Charged clay surfaces can impact the storage and mobility of hydrocarbon and water mixtures. Here, we use equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) and nonequilibrium MD simulations to investigate hydrocarbon-water mixtures and their transport in slit-shaped illite nanopores. We construct two illite pore models with different surface chemistries: potassium-hydroxyl (PH) and hydroxyl-hydroxyl (HH) structures. In HH nanopore, we observe water adsorption on the clay surfaces. In PH nanopores, however, we observe the formation of water bridges because of the existence of a local, long-range electric field. Our NEMD simulations demonstrate that the velocity profiles across the pore depends strongly on water concentration, pore width and the presence or absence of the water bridge. This fundamental study provides a theoretical basis for understanding nanofluidics with charged surfaces and can be applied in such as biological processes, chemical and physical fields, and the oil and gas extraction in clay-rich formations.

In this study, we developed a novel in situ growth scheme to construct the Cu-MOFs@ZIF-9(Co) core-shell precursor material. The Cu-MOFs@ZIF-9(Co) core-shell precursor was treated by low-temperature phosphorization to obtain a Cu3P@CoP composite catalyst with a self-supporting structure. Cu3P@CoP composite catalyst not only has a hierarchical structure, but also builds a p-n heterojunction at the interface. The unique structure and composition of Cu3P@CoP can promote charge migration and provide large surface area and rich active sites to drive water photolysis. In addition, by controlling the degree of phosphation of Cu-MOFs@ZIF-9(Co) material and adjusting the ratio of Cu and Co, it was found that the maximum hydrogen-producing activity of the composite photocatalyst reaches 469.95 μmol, and it has a very excellent cycle stability. The results of photoelectrochemical and fluorescence tests showed that the proper conduction and valence band of Cu3P and CoP formed a more effective path way for charge transfer.

Binderless zeolite X pellets were “one-pot” synthesized via in situ hydrothermal conversion of silica gel precursors in sodium aluminate solution. The conversion and crystallization kinetics were investigated as a function of synthesis time with a spectrum of techniques. It is found that four-membered (4R) and six-membered rings (6R) are formed by linking diffused Al species with dissolved Si species during the aging period, while the zeolite X frameworks are constructed via reorganization of β cages with double six-membered rings (D6R) in crystallization process. Furthermore, GCMC simulation was conducted to elucidate 1-hexene adsorption in zeolite X as ion species and exchange degree vary, in which adsorption capacity and guest – host interaction energy were evaluated. Incorporation of Mg2+ and Ca2+ enables higher adsorption capacity, while introduction of Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ boosts adsorption and enhances interaction energy.

DV-Hop and its various improvements overexpose hop size and hop count for localization. Whereas hop size is always erroneous and hop path is not a straight line, which leads to a faulty location estimation. The proposed model Optimized Distance Range Free (ODR) localization algorithm limits the use of hop size and hop count to approximate nearly a straight line distance between a known and an unknown node without additional hardware and without increasing extra communication. The refrain use of hop size and hop count improves localization accuracy of ODR and makes it robust against those network variables which affect the hop size accuracy adversely. In fact ODR modifies the last two steps of DV-Hop. DV-Hop finds hop size in its second step. Here ODR rectifies this hop size and then a centroid is obtained from the minimum distant anchor nodes for an unknown node. Now a minimum possible distance known as base distance is estimated with a routing table assistance. In the last step DV-Hop uses least square regression to localize, while ODR exploits linear optimization to comprehend the base distance for localization. The paper establishes ODR analytically and rugged with ranging error of the omnidirectional antenna coverage pattern experimentally.

Silicon (Si) can alleviate Na+ toxicity by decreasing bypass flow in salt-stressed rice (Oryza sativa L.), however, the underlying mechanisms remain veiled. Here, we demonstrate how Si decreases bypass flow and alleviates salt toxicity at physiological and molecular levels by using two rice mutants (lsi1 and lsi2, defective in OsLsi1 and OsLsi2, respectively) and their wild types (WTs). Under salt stress, Si promoted plant growth and decreased Na+ root-to-shoot translocation in WTs, but not in mutants. Simultaneously, both quantitative estimation and fluorescent visualization of trisodium-8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulphonic (PTS, an apoplastic tracer) show Si blocked bypass flow in WTs, but not in mutants. Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) shows Si was deposited at root endodermis in WTs, but not in mutants. Moreover, root split experiment using lsi1 WT shows shoot Si accumulation down-regulated the expression of Si transport genes (OsLsi1 and OsLsi2) in root and accelerated Si deposition at root endodermis. In summary, our results reveal that 1) Si deposition at root endodermis reduces bypass flow, thereby alleviating salt toxicity in rice, and 2) the deposition of Si, which could be an active and physiologically-regulated process, is mediated by the cooperation of OsLsi1 and OsLsi2 and regulated by shoot Si accumulation.

Ecological speciation predicts that the fitness of hybrids will be reduced if they exhibit intermediate phenotypes that fall between parental niches. Empirical support for this prediction is sparse and migratory divides may help fill this gap. Divides occur between populations with divergent migratory routes. Hybrids in divides are predicted to take intermediate routes over terrain avoided by pure forms, reducing their fitness. We test this prediction here in a well-characterized divide between Swainson's thrushes using niche models and models of landscape connectivity. These models predicted lower habitat suitability in the intermediate range between the migratory ranges of pure forms and optimal routes that circumvent this area. Birds that took intermediate routes used stopover sites of lower predicted suitability and overlapped less with optimal paths than birds migrating on either side of the divide. Our results have broad implications as migratory divides are common in nature and not limited to birds.

Competitive interactions between distantly related clades could cause complementary diversity patterns of these clades over large spatial scales. One such example might be ants and birds in the eastern Himalaya; ants are very common at low elevations but almost absent at mid-elevations where the abundance of other arthropods and insectivorous bird diversity peaks. Here, we ask if ants at low elevations could compete with birds for arthropod prey. Specifically, we studied the impact of the Asian weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina), a common aggressive ant at low elevations. Diet analysis using molecular methods demonstrate extensive diet overlap between weaver ants and songbirds at both low and mid-elevations. Trees without weaver ants have greater non-ant arthropod abundance and leaf damage. Experimental removal of weaver ants results in an increase in the abundance of non-ant arthropods. Notably, numbers of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were most affected by removal experiments and were prominent components of both bird and weaver ant diets. Our results suggest that songbirds and weaver ants might potentially compete with each other for arthropod prey at low elevations, thereby contributing to lower insectivorous bird diversity at low elevations in eastern Himalaya. Competition with ants may shape vertebrate diversity patterns across broad biodiversity gradients.

Plant invasions are major threat to global change, which can be determined through functional, traits of invasive and native species. Therefore, greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to test whether high water availability, nitrogen enrichment and their interaction promote the growth and functional traits of invasive species (Wedelia trilobata, WT), when competing with native species (Wedelia chinensis, WC) in monoculture and mixed culture. While, considering the impact of flooding (F) and nitrogen (N) as an individual factor, plant height of WC was non-significant as compared to WT. However, in combination of flooding × additional nitrogen (F.N, F.2N) physiological parameters of WT were encouragingly higher than those of WC, especially in mixed culture. Variable relative competition intensity at different parameters and higher phenotypic plasticity of WT at different physiological traits make them more dominant than WC at flooding × additional nitrogen (F.N and F.2N). In conclusion, growth of WT increased under combination of nitrogen × flooding, because of higher plasticity and better competition intensity that enhanced its competitiveness, playing an important role for the successful invasion of WT in flooding and nitrogen enrichment conditions.

Propanol have been widely used as a precursor for erythromycin synthesis in industrial production. However, the knowledge on the exact metabolic fate of propanol was still unclear. In the present study, the metabolic fate of propanol in industrial erythromycin-producing strain S. erythraea E3 was explored via 13C labeling experiments. An unexpected pathway in which propanol was channeled into tricarboxylic acid cycle was uncovered, resulting in uneconomic catabolism of propanol. By deleting the sucC gene, which encodes succinyl-CoA synthetase that catalyse a reaction in the unexpected propanol utilization pathway, a novel strain E3-ΔsucC was constructed. The strain E3-ΔsucC showed a significant enhancement in erythromycin production in the chemically defined medium compared to E3 (786.61 vs 392.94 mg/L). Isotopic dilution mass spectrometry metabolomics and isotopically nonstationary 13C metabolic flux analysis were employed to characterize the metabolic differences between S. erythraea E3 and E3-ΔsucC. The results showed that compared with the starting strain E3, the fluxes of pentose phosphate pathway in E3-△sucC increased by almost 200%. The most significant difference located in the tricarboxylic acid cycle was also found. The flux of the metabolic reaction catalyzed by succinyl-CoA synthetase in E3-ΔsucC was almost zero, while the glyoxylate bypass flux significantly increased. These new insights into the precursor utilization of antibiotic biosynthesis by rational metabolic engineering in S. erythraea provide the new vision in increasing industrial production of secondary metabolites.

1. Bitterlings are small freshwater fish that use long ovipositors to place eggs in host mussels and have morphological adaptations to increase larval survival. The most well-known adaptations are the minute tubercles on the skin surface of larvae, which are developed in early-stage larvae with weak swimming ability and disappear in free-swimming larvae before they leave the host mussel. 2. In the present study, a comprehensive analysis of the developmental stages of Rhodeus pseudosericeus larvae, their morphological and physiological characteristics, their migration inside mussels, and the development of minute tubercle are presented as direct evidence of the morphological function of the minute tubercles. These tubercles began to develop 1 day after hatching (formation stage), grew for 2–5 days (growth stage), reached the peak height after 6–7 days (peak stage), abruptly reduced in height after 8–10 days (abrupt reduction stage), and went through a final gradual reduction (reduction stage) until completely disappearing 27 days after hatching (disappearance stage). 3. The larvae remained in the mussels’ interlamellar space of the gill demibranchs until 10 days after hatching, and began to migrate to mussels’ suprabranchial cavity 11 days after hatching. At this time, the larvae had clear components of heart rate and caudal fin began to develop. At 24 days after hatching, the minute tubercles had almost disappeared, and some individuals were observed swimming out of the mussels. 4. The experiment results herein presented prove that the minute tubercles are a first direct evidence that the bitterling larvae are morphologically adapted to prevent premature ejection from the mussel.

Resource polymorphism is a ubiquitous phenomenon in vertebrates and may represent a critical intermediate stage in speciation. Freshwater lakes in high-altitude areas represent a natural system for understanding resource polymorphism in fishes in diverse lacustrine environments and a few co-distributed species. We report resource polymorphism in a cyprinid fish, Schizopygopsis thermalis, in Lake Amdo Tsonak Co, a headwater lake in the upper Salween River system. Two morphs, planktivorous and benthivorous, were identified according to geometric morphological and traditional linear traits. The planktivorous morph exhibits a longer head and lower jaw, larger asymptotic standard length (L∞), lower growth rate (k) and higher growth performance index (φ) than the benthivorous morph. With respect to descriptive traits, the planktivorous morph possesses a terminal mouth and a highly developed mucus cavity in the cheek and chin, while the benthivorous morph is characterized by an inferiorly positioned mouth with a sharpened horny edge on the lower jaw. Our results indicate that distinct pelagic-benthic resources and low interspecific competition in the lake drove the initial differentiation of the two morphs and that partial spatial reproductive isolation might maintain and reinforce the differences between them.

Tropical forests are experiencing unprecedented high temperature conditions due to climate change that could limit their photosynthetic functions. We studied the high temperature sensitivity of photosynthesis in a rainforest site in southern Amazonia, where some of the highest temperatures and most rapid warming in the Tropics have been recorded. The quantum yield (Fv/Fm) of photosystem II was measured in seven dominant tree species using leaf discs exposed to varying levels of heat stress. T50 was calculated as the temperature at which Fv/Fm) was half the maximum value. T5 is defined as the breakpoint temperature, at which Fv/Fm) decline was initiated. Leaf thermotolerance in the rapidly warming Southern Amazonia was the highest recorded for forest tree species globally. T50 and T5 varied between species, with one mid storey species, Amaioua guianensis, exhibiting particularly high T50 and T5 values. While the T50 values of the species sampled were several degrees above the maximum air temperatures experienced in southern Amazonia, the T5 values of several species are now exceeded under present-day maximum air temperatures.

The performance of the widely used nonlinear programming model of the ship speed problem in maritime transportation is compared with the performance of the hardly employed linear programming model, originally developed by Brown et al. (2007). The comparison basis employs a case study, namely that of the SEAFIGHTER patrol boat of the US Navy. Results obtained by the computational implementation of the linear programming and nonlinear programming models in the LINGO demonstrate that the performance of the nonlinear programming model is inferior to that of the linnear programming model.

In animals and plants, circRNAs regulate gene expression and act as sponges that inhibit the activity of microRNAs. This study aimed to determine how specific circRNAs are expressed in rice grains at different stages of grain filling, under normal and low light conditions. We extracted total RNA from rice grains under low and sufficient light conditions. Deep sequencing was performed using circRNA libraries, and bioinformatics tools were used to identify the circRNAs. In addition, we analyzed targeted messenger RNA functions using two databases to predict the processes involved in rice grain development, and we conducted real-time PCR on 15 of the circRNAs. During the grain development process, 8015 candidate circRNAs were isolated, among which the number of known circRNAs was 1661. We also found that the number of circRNAs changed with the time of development. Among them, six circRNAs acted as sponges that targeted more than two microRNAs at different stages of development, and these circRNAs showed a regulatory pattern consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results. However, no differential circRNA expression was found under different light treatments. These findings reveal a possible link between circRNA regulation and the expression of the functional genes associated with photosignal-mediated rice grain development.

In this paper, we propose a connectivity analysis solution to integrate satellitebased ground gateways with terrestrial networks capable of transmitting Terabit/ s of data throughput to fast moving narrow body and wide body planes. Taking into consideration the need for higher bandwidth and lower latency communication, we propose a gateway connection for backhauling traffic through terrestrial base stations. These satellite gateway feeder links will significantly improve overall throughput by utilizing fee

This paper presents i) a model for ultra-wideband (UWB) wave propagation through a human thorax and ii) estimation via simulation, of transmission coefficient at various frequencies in the UWB range 1-10 GHz using CST Microwave Studio. This study clearly indicates that the variation of power transmission coefficient of UWB signal has a strong correlation to the instantaneous dimension of the heart in a cardiac cycle, a feature that can be exploited in detecting cardiac activity of human being in inaccessible conditions using radar based principles.

Soil water content is an important indicator of drought in agriculture and animal husbandry, and has an important impact on climate and ecology. The change trend of soil water is of great significance for regional soil erosion and climate change research. Thus, soil water content should be investigated using other existing data. In this study, the existing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) and humidity, sunshine, and evaporation data in Inner Mongolia was used to investigate soil water content inversion. The correlation between each element and soil water content was analyzed. Noises was observed in the soil water content and GNSS ZTD data and wavelet transform was used to eliminate the noises. After denoising, the correlation between soil water content data and each element was improved, and the correlation between soil water content and humidity is the best. The average correlation between the two experimental points is 0.645. Negative correlations are observed between soil water content and sunshine and evaporation, and their average correlations are −0.561 and −0.547, respectively. The correlation between soil water content and GNSS ZTD data is the smallest, with an average correlation of 0.271. Then, a soil water content model was constructed on the basis of the correlation between each element and soil water content, and its reliability was verified. The verified error statistics show that the NMWJ station model in the experimental area has the highest accuracy, with the accuracy of 90.1%, whereas the HLAR site model has the lowest accuracy, with 69.1%. The average accuracy of each station in the study area is 81.35%. The soil water content model based on multivariable elements can provide reference for the research on the change trend of soil water content.

AbstractThis Letter to the Editor presents two caveats pertaining essential features of the paper “Conformity to Prototypical Therapeutic Principles and Its Relation with Change in Reflective-Functioning in Three Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder”. One of it is considering mentalizing ability as a mediator of change in Transference-Focused Psychotherapy; the other regarding the use of statistical tests to determine temporality of two key variables measured in the study.Keywords : mediator; mechanism of change; experimental design; statistical testsExperimental design outweighs statistical tests: Caveats on Conformity to Prototypical Therapeutic Principles and Its Relation with Change in Reflective-Functioning in Three Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder (Kivity, et al., 2019)The study by Kivity, et al.1 is brilliant; they succeeded to provide evidence that Transference-Focused Psychotherapy has strategies and techniques that are not shared with Dialectical Behavior Therapy or Supportive Psychodynamic Therapy —i.e. has specific strategies and techniques. Notwithstanding, some caveats must be highlighted.The first has to do with the concept of mentalizing. Although not clearly stated, it is implicit in the paper that they consider mentalizing ability —operationalized as reflective-functioning—as a mediator of change because they stated that “the unique effect of TFP on mentalizing compared to other models is exciting and promising in elucidating how TFP might work” and “having established that TFP has a specific effect on mentalizing, the next step is to identify the active ingredients that bring about changes in patient mentalizing that subsequently make change in outcome possible”1; this could be misleading to the readers. It is true that mentalizing has met some criteria to be consider a mediator2 in Transference-Focused Psychotherapy —i.e., strong association, specificity, consistency and coherence.3,4,5 Unfortunately, to my knowledge, it has never met the necessary timeline criterion because when measured, it has only been measured at the outset and at the end of the studies, with no in-between measures3,4; thus, it cannot be consider a mediator but only an outcome.The second caveat has to do with their conclusion that adherence to the Transference-Focused Psychotherapy prototype predicted larger increases in reflective-functioning during treatment, even suggesting a dose-response relationship.1 Nevertheless, this inference cannot be drawn from the experimental design of their study because it is possible that the improvement in reflective-functioning has occurred before the time the investigators measured adherence to the therapy prototype. They did perform statistical tests to examine the possibility of reverse causation but as contended by Kazdin that is not sufficient: “the timeline is only established by the experimental design”2, namely, experimental design outweighs statistical tests.From my perspective, the outstanding contribution of this study is the evidence that Transference-Focused Psychotherapy has specific strategies and techniques not shared with other kinds of psychotherapies, but the question remains open: Is mentalizing ability a mediator in transference-focused psychotherapy? And if so, through which steps, or mechanisms of change, it produces outcomes? In order to answer these questions and meet the urgently needed change in psychotherapy research practice to improve the care of patients, future research must privilege experimental design over statistical tests.Compliance with Ethical StandardsThe author declare that he has no conflicts of interestCorrespondenceCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Luis Armando Centeno-Gándara, Apartment 4, 705, Río Rosas Street, 66220, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, México. E-mail: luiscenteno@live.com.mx

We consider a 2-D study of a plate with finite thickness and infinite extent. The upper plate surface is considered traction free and subjected to an axisymmetric heating. The lower surface is thermally insulated and layed on a rigid foundation. A cylindrical heat source affects the plate. This problem is relevant to the generalized thermoelasticity theory with one relaxation time. Laplace and Hankel transforms are considered. We use Inverse Hankel and Laplace transforms numerically. All related functions are showed graphically.

In this work, we study a mathematical model for the interaction of sensitive--resistant bacteria to antibiotics and analyze the effects of introducing random perturbations to this model. We compare the results of existence and stability of equilibrium solutions between the deterministic and stochastic formulations, and show that the conditions for the bacteria to die out are weaker in the stochastic model. Moreover, a corresponding optimal control problem is formulated for the unperturbed and the perturbed system, where the control variable is prophylaxis. The results of the optimal control problem reveal that, depending on the antibiotics, the costs of the prophylaxis, such as implementation, ordering and distribution, have to be much lower than the social costs due to resistant bacteria, to achieve an effective control strategy.

Alkaliphilic microalgae and cyanobacteria have gained significant importance due to their robustness, high biomass productivity, and ability to efficiently capture carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. To grow these alkaliphiles under high pH (pH >10.4) and high alkalinity conditions (0.1 - 0.5 M), substantial amounts of nutrients are required, which could potentially increase the operating costs of cultivation and adversely affect its environmental footprint. One conceivable way of tackling this issue is by re-using the spent medium and supplementing only the depleted nutrients. To effectively re-use the spent medium, first it is important to understand the nutrient bioavailability and uptake by alkaliphiles. In this study, we have determined the bioavailability of nutrients (e.g. C, N, P, S, Mg, S, Ca, Fe, etc.) in a high pH (> 10.4) and alkalinity (0.5 M) medium. Our results show that –with the exception of Mg, Ca, and Fe– all the nutrients are in bioavailable form for microbial growth. The availability of Mg, Ca, and Fe is limited because of precipitate formation with carbonates and hydroxides. Additionally, we have also carried out cultivation experiments to determine biomass productivity, elemental composition, and stoichiometric formula based on nutrient uptake. The cyanobacterial cultures grew well without any inhibition and a maximum productivity of 153 mg-AFDW L-1 d-1 was achieved. The elemental composition of biomass suggested that Mg and Ca content in biomass is low, consistent with the limited availability of these elements during the growth. Finally, the derived stoichiometric equation resulted in the following chemical formula CH1.75N0.17O0.41P0.003.

In literature, several organizational solutions are proposed to determine the probability of patients’ voluntary discharge from the emergency department. Here, the issue of self-discharge is analyzed by modeling through the Markov theory, an innovative approach recently applied to the healthcare field. The aim of the work is to propose a new method to calculate the rate of voluntary discharge by defining a generic model to describe the process of first aid using the “behavioral” Markov chain model, a new approach that takes into account the satisfaction of the patient. The proposed model is then applied on MatLab and validated to a real case study at the hospital “A. Cardarelli” of Naples. It was found that most of the risk of self-discharge is during the wait time before the patient is seen and for the final report; usually, once the analysis is requested, the patient, although not very satisfied, is willing to wait longer for the results. The model allows the description of the first aid process from the perspective of the patient. The presented model is generic and adaptable to each hospital facility by changing only the transition probabilities between states.

his study describes the response of Arthrospira platensis to a variety of temperature conditions as reflected in variations of photosynthetic parameters, pigmentation, and biomass productivity in indoor photobioreactor (PBR) cultivations. These experiments are designed to better understand the impact of temperature, seasonal variations, and acclimation effects on outdoor biomass production. The irradiance levels and temperature range (20 – 39°C) are chosen to enable modeling of semi-continuous operation of large-scale outdoor PBR deployments. Overall, the cultivations were quite stable with some pigment-related instabilities after prolonged high temperature exposure. Changes in productivity with temperature, as reflected in measured photosynthetic parameters, are immediate and mainly attributable to the temperature dependence of the photosaturation parameter, a secondary factor being variation in pigment content. This study confirms that temperature is critical for optimal performance of Arthospira platensis for both biomass and pigment production and provides a basis for risk assessments related to temperature mitigation for large-scale outdoor cultivations. Finally, the biomass productivities in a semi-continuous operation mode are quantitatively reproduced with a productivity model incorporating the photosynthetic parameters measured herein. Those productivities are in good agreement with extensive outdoor testing in PBR arrays at large scale (24,000 L) and over long time periods (up to 18 months).

This DFT study treats thermal metal-catalyzed alkene aziridination by azides, where the catalysts are copper(II) triflate, cobalt(II) porphin and ruthenium(II) porphin. Three azides RN3 (R = H, Me, Ac) react with alkene substrates in the presence of these catalysts leading to aziridine formation by a two-step catalysed mechanism. In Step I, the azide reacts with the catalyst to first form a metal nitrenoid via transition state TS1. The Ru(porph) catalyst is particularly effective for Step I. In Step II, the metal nitrenoid adds to the alkene via TS2 giving the aziridine product. Cu(trfl)2 is most effective as a catalyst for Step II. The facility order H > Me > Ac (with respect to the azide R group) holds for Step I, and the reverse order for Step II. Transition states TS1 and TS2 are described as “early” and “late”, respectively, in good accord with Hammond’s postulate.