Identification of Cyclic Dipeptides and a New Compound (6-(5-Hydroxy-6-methylheptyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one) Produced by Streptomyces fungicidicus against Alternaria solani

As an important microbial resource, Actinomycetes, especially Streptomyces, have important application values in medicine and biotechnology. Streptomyces fungicidicus SYH3 was isolated from soil samples in tomato-growing areas and showed good inhibitory effects on Alternaria solani in tomato. To obtain pure active compounds, SYH3 fermentation broth was subjected to XAD-16 macroporous resin and silica gel column chromatography. Combined with the repeated preparation and separation of preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a total of four monomer compounds were obtained after activity tracking. Compound 4 was identified as a new six-membered lactone ring compound named 6-(5-hydroxy-6-methylheptyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data and mass spectrometry (MS). The other three active compounds belong to the cyclodipeptide, and their half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values against A. solani were 43.4, 42.9, and 30.6 μg/mL, respectively. Compound 4 significantly inhibited the spore germination and induced swollen and deformed local hyphae of A. solani with an IC₅₀ value of 24.9 μg/mL. Compound 4 also had broad-spectrum antifungal activity and had a good antifungal effect on the tested plant-pathogenic fungi. The modes of action of new compound (4) still require further investigation, representing a novel and effective anti-fungal agent for future application.     

Al-Decorated C2N Monolayer as a Potential Catalyst for NO Reduction with CO Molecules: A DFT Investigation

Developing efficient and economical catalysts for NO reduction is of great interest. Herein, the catalytic reduction of NO molecules on an Al-decorated C₂N monolayer (Al-C₂N) is systematically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our results reveal that the Al-C₂N catalyst is highly selective for NO, more so than CO, according to the values of the adsorption energy and charge transfer. The NO reduction reaction more preferably undergoes the (NO)₂ dimer reduction process instead of the NO direct decomposition process. For the (NO)₂ dimer reduction process, two NO molecules initially co-adsorb to form (NO)₂ dimers, followed by decomposition into N₂O and O_ads species. On this basis, five kinds of (NO)₂ dimer structures that initiate four reaction paths are explored on the Al-C₂N surface. Particularly, the cis-(NO)₂ dimer structures (D_cis-N and D_cis-O) are crucial intermediates for NO reduction, where the max energy barrier along the energetically most favorable pathway (path II) is as low as 3.6 kcal/mol. The remaining O_ads species on Al-C₂N are then easily reduced with CO molecules, being beneficial for a new catalytic cycle. These results, combined with its low-cost nature, render Al-C₂N a promising catalyst for NO reduction under mild conditions.     

Energy Analysis of Precooling Air Compressor System

Energy saving is one of the main technique routes for net zero carbon emissions. Air compressor systems take up a large part of energy consumption in the industrial field. A pre-cooling air compressor system was proposed for energy saving by cooling the air before it flows in a compressor. The energy efficiency of the proposed system was analyzed. As additional energy consumption is required for air cooling, the feasibility of the pre-cooling method for energy saving was analyzed. As the efficiency of the pre-cooling air compressor system is mainly influenced by the environment temperature and humidity, applicability of the system in different regions and at different seasons was discussed. A pilot project was performed to verify the technical feasibility and economics of the proposed system. When the precooling temperature of the pilot system was set to 2 °C, the annual pneumatic-electrical ratio of the system can be increased by approximately 2% in several regions of China. This paper shows the pre-cooling air compressor system is feasible for energy saving.     

Atmospheric CO_2 capture and photofixation to near-unity CO by Ti~(3+)-V_o-Ti~(3+) sites confined in TiO_2 ultrathin layers

To realize efficient atmospheric CO_2 chemisorption and activation,abundant Ti~(3+) sites and oxygen vacancies in TiO_2 ultrathin layers were designed.Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and theoretical calculations first unveil each oxygen vacancy is associated with the formation of two Ti~(3+) sites,giving a Ti~(3+)-V_o-Ti~(3+)configuration.The Ti~(3+)-V_o-Ti~(3+) sites could bond with CO_2 molecules to form a stable configuration,which converted the endoergic chemisorption step to an exoergic process,verified by in-situ Fourier-transform infrared spectra and theoretical calculations.Also,the adjacent Ti~(3+) sites not only favor CO_2 activation into COOH*via forming a stable Ti~(3+)–C–O–Ti~(3+) configuration,but also facilitate the rate-limiting COOH~* scission to CO~* by reducing the energy barrier from 0.75 to 0.45 e V.Thus,the Ti~(3+)-V_o-TiO_2 ultrathinlayers could directly capture and photofix atmospheric CO_2 into near-unity CO,with the corresponding CO_2-to-CO conversion ratio of ca. 20.2%.     

Dipolar Glass Polymers for Capacitive Energy Storage at Room Temperatures and Elevated Temperatures

Dielectric polymers are the materials of choice for high energy density film capacitors. The increasing demand for advanced electrical systems requires dielectric polymers to operate efficiently under extreme conditions, especially at elevated temperatures. However, the low permittivity and relatively low operating temperature of dielectric polymers limit the high-temperature capacitive energy storage applications.Fortunately, dipolar glass polymers are demonstrated as the preferred materials to...     

Polarization diversity two-dimensional grating coupler on x-cut lithium niobate on insulator

We propose and demonstrate a polarization diversity two-dimensional grating coupler based on the lithium niobate on insulator platform, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The optimization design, performance characteristics,and fabrication tolerance of the two-dimensional grating coupler are thoroughly analyzed utilizing the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. Experimentally,-7.2 d B of coupling efficiency is achieved with 1 d B bandwidth of64 nm. The polarization-dependent loss is about 0.4 d B around 1550 nm. Our work provides new polarization multiplexing approaches for the lithium niobate on insulator platform, paving the way for critical applications such as high-speed polarization multiplexed electro-optical modulators.     

地层基床系数对竖井结构动力响应的影响

本文提出一种解析的方法,将竖井结构看作一端简支,一端轴向弹性支承的有限长中厚园柱壳,求得其在冲击波作用下的动力响应,着重考察了地层基床系数的影响。算例表明,当主要关心Nzx值时,竖井底部简化处理成刚性固结,没有造成很大偏差。