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- Author or Editor: J. Du x
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Abstract
The heat capacities of LiNH2 and Li2MgN2H2 were measured by a modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) over the temperature range from 223 to 473 K for the first time. The value of heat capacity of LiNH2 is bigger than that of Li2MgN2H2 from 223 to 473 K. The thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (H–H 298.15) and entropy (S–S 298.15) versus 298.15 K were calculated based on the above heat capacities. The thermal stabilities of them were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) at a heating rate of 10 K min−1 with Ar gas flow rate of 30 mL min−1 from room temperature to 1,080 K. TG curves showed that the thermal decomposition of them occurred in two stages. The order of thermal stability of them is: Li2MgN2H2 > LiNH2. The results indicate that addition of Mg increases the thermal stability of Li–N–H system and decrease the value of heat capacities of Li–N–H system.
Summary
The comprehension of the behavior of radioactive nuclides in aquifer requires the study of the sorption processes of nuclides in various geochemical conditions. The sorption/desorption of 65Zn(II) on surface sediments (0-2 cm) was investigated by batch method in sea water (pH 8.20, 35‰ salinity, filtered by 0.45mm) at ambient temperature. The surface sediments were obtained from four stations around the Daya Bay of Guangdong Province (China), where the first nuclear power station of China has been running from 1994. The sorption process is fast initially and around 39% average of sorption percentage (SP%) can be quickly obtained in 15 minutes for all the surface sediments. Then, the sorption percentage becomes constant. In 30 days of contact time 79.6% sorption percentage and K d=3.9. 103ml/g distribution coefficient was obtained. The value of K dbecame constant, 4.0. 103ml/g, in contact time more than 120 hours. The distribution coefficient K ddecreases with increasing sediment concentration from 4.0 to 250 mg/l from 1.31. 104to 1.68. 103ml/g, respectively. Then the value of K dgoes up to 5.38. 103ml/g with sediment concentration of 3000 mg/l. The desorption experiments suggest that the sorption of Zn(II) is irreversible with a hyteresis coefficient of 66%.
Abstract
Background and aims
Numerous studies on behavioral addictions (BAs) have reported gray matter (GM) alterations in multiple brain regions by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). However, findings are poorly replicated and it remains elusive whether distinct addictive behaviors are underpinned by shared abnormalities. In this meta-analysis, we integrated VBM studies on different BAs to investigate common GM abnormalities in individuals with BAs.
Methods
We performed a systematic search up to January 2019 in several databases for VBM studies investigating GM differences between individuals with BAs and healthy controls. The reference lists of included studies and high-quality reviews were investigated manually. Anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping was applied in this meta-analysis.
Results
Twenty studies including 505 individuals with BAs and 564 healthy controls met the inclusion criteria. Compared with healthy controls, individuals with BAs showed GM atrophy in the left anterior cingulate (extending to the left medial superior frontal gyrus and bilateral orbitofrontal gyrus), right putamen and right supplementary motor area. Subgroup analysis found heterogeneity in gender and subtypes of BAs. Meta-regression revealed that GM decreases in the left anterior cingulate and right supplementary motor area were positively correlated with addictive severity. Higher impulsivity was associated with smaller volume of the left anterior cingulate.
Discussion and conclusions
Our findings on BAs were mainly derived from internet gaming disorder (IGD) and pathological gambling (PG) studies, preliminarily suggesting that GM atrophy in the prefrontal and striatal areas might be a common structural biomarker of BAs.
Chinese endemic wheat landraces possess unique morphological features and desirable traits, useful for wheat breeding. It is important to clarify the relationship among these landraces. In this study, 21 accessions of the four Chinese endemic wheat landrace species were investigated using single-copy genes encoding plastid Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc-1) and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (Pgk-1) in order to estimate their phylogenetic relationship. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian, and TCS network and gene flow values. The A and B genome sequences from the Pgk-1 loci indicated that three accessions of Triticum petropavlovskyi were clustered into the same subclade, and the T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum and the Sichuan white wheat accessions were grouped into a separate subclade. Based on the Acc-1 gene, T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum and T. aestivum ssp. yunnanense were grouped into one subclade in the A genome; the B genome from T. petropavlovskyi and T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum, and the Sichuan white wheat complex and T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum were grouped in the same clades. The D genome of T. aestivum ssp. yunnanense clustered with T. petropavlovskyi. Our findings suggested that (1) T. petropavlovskyi is distantly related to the Sichuan white wheat complex; (2) T. petropavlovskyi, T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum and T. aestivum ssp. yunnanense are closely related; (3) T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum is closely related to T. aestivum ssp. yunnanense and the Sichuan white wheat complex; and (4) T. aestivum ssp. tibetanum may be an ancestor of Chinese endemic wheat landraces.
Abstract:
Business advertisements are multimodal consumer-oriented texts with persuasive functions. Advertisers create specific advertisements for marketing products/services in specific contexts. The headline in an advertisement is the main element as it attracts attention and summarizes the advertising message. Advertising relies on socio-cultural implications through visual and non-visual elements. When products/services are marketed in a new context with a different language, their advertisements are translated into that language. Because languages have different ways of encoding information, the success of a product/ service in a culturally different context depends on how its advertisement is translated. The structural and cultural differences between English and Arabic and the functional nature of headlines in English business advertisements seem to have direct bearing on how advertising headlines are rendered into Arabic. This study investigates the translation of advertising headlines from English into Arabic in the context of marketing products/services in UAE. The aim is to identify the techniques used in translating headlines and their implications for translation quality and to identify views of Arab customers over the acceptability of Arabic versions of advertising headlines. The study findings indicate that seven translation techniques are used and customers consider Arabic advertisements produced via function-oriented translation techniques more acceptable than translations produced via form-based techniques.
After suffering from mechanical injury and fungal infection, grapes are perishable. Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mould, is a critical pathogen for grapes. In this study, the inhibitory effect of Pseudomonas fluorescens on the formation of gray mould on grapes during the postharvest storage was investigated on “Kyoho” grape. The results suggest that a living cell suspension of P. fluorescens significantly inhibited spore germination of B. cinerea, and significantly reduced the incidence of grape gray mould. Moreover, compared with the control, the fruit inoculated with P. fluorescens had elevated activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chitinase (CHI), and β-1,3-glucanase (GLU). Increase in enzyme activity correlated with enhanced host resistance. In addition, there was little difference in storage quality between the treated group and control group, indicating no adverse effects of the induced defence response on fruit quality.
Abstract
As a byproduct from the deep processing of longan fruit, longan kernel is rich in starch and is a good source for starch production. In this study, the rheological properties of longan kernel starch (LS) extracted by protease-assisted alkali method were investigated. When the shear rate was from 1 to 100 s−1, the pastes containing 4%–7% (w/v) of LS showed a non-Newtonian fluid with a pseudoplastic fluid characteristic. Their shear stress, apparent viscosity, complex viscosity, storage modulus (G′), and loss modulus (G″) positively correlated with starch concentration. The loss factor (tan δ) of all LS pastes was less than 1. At same concentration, LS paste showed a stronger pseudoplastic fluid characteristic and higher elasticity than corn starch and pea starch pastes. Based on this, LS has potential in processing of jelly, soft sweets, ham sausage, and some other sauces.
The increasing consumer demand for less processed and more natural food products – while improving those products’ quality, safety, and shelf-life – has raised the necessity of chemical preservative replacement. Biopreservation refers to extended storage life and enhanced safety of foods using the natural microflora and (or) their antibacterial products. Chitinolytic enzymes are of biotechnological interest, since their substrate, chitin, is a major structural component of the cell wall of fungi, which are the main cause of the spoilage of food and raw plant material. Among the several organisms, many bacteria produce chitinolytic enzymes, however, this behaviour is not general. The chitinase activity of the lactic acid bacteria is scarcely known and studied.
The aim of the present study was to select Lactobacillus strains that have genes encoding chitinase, furthermore, to detect expressed enzymes and to characterise their chitinase activity. Taking into consideration the importance of chitin-bindig proteins (CBPs) in the chitinase activity, CBPs were also examined. Five Lactobacillus strains out of 43 strains from 12 different species were selected by their chitinase coding gene. The presence of the chitinase and chitin-biding protein production were confirmed, however, no chitinolytic activity has been identified.
Abstract
Conversion of economic microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) into high value-added prebiotic glucans, is not only stimulates utilisation of renewable lignocellulosic biomass, but also provides cheap prebiotics to reduce high incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Herein, glucans (C0.25–C0.50–C1.00) from MCC were prepared by pre-impregnation with dilute sulphuric acid (0.25–0.50–1.00%) and ball-milling treatment for 1 h. NMR spectroscopy and gel-permeation chromatography of the glucan products showed a significant reduction in the degree of polymerisation (DP) and molecular weights (Mw). All prepared glucans improved gut stress evaluated by in vitro digestion and fermentation (young and aging mouse faecal inocula). C1.00 with lower DP and Mw showed better water solubility, earlier peak, and exhibited increased 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl activity, higher ratios of Lactobacillus to Escherichia coli, and a higher level of short chain fatty acids better than C0.25 and C0.50 treatment (P < 0.05). Better prebiotic effects were observed in aging mice than in young mice. The highest ratio of Lactobacillus to E. coli was a 2.13-fold increase for aging mice compared to a 1.79-fold increase for young mice, relative to the initial value after C1.00 treatment. The study provides a novel pathway and a new resource for producing glucan.
