Exploring the open-circuit voltage of organic solar cells under low temperature.

Open-circuit voltage (VOC) in organic solar cells (OSCs) is currently still not well-understood. A generally acceptable view is that VOC is mainly determined by the energy level offset between donor and acceptor materials. Recently in ternary blend OSCs, VOC is found to be dependent on the blend composition.

Conversion of food waste into biofertilizer for the biocontrol of root knot nematode by Paecilomyces lilacinus.

The feasibility of converting food waste into nematocidal biofertilizer by nematophagous fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus (P. lilacinus) was investigated. The culture conditions of P.

Establishment of three cell lines from Chinese giant salamander and their sensitivities to the wild-type and recombinant ranavirus.

Known as lethal pathogens, Ranaviruses have been identified in diseased fish, amphibians (including Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus, the world's largest amphibian) and reptiles, causing organ necrosis and systemic hemorrhage. Here, three Chinese giant salamander cell lines, thymus cell line (GSTC), spleen cell line (GSSC) and kidney cell line (GSKC) were initially established. Their sensitivities to ranaviruses, wild-type Andrias davidianus ranavirus (ADRV) and recombinant Rana grylio virus carrying EGFP gene (rRGV-EGFP) were tested.

Holistic analysis of seven active ingredients by micellar electrokinetic chromatography from three medicinal herbs composing Shuanghuanglian.

A simple and reliable method has been developed with a new strategy named holistic analysis of multiple constituents to evaluate the quality of the well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Shuanghuanglian (SHL) oral liquid and soft capsule. Seven main constituents of the medicine, i.e.

Synergistic Effect between Ultra-Small Nickel Hydroxide Nanoparticles and Reduced Graphene Oxide sheets for the Application in High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitor.

Nanoscale electrode materials including metal oxide nanoparticles and two-dimensional graphene have been employed for designing supercapacitors. However, inevitable agglomeration of nanoparticles and layers stacking of graphene largely hamper their practical applications. Here we demonstrate an efficient co-ordination and synergistic effect between ultra-small Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets for synthesizing ideal electrode materials.

Environmental radionuclides in a coastal wetland of the Southern Laizhou Bay, China.

The radioactivity concentration of (238)U, (232)Th, (226)Ra, (40)K, and (137)Cs in soil samples collected in a coastal wetland of the Southern Laizhou Bay, China were measured. Mean activity concentrations were 54.4±11.

Intensified food production and correlated risks to human health in the Greater Mekong Subregion: a systematic review.

Background: Intensified food production, i.e. agricultural intensification and industrialized livestock operations may have adverse effects on human health and promote disease emergence via numerous mechanisms resulting in either direct impacts on humans or indirect impacts related to animal and environmental health.

Labeling strategy and signal broadening mechanism of Protein NMR spectroscopy in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

We used Xenopus laevis oocytes, a paradigm for a variety of biological studies, as a eukaryotic model system for in-cell protein NMR spectroscopy. The small globular protein GB1 was one of the first studied in Xenopus oocytes, but there have been few reports since then of high-resolution spectra in oocytes. The scarcity of data is at least partly due to the lack of good labeling strategies and the paucity of information on resonance broadening mechanisms.

Effect of drying methods on physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) polysaccharide.

In this study, an efficient drying process of Lycium barbarum L. polysaccharide (LBP) suitable for industrial production was developed and optimized. Three drying methods, including hot air drying (40-80°C), vacuum drying (40-60°C) and spray drying were test and compared.

Seasonal recharge and mean residence times of soil and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China.

Soil and epikarst play an important role in the hydrological cycle in karst regions. This paper focuses on investigating the seasonal recharge and mean residence time (MRT) of soil water and epikarst water in a small karst catchment of southwest China. The deuterium contents in precipitation, creek, soil baseflow (direct recharge of the saturated soil water to the stream), epikarst spring, and soil waters were monitored weekly for two years, and MRT was calculated by an exponential model (EM) and a dispersion model (DM).

Simultaneous removal of PCDD/Fs and NOx from the flue gas of a municipal solid waste incinerator with a pilot plant.

The pilot-scale plant on the simultaneous removal of PCDD/Fs and NOx from the flue gas of a municipal solid waste incinerator is presented. In order to research the influence of temperature on the catalytic decomposition of PCDD/Fs and the selective catalytic reduction of NOx, the experiments were performed at 220 °C, 260 °C, and 300 °C, and the congener profiles of PCDD/Fs for the samples collected at the inlet and outlet were illustrated. Noteworthy, the detailed congener distributions of PCDD/Fs in the gas-phase and particle-phase of the inlet and 300-outlet (decomposition temperature = 300 °C) samples are presented, and the removal efficiencies η(g-I-TEQ) and η(p-I-TEQ) reached to 94.

Intramolecular Cooperative C-C Bond Cleavage Reaction of 1,3-Dicarbonyl Compounds with 2-Iodoanilines to Give o-(N-Acylamino)aryl Ketones and Multisubstituted Indoles.

A copper-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with 2-iodoanilines was developed. In this process, the ortho effect played an important role in the reactivity and a new reaction pathway that involved a (2-aminophenyl)-bis-(1,3-dicarbonyl) copper species was clearly observed by a time-course HRMS analysis of the reaction mixture. Unlike the previous reports, both the nucleophilic and electrophilic parts of the 1,3-dicarbonyl compound were coupled with 2-iodoaniline by C-C bond cleavage to form o-(N-acylamino)aryl ketones, which could be efficiently converted into multisubstituted indoles.

Critical evaluation of particle size distribution models using soil data obtained with a laser diffraction method.

Mathematical descriptions of classical particle size distribution (PSD) data are often used to estimate soil hydraulic properties. Laser diffraction methods (LDM) now provide more detailed PSD measurements, but deriving a function to characterize the entire range of particle sizes is a major challenge. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of eighteen PSD functions for fitting LDM data sets from a wide range of soil textures.

Functional diversity of anti-lipopolysaccharide factor isoforms in shrimp and their characters related to antiviral activity.

Anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) is a small protein with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, which has potential application in the disease control. Previously, we isolated seven ALF isoforms from the Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis. In the present study, their distributions in tissues of shrimp were analyzed and the data showed that different isoforms had different expression profiles, which suggested that they might have different functions.

Evolutionary developmental genetics of fruit morphological variation within the Solanaceae.

Morphological variations of fruits such as shape and size, and color are a result of adaptive evolution. The evolution of morphological novelties is particularly intriguing. An understanding of these evolutionary processes calls for the elucidation of the developmental and genetic mechanisms that result in particular fruit morphological characteristics, which determine seed dispersal.

Molecular characterization of genes encoding leucoanthocyanidin reductase involved in proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in apple.

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are the major component of phenolics in apple, but mechanisms involved in PA biosynthesis remain unclear. Here, the relationship between the PA biosynthesis and the expression of genes encoding leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) and anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) was investigated in fruit skin of one apple cultivar and three crabapples. Transcript levels of LAR1 and ANR2 genes were significantly correlated with the contents of catechin and epicatechin, respectively, which suggests their active roles in PA synthesis.

Enhanced Field Emission from a Carbon Nanotube Array Coated with a Hexagonal Boron Nitride Thin Film.

A high-quality field emission electron source made of a highly ordered array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated with a thin film of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is fabricated using a simple and scalable method. This method offers the benefit of reproducibility, as well as the simplicity, safety, and low cost inherent in using B(2)O(3) as the boron precursor. Results measured using h-BN-coated CNT arrays are compared with uncoated control arrays.

Hair Selenium Levels of School Children in Kashin-Beck Disease Endemic Areas in Tibet, China.

Previous studies have shown that the selenium (Se) deficiency is an important factor for the etiology of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Although KBD is presently controlled in most regions of China, it is still active in the Tibetan Plateau. The present study aimed to assess the nutritional status of selenium in school children by using the Se level in hair as a biomarker in KBD endemic areas of Lhasa in Tibet, China.

Metagenomic analysis for the microbial consortium of anaerobic CO oxidizers.

Metagenomics analysis has been applied to identify the dominant anaerobic microbial consortium of the carbon monoxide (CO) oxidizers in anaerobic sludge. Reads from the hypervariable V6 region in the bacterial 16s rDNA were aligned and finally clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The OTUs from different stages in anaerobic CO condition were classified.

One-step Conversion of Furfural into 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran under Mild Conditions.

One-step direct conversion of biomass-derived furfural to 2-methyltetrahydrofuran was realized under atmospheric pressure over a dual solid catalyst based on two-stage-packed Cu-Pd in a reactor; this is the first report that one-step conversion of furfural resulted in high yield of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (97.1 %) under atmospheric pressure. This strategy provided a successive hydrogenation process, which avoids high H2 pressure, uses the reactor efficiently, and eliminates the product-separation step.

Aggregation and antigenicity of virus like particle in salt solution--A case study with hepatitis B surface antigen.

The phenomenon of aggregation of virus-like particles (VLPs) in salt solution and the corresponding effect upon antigenicity was reported. Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) combined with multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS) was used to characterize the size and the aggregation behavior of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The average diameter of HBsAg VLP was 22.

Multifunctional radical-doped polyoxometalate-based host-guest material: photochromism and photocatalytic activity.

An effective strategy to synthesize multifunctional materials is the incorporation of functional organic moieties and metal oxide clusters via self-assembly. A rare multifunctional radical-doped zinc-based host-guest crystalline material was synthesized with a fast-responsive reversible ultraviolet visible light photochromism, photocontrolled tunable luminescence, and highly selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzylic alcohols as a result of blending of distinctively different functional components, naphthalenediimide tectons, and polyoxometalates (POMs). It is highly unique to link π-electron-deficient organic tectons and POMs by unusual POMs anion-π interactions, which are not only conducive to keeping the independence of each component but also effectively promoting the charge transfer or exchange among the components to realize the fast-responsive photochromism, photocontrolled tunable luminescence, and photocatalytic activity.

Modeling net ecosystem carbon exchange of alpine grasslands with a satellite-driven model.

Estimate of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, the balance of gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) has significant importance for studying the regional and global carbon cycles. Using models driven by satellite data and climatic data is a promising approach to estimate NEE at regional scales. For this purpose, we proposed a semi-empirical model to estimate NEE in this study.