Periodic decentralized event-triggered control for nonlinear systems with asynchronous update and dynamic quantization

Nonlinear Dynamics - Periodic event-triggered control (PETC) is an aperiodic sampling technique aiming at reducing the working time of the sensors and the transmissions in the feedback control...     

Potential Value of Wood Tar as a Natural Fungicide against Valsa mali

The Valsa canker caused by Valsa mali seriously harmed the production of East Asian apples and caused very significant economic losses. Considering the chemical residues and the improvement of people’s awareness of environmental protection, there is a need for screening new green pesticides for the control of Valsa canker. Therefore, we conducted systematic evaluations on the antifungal activity of wood tar. In this research, the effective concentration (EC₅₀) of six strains of V. mali to wood tar was determined, and the EC₅₀ ranged from 69.54 to 92.81 μg/mL. After treatment with wood tar, the hyphae of V. mali broke, swelled, and deformed; the permeability of the cell membrane increased; and the activity of pectinase reduced. Moreover, the expression levels of five genes related to pectinase also decreased significantly. In addition, the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and peroxidase (POD) of apple leaves treated with wood tar also increased. On detached apple branches, wood tar also showed therapeutic and protective activities. In the 2016–2019 field experiments, wood tar also showed good efficacy against Valsa canker and promoted the formation of callus. (In the experiments from 2016 to 2019, it can be seen that the control effect of 50% wood tar and 100% wood tar in the field is above 75% and promoted the formation of callus.) This study is the first to report the bidirectional efficacy of wood tar against Valsa mali and for trunk wound healing. The above results evidenced that wood tar has great potential to be developed as a natural alternative to commercial fungicides for the management of apple Valsa canker.     

Metal-free cascade boron-heteroatom addition and alkylation with diazo compounds

Transition metal-catalyzed carbene transfer reaction is one of the most notable advances for C-C bond formation reactionsduring the past decade,which has been widely employed in the preparation of C3-substituted indoles,Here,we described an efficient exa mple of catalyst-and metal-free aminobo ration of alkynes and C—C bond formation with diazo compounds to produce C3-substituted indoles,Diverse alkynyla nilines and diazo compounds ca n be utilized for this tandem transfo rmation under mild reaction conditions,re sulting in broad functional group co mpatibility.Additionally,this metal-free strategy can be extended to construct substituted benzofurans.     

Synergistic Effect of Lithocholic Acid with Gentamicin against Gram-Positive Bacteria but Not against Gram-Negative Bacteria

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is an important Gram-positive food-borne pathogen that severely threatens public health. A checkerboard microdilution method was performed to evaluate the synergistic effect of lithocholic acid (LCA) with Gentamicin (Genta) against L. monocytogenes. BacLight LIVE/DEAD staining, scanning electron microscopy and biofilm inhibition assays were further used to explore the bactericidal effect and antibiofilm effect of this combination on L. monocytogenes. Additionally, the synergistic effects of LCA derivatives with Genta were also evaluated against L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and S. suis. The results indicated that a synergistic bactericidal effect was observed for the combined therapy of LCA at the concentration without affecting bacteria viability, with Genta. Additionally, LCA in combination with Genta had a synergistic effect against Gram-positive bacteria (L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and S. suis) but not against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, A. baumannii and Salmonella). BacLight LIVE/DEAD staining and scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the combination of LCA with Genta caused L. monocytogenes membrane injury, leading to bacteria death. We found that 8 μg/mL LCA treatment effectively improved the ability of Genta to eradicate L. monocytogenes biofilms. In addition, we found that chenodeoxycholic acid, as a cholic acid derivative, also improved the bactericidal effect of Genta against Gram-positive bacteria. Our results indicate that LCA represents a broad-spectrum adjuvant with Genta for infection caused by L. monocytogenes and other Gram-positive pathogens.     

La1/3Sr2/3Fe1-xCoxO3体系中的Co替代效应研究

本文通过对La1/3Sr2/3Fe1-xCoxO3系列样品进行X射线衍射(XRD)和变温电阻率(p～T)、比热(C～T)、磁化率(M～T)等测试,研究了Co掺杂对该系列样品的晶体结构和电热磁性质的影响.结果表明,随着Co掺杂量的增加,晶胞体积单调减小;电阻中电荷有序(charge ordering,CO)的特征逐渐消失.Co含量低的样品随着温度降低发生顺磁-反铁磁(PM-AFM)转变和金属-绝缘体(M-I)转变;Co含量高的样品则在磁转变温度以下表现出团簇玻璃型短程铁磁有序行为,并且在整个测量温区内具有金属导电特性.这些证明Co掺杂引起电子的局域化效应是导致体系电磁和输运行为发生变化的主要原因.     

Bioactive PKS–NRPS Alkaloids from the Plant-Derived Endophytic Fungus Xylaria arbuscula

A novel hybrid PKS–NRPS alkaloid, xylarialoid A (1), containing a 13-membered macrocyclic moiety and [5,5,6] fused tricarbocyclic rings, together with ten known cytochalasins (2–11), was isolated from a plant-derived endophytic fungus, Xylaria arbuscula. The chemical structures of all compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR, HR ESIMS spectroscopic analyses, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Compounds 1–3 and 10 exhibited significant antitumor activities against A549 and Hep G2 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 3.6–19.6 μM. In addition, compound 1 showed potent anti-inflammatory activity against LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells (IC₅₀, 6.6 μM).     

The Exponential Law Between Dwell Time and the Strength of PBX Substitute Material

Polymer-bonded sugars (PBSs) can be used as a substitute material for polymerbonded explosives (PBXs) due to their ability to simulate the mechanical properties...     

Preparation of Highly Stable and Photoluminescent Cadmium-Free InP/GaP/ZnS Core/Shell Quantum Dots and Application to Quantitative Immunoassay

Indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) are ideal substitutes for widely used cadmium-based QDs and have great application prospects in biological fields due to their environmentally benign properties and human safety. However, the synthesis of InP core/shell QDs with biocompatibility, high quantum yield (QY), uniform particle size, and high stability is still a challenging subject. Herein, high quality (QY up to 72%) thick shell InP/GaP/ZnS core/shell QDs (12.8 ± 1.4 nm) are synthesized using multiple injections of shell precursor and extension of shell growth time, with GaP serving as the intermediate layer and 1-octanethiol acting as the new S source. The thick shell InP/GaP/ZnS core/shell QDs still keep high QY and photostability after transfer into water. InP/GaP/ZnS core/shell QDs as fluorescence labels to establish QD-based fluorescence-linked immunosorbent assay (QD-FLISA) for quantitative detection of C-reactive protein (CRP), and a calibration curve is established between fluorescence intensity and CRP concentrations (range: 1–800 ng mL⁻¹, correlation coefficient: R² = 0.9992). The limit of detection is 2.9 ng mL⁻¹, which increases twofold compared to previously reported cadmium-free QD-based immunoassays. Thus, InP/GaP/ZnS core/shell QDs as a great promise fluorescence labeling material, provide a new route for cadmium-free sensitive and specific immunoassays in biomedical fields.     

Tetra‐ammonium Zinc Phthalocyanine to Construct a Graded 2D–3D Perovskite Interface for Efficient and Stable Solar Cells

The crystallographic defects inevitably incur during the solution processed organic‐inorganic hybrid perovskite film, especially at surface and the grain boundaries (GBs) of perovskite film, which can further result in the reduced cell performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, a simple defect passivation method was employed by treating perovskite precursor film with a hydrophobic tetra‐ammonium zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). The results demonstrated that a 2D‐3D graded perovskite interface with a capping layer of 2D (ZnPc)_0.5MA_n ? 1Pb_nI_3n + 1 perovskite together with 3D MAPbI₃ perovskite was successfully constructed on the top of 3D perovskite layer. This situation realized the efficient GBs passivation, thus reducing the defects in GBs. As expected, the corresponding PSCs with modified perovskite revealed an improved cell performance. The best efficiency reached 19.6%. Especially, the significantly enhanced long‐term stability of the responding PSCs against humidity and heating was remarkably achieved. Such a strategy in this work affords an efficient method to improve the stability of PSCs and thus probably brings the PSCs closer to practical commercialization.     

Synthesis and Infrared Multi‐band Absorption Properties of Core‐shell NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+@SiO2 Nanoparticles

Due to the unique size effects, nanomaterials in infrared absorption have attracted much attention for their strong absorption in the infrared region. To achieve the infrared multi‐band absorption, we propose to synthesize a core‐shell structure nanomaterial consisting of NaYF₄:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ core and a layer of SiO₂ as shell. A series of NaYF₄:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ nanocrystals were synthesized through hydrothermal method by adjusting the ratio of citric acid(CA)‐to‐NaOH, and the effects of CA concentration, and NaOH concentration were studied in detail. NaYF₄:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺@SiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by sol‐gel method using TEOS as silica source. The results show that the core‐shell NaYF₄:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺@SiO₂ nanoparticles were successfully synthesized. Up‐conversion spectra of these nanoparticles were recorded with 980 nm laser excitation under room temperature. There are no changes of the emission centers of nanoparticles before or after silica coating, but the emission intensities of nanoparticles after silica coating are weakened. Furthermore, the property of infrared multi‐band absorption was tested through ultraviolet‐visible‐near infrared spectrophotometer and infrared absorption spectra. The results illustrate that the multi‐band infrared absorption nanomaterial was successfully synthesized.