Advanced Electro-active Dry Adhesive Actuated by an Artificial Muscle Constructed from an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Reinforced with Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanocages

An advanced electro-active dry adhesive,which was composed of a mushroom-shaped fibrillar dry adhesive array actuated by an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) artificial muscle reinforced with nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages (NCNCs),was developed to imitate the actuation of a gecko's toe.The properties of the NCNC-reinforced Nafion membrane,the electromechanical properties of the NCNC-reinforced IPMC,and the related electro-active adhesion ability were investigated.The NCNCs were uniformly dispersed in the 0.1 wt％ NCNC/Nafion membrane,and there was a seamless connection with no clear interface between the dry adhesive and the IPMC.Our 0.1 wt％ NCNC/Nafion-IPMC actuator shows a displacement and force that are 1.6-2 times higher than those of the recast Nafion-IPMC.This is due to the increased water uptake (25.39％) and tensile strength (24.5 MPa) of the specific 3D hollow NCNC-reinforced Nafion membrane,as well as interactions between the NCNCs and the sulfonated groups of the Nafion.The NCNC/Nafion-IPMC was used to effectively actuate the mushroom-shaped dry adhesive.The normal adhesion forces were 7.85 mN,12.1 mN,and 51.7 mN at sinusoidal voltages of 1.5 V,2.5 V,and 3.5 V,respectively,at 0.1 Hz.Under the bionic leg trail,the normal and shear forces were approximately 713.5 mN (159 mN·cm-2) and 1256.6 mN (279 mN·cm-2),respectively,which satisfy the required adhesion.This new electro-active dry adhesive can be applied for active,distributed actuation and flexible grip in robots.     

Analysis of conformational motions and related key residue interactions responsible for a specific function of proteins with elastic network model

Protein collective motions play a critical role in many biochemical processes. How to predict the functional motions and the related key residue interactions in proteins is important for our understanding in the mechanism of the biochemical processes. Normal mode analysis (NMA) of the elastic network model (ENM) is one of the effective approaches to investigate the structure-encoded motions in proteins. However, the motion modes revealed by the conventional NMA approach do not necessarily correspond to a specific function of protein. In the present work, a new analysis method was proposed to identify the motion modes responsible for a specific function of proteins and then predict the key residue interactions involved in the functional motions by using a perturbation approach. In our method, an internal coordinate that accounts for the specific function was introduced, and the Cartesian coordinate space was transformed into the internal/Cartesian space by using linear approximation, where the introduced internal coordinate serves as one of the axes of the coordinate space. NMA of ENM in this internal/Cartesian space was performed and the function-relevant motion modes were identified according to their contributions to the specific function of proteins. Then the key residue interactions important for the functional motions of the protein were predicted as the interactions whose perturbation largely influences the fluctuation along the internal coordinate. Using our proposed methods, the maltose transporter (MalFGK₂) from E. Coli was studied. The functional motions and the key residue interactions that are related to the channel-gating function of this protein were successfully identified.     

Synthesis and biological characterization of new aryloxyindole-4,9-diones as potent trypanosomicidal agents

A new indole-4,9-dione and their phenoxy derivatives were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against the epimastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi, Y strain. All of these novel compounds were found to be extremely potent and selective that the standard drug nifurtimox. Interestingly, phenoxyindole-4,9-dione 9d displayed excellent nanomolar inhibitory activity, IC₅₀ = 20 nM, and high selectivity index, SI = 625. In silico studies using MOE program were performed to generate a preliminary pharmacophore model.     

Shifting abundances of communities associated with nitrogen cycling in soils promoted by sugarcane harvest systems

Sugarcane cultivation supports Brazil as one of the largest world sugar and ethanol producer. In order to understand the impact of changing sugarcane harvest from manual to mechanized harvest, we studied the effect of machinery traffic on soil and consequently soil compaction upon soil microbial communities involved in nitrogen cycling. The impact of sugarcane harvest was dependent on soil depth and texture. At deeper soil layers, mechanized harvesting increases the abundance of nitrogen fixers and denitrifying communities (specifically nosZ clade I and II) while manual harvesting increases the abundance of ammonia oxidizers (specifically AOA) and increases denitrifying communities (nosZ clade I and II) on top and at intermediate depth. The effect of change on the harvest system is more evident on sandy soil than on clay soil, where soil indicators of compaction (bulk density and penetration resistance) were negatively correlated with soil microorganisms associated with the nitrogen cycle. Our results point to connections between soil compaction and N transformations in sugarcane fields, besides naming biological variables to be used as proxies for alterations in soil structure.     

In Situ,Fast, High‐Temperature Synthesis of Nickel Nanoparticles in Reduced Graphene Oxide Matrix

For the first time, a fast heating–cooling process is reported for the synthesis of carbon‐coated nickel (Ni) nanoparticles on a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) matrix (nano‐Ni@C/RGO) as a high‐performance H₂O₂ fuel catalyst. The Joule heating temperature can reach up to ≈2400 K and the heating time can be less than 0.1 s. Ni microparticles with an average diameter of 2 µm can be directly converted into nanoparticles with an average diameter of 75 nm. The Ni nanoparticles embedded in RGO are evaluated for electro‐oxidation performance as a H₂O₂ fuel in a direct peroxide–peroxide fuel cell, which exhibits an electro‐oxidation current density of 602 mA cm^?2 at 0.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl), ≈150 times higher than the original Ni microparticles embedded in the RGO matrix (micro‐Ni/RGO). The high‐temperature, fast Joule heating process also leads to a 4–5 nm conformal carbon coating on the surface of the Ni nanoparticles, which anchors them to the RGO nanosheets and leads to an excellent catalytic stability. The newly developed nano‐Ni@C/RGO composites by Joule heating hold great promise for a range of emerging energy applications, including the advanced anode materials of fuel cells.     

Signalling of information that is neither cryptic nor private

It is commonly assumed that in order for animal signals to be advantageous, the information being signalled could not have been obtained otherwise, and is therefore ‘cryptic’ or ‘private’. Here, we suggest a scenario in which individuals can gain an advantage by signalling ‘public’ information that is neither cryptic nor private. In that scenario, signalling increases the efficiency with which that ‘public’ information is transmitted. We formalize our idea with a game in which offspring can signal their condition to their parents. Specifically, we consider a resource‐strapped parent who can only invest in one of its two offspring, and we allow offspring the chance to influence parental investment through a signal. A parent in the game seeks to invest in the higher‐quality offspring, which it could identify either through a publicly available cue, such as body size, or by relying on a signal provided by the offspring. We find that if the signal can convey information about offspring quality more efficiently than cues, then signalling of condition between offspring and parents can be favoured by selection, even though parents could potentially have acquired the same information from the cue. Our results suggest that the biological function of signals may be broader than currently considered, and provide a scenario where low cost signalling can be favoured. More generally, efficiency benefits could explain signalling across a range of biological and economic scenarios.     

闽江河口红树林土壤微生物群落对互花米草入侵的响应

采用磷脂脂肪酸标记法(PLFA)研究外来入侵植物互花米草对闽江河口湿地红树林土壤微生物群落结构的影响,并探讨其主要影响因素。结果表明:从3种不同植被群落土壤(红树林群落MC、红树林-互花米草混生群落MS、互花米草群落SC)共检测到22种PLFA生物标记,MS土壤微生物PLFA生物标记总量明显高于其他植被群落,3种植被群落土壤理化性质和酶活性的变化趋势为:MCMSSC,表明互花米草入侵后土壤微生物量增加,而理化性质和酶活性均有明显下降,红树林湿地土壤质量发生了明显退化。3种植被群落土壤中含量最高的PLFA生物标记是16:0,16:1w7c,9Me15:0w,18:1w12c。土壤中特征微生物相对生物量存在明显差异,细菌分布量最大,其次是真菌和放线菌,原生动物分布量最小。群落多样性指数呈相似规律,MS土壤微生物类群多样性指数均小于MC,表明互花米草入侵后土壤微生物群落多样性指数均有下降。通过主成分分析,基本能区分出3种不同植被群落微生物群落的特征。土壤理化性质、酶活性间存在相关性,有机碳、全氮、蔗糖酶、过氧化氢酶与革兰氏阴性菌、放线菌呈显著或极显著正相关。研究结果表明互花米草入侵在一定程度上具有影响红树林群落土壤营养代谢循环的潜力,特别是关于碳、氮、磷等的循环及酶活性,改变部分有利于自身生长的土壤环境相关的微生物类群含量,竞争有利环境,迅速扩张实现入侵。     

2001-2010年疏勒河流域植被净初级生产力时空变化及其与气候因子的关系

通过改进的光能利用率CASA模型估算2001-2010年间疏勒河流域陆地生态系统的净第一性生产力（NPP），采用线性趋势分析、变异系数和Hurst指数等方法，分析了NPP的时空变化特征及其与气候因子的相关性。结果表明：①疏勒河流域NPP的空间分布具有明显差异，空间上呈现西北低、东南高的趋势，且具有较明显的经向"条带"分布特征，2001-2010年，NPP平均值为102.26 gC m^-2 a^-1。②2001-2010年，疏勒河流域NPP总体呈增长趋势，年际波动较大，NPP明显增加的区域占总面积25.15%，明显减小的区域约占11.93%。③Hurst指数分析显示，疏勒河流域NPP变化的同向特征强于反向特征，其中持续改善地区占总面积的78.3%，21.7%的区域将由改善转为退化。④在年尺度上，降水是植被NPP变化的主要影响因素，NPP与降水呈弱的正相关关系，与温度相关性不显著；在月尺度上，温度是NPP变化的主要控制因子。疏勒河流域NPP对气候因子不存在明显的时滞和累积效应。     

桃江县毛竹林生态系统碳储量及其空间分布

采用标准地调查和生物量实测方法,研究了湖南省桃江县毛竹林生态系统生物量、碳含量、碳储量及空间分布格局。结果表明,不同年龄毛竹林生态系统总生物量分别为:28.147、30.889 t/hm~2和57.763 t/hm~2,其中竹林层生物量为20.254、25.036、55.685 t/hm~2,各器官生物量均以竹竿最高,占器官生物量的63.0%以上。不同年龄毛竹各器官碳平均含量为0.466—0.483 g C/g;灌木层碳含量为0.474—0.489 g C/g;草本层为0.472—0.490 g C/g;死地被物层为0.213—0.276 g C/g;土壤层有机碳含量为14.790—34.503 g C/g。各年龄毛竹林生态系统总碳储量分别为131.273、139.089 t/hm~2和167.817 t/hm~2,其中植被层碳储量为13.627—28.419 t/hm~2,占系统总碳储量的9.935%—16.935%;死地被物为0.307—0.420 t/hm~2,占0.234%—0.265%;土壤层为117.339—138.978 t/hm~2,占82.815%—89.799%。毛竹林生态系统碳储量分布格局为:土壤层植被层死地被物层。研究结果可为深入研究毛竹林的碳平衡提供基础数据。