Inter-valley spiral order in the Mott insulating state of a heterostructure of trilayer graphene-boron nitride.

Recent experiment has shown that the ABC-stacked trilayer graphene-boron nitride Moire super-lattice at half-filling is a Mott insulator. Based on symmetry analysis and effective band structure calculation, we propose a valley-contrasting chiral tight-binding model with local Coulomb interaction to describe this Moire super-lattice system. By matching the positions of van Hove points in the low-energy effective bands, the valley-contrasting staggered flux per triangle is determined around π/2.

A special light-aerobic condition for photosynthetic bacteria-membrane bioreactor technology.

The combined photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has the great advantage of simultaneously realizing wastewater purification and bio-resource recovery and has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Light-oxygen conditions are the most vital factor in wastewater treatment. The special light-aerobic condition was first applied to PSB-MBR wastewater treatment, and it was compared with three typical light-oxygen conditions.

Brewery wastewater treatment and resource recovery through long term continuous-mode operation in pilot photosynthetic bacteria-membrane bioreactor.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) are considered ideal for high COD wastewater treatment and resource recovery. This work is the first continuous-mode long-term (440 days) pilot study (240 L) by using PSB-membrane (PSB-MBR) system for such purpose. Results showed that the system started-up in 27 days for brewery wastewater and then stably operated under various temperature, initial COD and pH conditions, which showed fast start-up and strong robustness.

Impacts of Fe on 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) biosynthesis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides in wastewater treatment by regulating nif gene expression.

This study aimed to increase bacterial growth and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) biosynthesis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides in wastewater treatment through adding ferrous ion (Fe). Results demonstrated that Fe effectively enhanced the biomass production and ALA yield of R. sphaeroides.

Rumen fluid fermentation for enhancement of hydrolysis and acidification of grass clipping.

Rumen fluid, formed in rumen of ruminants, includes a complex microbial population of bacteria, protozoa, fungi and archaea, and has high ability to degrade lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, rumen fluid was used to ferment grass clipping for enhancing the hydrolysis and acidification of organic matters. Results showed that strict anaerobic condition, higher grass clipping content and smaller particle size of grass clipping were beneficial to the hydrolysis and acidification of organics.

microRNA-544 promoted human osteosarcoma cell proliferation by downregulating AXIN2 expression.

microRNAs (miRNAs) perform various oncogenic or tumor suppressor functions in carcinogenesis. Currently, the underlying mechanisms of miRNAs in osteosarcoma (OS) are poorly understood. In the present study, it is demonstrated that expression of miR-544 was markedly upregulated in OS cells and clinical tissues.

An artificial bee colony optimization based matching pursuit approach for ultrasonic echo estimation.

Ultrasonic echo estimation is important in ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation and material characterization. Matching pursuit is one of the most popular methods for the purpose of estimating ultrasonic echoes. In this paper, an artificial bee colony optimization based matching pursuit approach (ABC-MP) is proposed specifically for ultrasonic signal decomposition by integrating the artificial bee colony algorithm into the matching pursuit method.

Iron Based Catalysts Used in Water Treatment Assisted by Ultrasound: A Mini Review.

The characteristics and performances of catalyst are the key in catalytic ultrasonic treatment of wastewater, and iron based catalysts are known for low cost, high accessibility and safety. This paper reviewed the current research status of iron-based catalysts in water treatment assisted by ultrasound. Zero valent iron, FeO and iron composited with other metals were analyzed, their behaviors in catalytic sonochemistry were summarized, and the potential catalytic mechanisms were discussed in details.

Measurement of a 3D Ultrasonic Wavefield Using Pulsed Laser Holographic Microscopy for Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation.

In ultrasonic array imaging, 3D ultrasonic wavefields are normally recorded by an ultrasonic piezo array transducer. Its performance is limited by the configuration and size of the array transducer. In this paper, a method based on digital holographic interferometry is proposed to record the 3D ultrasonic wavefields instead of the array transducer, and the measurement system consisting of a pulsed laser, ultrasonic excitation, and synchronization and control circuit is designed.

Enhancing the auto-flocculation of photosynthetic bacteria to realize biomass recovery in brewery wastewater treatment.

Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) wastewater treatment technology can simultaneously realize wastewater purification and biomass production. The produced biomass contains high value-added products, which can be used in medical and agricultural industry. However, because of the small size and high electronegativity, PSB are hard to be collected from wastewater, which hampers the commercialization of PSB-based industrial processes.

Membrane concentrate treatment by photosynthetic bacteria: Feasibility and tolerance mechanism analysis.

Refractory membrane concentrate generated from the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process remains a big challenge. With high pollution loads, high salinity and low biodegradability, membrane concentrates are difficult to be treated by conventional biological treatments. In this work, photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) were employed to handle this problem.

One-step treatment and resource recovery of high-concentration non-toxic organic wastewater by photosynthetic bacteria.

In order to achieve simple pollutant removal and simultaneous resource recovery in high-COD-non-toxic wastewater treatment, a one-step photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) method was established using batch study experiment. The effluent COD met the national discharge standard, and biomass with rich protein and high-value substances was efficiently produced. It eliminated the demand of post-treatment for conventional PSB treatment.

By up-regulating μ- and δ-opioid receptors, neuron-restrictive silencer factor knockdown promotes neurological recovery after ischemia.

We investigated the effects of neuron-restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) on proliferation of endogenous nerve stem cells (NSCs) and on μ- and δ-opioid receptor (MOR/DOR) expression in rats after cerebral ischemia. Among 100 rats subjected to cerebral ischemia, 20 rats were transfected with NRSF shRNA, and the remaining 80 were randomly assigned to normal, sham, model, and negative control (NC) groups. On days 7, 14, and 28 after ischemia and reperfusion, neurological function scores were assigned and a step-down passive avoidance test was conducted.

Impact of baseline blood pressure on the magnitude of blood pressure lowering by nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system: refreshing the Wilder's principle.

Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between baseline blood pressure (BP) and the magnitude of BP reduction in patients with essential hypertension treated with nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system (NGTS).

Methods And Patients: One hundred and thirty-eight patients with essential hypertension were enrolled in this prospective, single-arm, open-label study. NGTS was administered for 24 weeks to achieve target BP of 140/90 mmHg.

An eFTD-VP framework for efficiently generating patient-specific anatomically detailed facial soft tissue FE mesh for craniomaxillofacial surgery simulation.

Accurate surgical planning and prediction of craniomaxillofacial surgery outcome requires simulation of soft tissue changes following osteotomy. This can only be achieved by using an anatomically detailed facial soft tissue model. The current state-of-the-art of model generation is not appropriate to clinical applications due to the time-intensive nature of manual segmentation and volumetric mesh generation.

Rotavirus-encoded virus-like small RNA triggers autophagy by targeting IGF1R via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Rotaviruses are double-stranded RNA viruses that are a major cause of viral diarrhea in infants. Examining virus-host cell interaction is important for elucidating mechanisms of virus proliferation in host cells. Viruses can create an environment that promotes their survival and self-proliferation by encoding miRNAs or miRNA-like molecules that target various host cell.

Ultrasonic impregnation of MnO/CeO and its application in catalytic sono-degradation of methyl orange.

MnO/CeO catalyst was prepared by ultrasonic impregnation method. The traditional and stirring impregnation methods were used as control. Results showed that ultrasonic impregnation was the best synthesis method.

Red mud enhances methanogenesis with the simultaneous improvement of hydrolysis-acidification and electrical conductivity.

The role of red mud in the improvement of methanogenesis during sludge anaerobic digestion was innovatively investigated in this study. The results demonstrated that the addition of 20g/L red mud resulted in a 35.5% increase in methane accumulation.

Enhancing protein to extremely high content in photosynthetic bacteria during biogas slurry treatment.

This work proposed a novel approach to achieve an extremely high protein content in photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) using biogas slurry as a culturing medium. The results showed the protein content of PSB could be enhanced strongly to 90% in the biogas slurry, which was much higher than reported microbial protein contents. The slurry was partially purified at the same time.

Mowing exacerbates the loss of ecosystem stability under nitrogen enrichment in a temperate grassland.

Global reactive nitrogen (N) is projected to further increase in the coming years. Previous studies have demonstrated that N enrichment weakens the temporal stability of the ecosystem and the primary productivity through decreased biodiversity and species asynchrony. Mowing is a globally common practise in grasslands; and infrequent mowing can maintain or increase plant diversity under N enrichment conditions.

Nutritional imbalance suppresses migratory phenotypes of the Mongolian locust ().

For many species, migration evolves to allow organisms to access better resources. However, the proximate factors that trigger these developmental changes, and how and why these vary across species, remain poorly understood. One prominent hypothesis is that poor-quality food promotes development of migratory phenotypes and this has been clearly shown for some polyphenic insects.

Observation of a bi-critical point between antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in pressurized single crystal CaLaFeAs.

One of the most strikingly universal features of the high-temperature superconductors is that the superconducting phase emerges in the close proximity of the antiferromagnetic phase, and the interplay between these two phases poses a long-standing challenge. It is commonly believed that, as the antiferromagnetic transition temperature is continuously suppressed to zero, there appears a quantum critical point, around which the existence of antiferromagnetic fluctuation is responsible for the development of the superconductivity. In contrast to this scenario, we report the observation of a bi-critical point identified at 2.

Effects of dissolved oxygen concentration on photosynthetic bacteria wastewater treatment: Pollutants removal, cell growth and pigments production.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important parameter in photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) wastewater treatment. This study set different DO levels and detected the pollutants removal, PSB growth and pigments production. Results showed that DO significantly influenced the performances of PSB wastewater treatment process.

Stereoelectroencephalography based on the Leksell stereotactic frame and Neurotech operation planning software.

This study aimed to introduce a new stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) system based on Leksell stereotactic frame (L-SEEG) as well as Neurotech operation planning software, and to investigate its safety, applicability, and reliability.L-SEEG, without the help of navigation, includes SEEG operation planning software (Neurotech), Leksell stereotactic frame, and corresponding surgical instruments. Neurotech operation planning software can be used to display three-dimensional images of the cortex and cortical vessels and to plan the intracranial electrode implantation.

A clinically validated prediction method for facial soft-tissue changes following double-jaw surgery.

Purpose: It is clinically important to accurately predict facial soft-tissue changes prior to orthognathic surgery. However, the current simulation methods are problematic, especially in anatomic regions of clinical significance, e.g.