Aldehyde-functionalization of chitin nanocrystals via SI-ARGET ATRP of lignin-derived monomers.

Chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs), prepared from a down-sizing process from chitin, have recently captured great attention to access sustainable nanomaterials. The surface modification of ChNCs is crucial to regulate the surface physicochemical properties and introduce specific functions, thus satisfying their diverse applications. In this study, aldehyde-functionalized ChNCs (ChNCs-PVMA) with enhanced hydrophobicity were developed via surface-initiated activators regenerated by electron transfer for atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ARGET ATRP) of a lignin-derived polymerizable aldehyde monomer, vanillin methacrylate (VMA).

Effect of Low Protein Diet on Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Low protein diet plays an important role in cardiovascular diseases. However, exact role is unclear so far. We aimed to find out the effect of low protein diet on patients with cardiovascular disease.

Susceptibility and exposure risk to airborne aerosols in intra-urban microclimate: Evidence from subway system of mega-cities.

The health of intra-urban population in modern megacities relies largely on the biosafety within the microclimate of subway system, which can be vulnerable to epidemical challenges brought by virus-laden bioaerosols under varying factors. The literature has yet to address the association between the exposure risks to infectious pathogens and the dynamic changes of boundary conditions in this densely populated microclimate. This study aims at characterizing the bioaerosol dispersion, evaluating the exposure risks under various train arrival scenarios and hazard releasing positions in a real-world double-decker subway station.

Check dam storage capacity calculation based on high-resolution topogrammetry: Case study of the Cutou Gully, Wenchuan County, China.

Debris flows are a common natural trigger of disasters in mountainous areas, and check dams are standard structural measures for controlling debris flows. Despite their prevalence in debris flow-prone areas worldwide, the capacity of check dams is still calculated using empirical formulas, which lead to large calculation errors. This paper proposes a new method that uses GIS to calculating the design storage capacity of a check dam in the debris flow-prone Cutou Gully in Wenchuan County, China.

Author Correction: Respective influence of vertical mountain differentiation on debris flow occurrence in the Upper Min River, China.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Respective influence of vertical mountain differentiation on debris flow occurrence in the Upper Min River, China.

The generation, formation, and development of debris flow are closely related to the vertical climate, vegetation, soil, lithology and topography of the mountain area. Taking in the upper reaches of Min River (the Upper Min River) as the study area, combined with GIS and RS technology, the Geo-detector (GEO) method was used to quantitatively analyze the respective influence of 9 factors on debris flow occurrence. We identify from a list of 5 variables that explain 53.

Nonparametric Bayesian Segmentation of a Multivariate Inhomogeneous Space-Time Poisson Process.

A nonparametric Bayesian model is proposed for segmenting time-evolving multivariate spatial point process data. An inhomogeneous Poisson process is assumed, with a logistic stick-breaking process (LSBP) used to encourage piecewise-constant spatial Poisson intensities. The LSBP explicitly favors spatially contiguous segments, and infers the number of segments based on the observed data.