Novel fluorine-containing energetic materials: how potential are they? A computational study of detonation performance.

Context: High-energy density materials (HEDMs) have emerged as a research focus due to their advantageous ultra-high detonation performance and better sensitivity. The primary aim of this study revolves around crafting HEDMs that strike a delicate balance between exceptional performance and minimal sensitivity. Density functional theory (DFT) was utilized to evaluate the geometric structures, energies, densities, energy properties, and sensitivities of 39 designed derivatives.

Effects of Dietary Nonfibrous Carbohydrate/Neutral Detergent Fiber Ratio on Methanogenic Archaea and Cellulose-Degrading Bacteria in the Rumen of Karakul Sheep: a 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Study.

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary nonfibrous carbohydrate (NFC)/neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratio on methanogenic archaea and cellulose-degrading bacteria in Karakul sheep by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Twelve Karakul sheep were randomly divided into four groups, each group with three replicates, and they were fed with four dietary NFC/NDF ratios at 0.54, 0.

Melanin synthesis genes BgTH and BgDdc affect body color and cuticle permeability in Blattella germanica.

Melanin is involved in cuticle pigmentation and sclerotization of insects, which is critical for maintaining structural integrity and functional completeness of insect cuticle. The 2 key enzymes of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopa decarboxylase (DDC) predicted in melanin biosynthesis are usually conserved in insects. However, it is unclear whether their function is related to epidermal permeability.

Progress of thrombus formation and research on the structure-activity relationship for antithrombotic drugs.

Many populations suffer from thrombotic disorders such as stroke, myocardial infarction, unstable angina and thromboembolic disease. Thrombus is one of the major threatening factors to human health and the prevalence of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases induced by thrombus is growing worldwide, even some persons got rare and severe blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine unexpectedly. In terms of mechanism of thrombosis, antithrombotic drugs have been divided into three categories including anticoagulants, platelet inhibitors and fibrinolytics.

Downregulation of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase via RNA interference increases the susceptibility of Acyrthosiphon pisum to desiccation and insecticides.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) is involved in the metabolism of endogenous and exogenous substances, and detoxification of insecticides. RNA interference (RNAi) of CPR in certain insects causes developmental defects and enhanced susceptibility to insecticides. However, the CPR of Acyrthosiphon pisum has not been characterized, and its function is still not understood.

Modulation of fatty acid elongation in cockroaches sustains sexually dimorphic hydrocarbons and female attractiveness.

Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) serve as important intersexual signaling chemicals and generally show variation between the sexes, but little is known about the generation of sexually dimorphic hydrocarbons (SDHCs) in insects. In this study, we report the molecular mechanism and biological significance that underlie the generation of SDHC in the German cockroach Blattella germanica. Sexually mature females possess more C29 CHCs, especially the contact sex pheromone precursor 3,11-DimeC29.

Effectiveness of mHealth management with an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile application among Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth management with an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile application among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China.

Methods: A randomised controlled trial was carried out to compare the effectiveness of usual health management to mHealth management based on a model that consisted of the network platform, an implantable glucose sensor and a mobile app featuring guidance from general practitioners (GPs) over a four-week period. Patients (=68) with T2DM were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group.

Two putative fatty acid synthetic genes of BgFas3 and BgElo1 are responsible for respiratory waterproofing in Blattella germanica.

Water retention is critical for physiological homeostasis and survival in terrestrial insects. While deposition of hydrocarbons on insect cuticles as a key measure for water conservation has been extensively investigated, we know little about other mechanisms for preventing water loss in insects. Here, we report two fatty acid synthetic genes that are independent of hydrocarbon production but crucial for water retention in the German cockroach Blattella germanica (L.

A water-soluble and incubate-free fluorescent environment-sensitive probe for ultrafast visualization of protein thiols within living cells.

The amount of protein thiols play a crucial role in maintaining the cellular redox homeostasis and have significant implications to indicate a series of diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an ideal probe for protein thiol detection in a simple and readily implementable method. Consequently, a water-soluble and incubate-free fluorescent environment-sensitive probe DMTs-OCC was synthesized using 7-diethylamincoumarin as the fluorophore and 4-(5-Methanesulfonyl- [1,2,3,4]tetrazol-1-yl)-phenol (MSTP) as a thiol receptor reagent.

Lipophorin receptor regulates the cuticular hydrocarbon accumulation and adult fecundity of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum.

Cuticular hydrocarbons form a barrier that protects terrestrial insects from water loss via the epicuticle. Lipophorin loads and transports lipids, including hydrocarbons, from one tissue to another. In some insects, the lipophorin receptor (LpR), which binds to lipophorin and accepts its lipid cargo, is essential for female fecundity because it mediates the incorporation of lipophorin by developing oocytes.

Semi-solid rheology characterization of sludge conditioned with inorganic coagulants.

Rheology measurement, a state-of-the-art technology in a multitude of engineering disciplines, has often been used for computational fluid dynamic simulation of wastewater treatment processes, especially in anaerobic digestion and dewatering. In this work, rheological tests were used to study the semi-solid characteristics of sludge and a good result was obtained. The inorganic coagulants polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and ferric chloride (FC) both increased the floc strength of sludge, leading to higher rheology parameters such as elastic modulus, viscous modulus and specific thixotropy area.

Biodegradable poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites reinforced and toughened by carbon nanotubes/clay hybrids.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polyester derived from renewable resources like corn starch, presenting great potential in clinical applications like tissue engineering, implants and drug delivery systems. However, the intrinsic brittleness restricts its real applications. In this work, PLA nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating a small amount of carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and surface compatabilized montmorillonite (MMT) via technologies of freeze-drying and masterbatch-based melt blending.

Selective dispersion of carbon nanotubes and nanoclay in biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(lactic acid) blends with improved toughness, strength and thermal stability.

Poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(lactic acid) (PCL/PLA) blends are promising biomaterials with biodegradable characteristics. However, poor compatibility of the two components may lead to undesirable mechanical properties. In this work, the effect of combining carboxyl multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) on the morphology and properties of PCL/PLA blend was investigated.

Establishment of the Permeability Model for Soft Solid Sludge Conditioned with Flocculants.

Permeability plays a decisive role in the dewatering process and reflects the difficulty of filtration, especially for soft solid material such as sludge. In this paper, the physicochemical properties and dewatering performance of sludge conditioned with different kinds of flocculants were investigated. Results showed that the flocculant could change the sludge microstructure such as floc morphology, specific surface area, and fractal dimension.

Rheology characteristics of activated sludge and thermal treated sludge at different process temperature.

In this paper, flow behavior for activated sludge and thermal treated sludge at different process temperature and various solids content were analyzed. Results show viscosity of activated sludge and thermal treated sludge both decreased with increasing temperature, while temperature dependence of viscosity for both types of sludge were not same at the whole study range. The relationship between viscosity and temperature could be expressed by Arrhenius equation for activated sludge, and it was interesting that this law was only suitable when certain solid content (80 g/L) for thermal treated sludge.

[TG-fTIR study of the thermal-conversion properties of holo-cellulose derived from woody biomass].

Thermal-conversion properties of cellulose, hemi-cellulose and holo-cellulose derived from woody biomass were studied using TG-FTIR, and also compared to those of avicel cellulose and xylan. 3-D diffusion model was applied to calculate the kinetic parameters of thermal-conversion reaction of biomass materials, such as the activation energy, pre-exponential factors, etc, which showed good regression results. With the analysis of three-dimensional IR spectra of gas products, featured peaks of HzO, CO, CO2, CH4, and oxygenates were obviously observed where showing up with the maximum weight-loss rate in DTG curves.