalyst loading. The microbial fuel cell using CB@Co N C as the cathode catalyst shows a peak power density close to that of benchmark Pt/C catalyst.     

Versatile Hypoxic Extracellular Vesicles Laden in an Injectable and Bioactive Hydrogel for Accelerated Bone Regeneration

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as an appealing alternative to cell therapy in regenerative medicine. Unlike bone marrow MSCs (BMSCs) cultured in vitro with normoxia, bone marrow in vivo is exposed to a hypoxic environment. To date, it remains unclear whether hypoxia preconditioning can improve the function of BMSC-derived EVs and be more conducive to bone repair. Herein, it is found that hypoxia preconditioned BMSCs secrete more biglycan (Bgn)-rich EVs via proteomics analysis, and these hypoxic EVs (Hypo-EVs) significantly promote osteoblast proliferation, migration, differentiation, and mineralization by activating the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway. Subsequently, an injectable bioactive hydrogel composed of poly(ethylene glycol)/polypeptide copolymers is developed to improve the stability and retention of Hypo-EVs in vivo. The Hypo-EVs-laden hydrogel shows continuous liberation of Hypo-EVs for 3 weeks and substantially accelerates bone regeneration in 5-mm rat cranial defects. Finally, it is confirmed that Bgn in EVs is a pivotal protein regulating osteoblast differentiation and mineralization and exerts its effects through paracrine mechanisms. Therefore, this study shows that hypoxia stimulation is an effective approach to optimize the therapeutic effects of BMSC-derived EVs and that injectable hydrogel-based EVs delivery is a promising strategy for tissue regeneration.     

Solution-Mediated Hybrid FAPbI3 Perovskite Quantum Dots for Over 15% Efficient Solar Cell

Organic–inorganic formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI₃) hybrid perovskite quantum dot (QD) is of great interest to photovoltaic (PV) community due to its narrow band gap, higher ambient stability, and long carrier lifetime. However, the surface ligand management of FAPbI₃ QD is still a key hurdle that impedes the design of high-efficiency solar cells. Herein, this study first develops a solution-mediated ligand exchange (SMLE) for preparing FAPbI₃ QD film with enhanced electronic coupling. By dissolving optimal methylammonium iodide (MAI) into antisolvent to treat the FAPbI₃ QD solution, the SMLE can not only effectively replace the long-chain ligands, but also passivate the A- and X-site vacancies. By combining experimental and theoretical results, this study demonstrates that the SMLE engineered FAPbI₃ QD exhibits lower defect density, which is beneficial for fabricating high-quality QD arrays with desired morphology and carrier transport. Consequently, the SMLE FAPbI₃ QD based solar cell outputs a champion efficiency of 15.10% together with improved long-term ambient storage stability, which is currently the highest reported value for hybrid perovskite QD solar cells. These results would provide new design principle of hybrid perovskite QDs toward high-performance optoelectronic application.     

In Situ Polymerizing Internal Encapsulation Strategy Enables Stable Perovskite Solar Cells toward Lead Leakage Suppression

Despite the outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) achieved over the years, unsatisfactory stability and lead toxicity remain obstacles that limit their competitiveness and large-scale practical deployment. In this study, in situ polymerizing internal encapsulation (IPIE) is developed as a holistic approach to overcome these challenges. The uniform polymer internal package layer constructed by thermally triggered cross-linkable monomers not only solidifies the ionic perovskite crystalline by strong electron-withdrawing/donating chemical sites, but also acts as a water penetration and ion migration barrier to prolong shelf life under harsh environments. The optimized MAPbI₃ and FAPbI₃ devices with IPIE treatment yield impressive efficiencies of 22.29% and 24.12%, respectively, accompanied by remarkably enhanced environmental and mechanical stabilities. In addition, toxic water-soluble lead leakage is minimized by the synergetic effect of the physical encapsulation wall and chemical chelation conferred by the IPIE. Hence, this strategy provides a feasible route for preparing efficient, stable, and eco-friendly PSCs.     

Doped/Undoped A1-A2 Typed Copolymers as ETLs for Highly Efficient Organic Solar Cells

The electron transport layer (ETL) is a critical component in achieving high device performance and stability in organic solar cells. Conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) have become an attractive alternative due to film-forming properties and ease of preparation. However, p-type CPEs generally exhibit poor charge mobility and conductivity, incorporation of electron-withdrawing units forming alternated D-A conjugated backbone can make up for these deficiencies. Herein, the ratio of electron withdrawing moieties are further increased and two poly(A1-alt-A2) typed PIIDNDI-Br and PDPPNDI-Br based on the combination of naphthalene diimide (NDI) with isoindigo (IID) or diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) via direct arylation polycondensation are synthesized. These CPEs possess excellent alcohol solubility, a suitable lowest unocuppied molecular orbital energy level, and work function tunability. Surprisingly, the incorporation of IID and DPP units generate distinct self-doping behaviors, which are confirmed by UV–vis absorption and ESR spectra. However, no matter doped or undoped, both CPEs present better charge-transporting properties and conductivity when utilized as ETLs. The PIIDNDI-Br and PDPPNDI-Br display good universal compatibility with the blend of PM6:Y6 and PM6:L8-BO, and PCEs of 18.32% and 18.36% are obtained, respectively, which also present excellent storage stability. In short, the combination of two different acceptors demonstrates an efficient strategy to design highly efficient ETLs for high performance photovoltaic devices.