分类: 物理学 >> 普通物理:统计和量子力学,量子信息等 提交时间: 2017-05-02
摘要: Non-planar ring contained polyester is synthesized as an effective toughening agent to modify poly- lactide (PLA). By systematically researching the relation between molecular structure and properties, the two key factors to pursue high toughness of PLA with non-planar ring contained polyester are carefully distinguished. For one thing, the polyester must own the ability to be well compatible with PLA. For the other, the polyester should have a rigid molecular chain but “non-rigid” aggregation structure. By suit- ably controlling the molecular design, poly(butylene adipate-co-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PBAC) is obtained. After using PBAC to toughen PLA, the elongation extremely increases to 196.1 ± 3.6% and the notched impact strength is also effectively improved with several times. Finally, our research establishes an important methodology to toughen PLA and thus fabricates tough PLA based blends.
分类: 地球科学 >> 地理学 提交时间: 2022-10-13 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》
摘要:Shrub species are used in restoration projects on dryland for their facilitation effects, which include environmental improvements and protection from herbivore feeding. Facilitation effects on forage grasses are potentially important in improving grazing capacity on rangelands. However, the morphology-dependent performance of benefactor plants in facilitating forage species growth and supplementation under moderate grazing intensity remains unclear. Here, our main purpose was to measure facilitation performance in terms of the survival of a native forage grass, Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. (Gramineae)., in accordance with the growth conditions of a sand-fixing benefactor shrub, Caragana microphylla Lam., in the Hulun Buir Grassland, northern China. Six study sites with patches of A. cristatum and C. microphylla were established at the foot of fixed sand dunes. At each site, five quadrats were set in places where C. microphylla coverage was 100% and A. cristatum grew among the shrubs (shrub quadrats), and another five were set where A. cristatum grew alone without C. microphylla (grass quadrats). We measured the morphological traits of C. microphylla and A. cristatum in all 60 quadrats, along with the soil water content and soil temperature. The data were compared between the shrub and grass quadrats by generalized linear mixed-effect models to assess the shrub's facilitation effects. We also used such models to elucidate the relationship between the average height of C. microphylla and the morphological traits of A. cristatum in the shrub quadrats. The maximum height, average grazed height, and the number of seed heads of A. cristatum were greater in the shrub quadrats than in the grass quadrats. The soil surface temperature was lower in the shrub quadrats. The maximum height and seed head number of A. cristatum were positively associated with the average height of C. microphylla. These results suggest that the grazing impact and heat stress were smaller in shrub quadrats than in grass quadrats, and that the degree of this protective effect depended on the shrub height. The shrub canopy seemed to reduce the increase in soil temperature and keep the grass vigorous. Livestock likely avoided grazing grasses in the C. microphylla patches because of the shrub's spiny leaves; only the upper parts of the grass stems (including the seed heads) protruding from the shrub canopy were grazed. The sand-fixing shrub thus moderates the grazing impact and soil temperature, and contributes to vegetation restoration and grazing system sustainability.
分类: 生物学 >> 植物学 >> 植物学研究、实验与植物演化、发展 提交时间: 2016-05-31
摘要: A key global 21st century challenge is to maximize agricultural production while minimizing use of resources such as land, water, and energy to meet rising demand for produce. To meet this challenge, while also adapting to climate change, agriculture will have to become more knowledge intensive and deploy smarter farming techniques. The intention of this study was to: (1)Highlight the opportunity for web-based knowledge exchange to increase farm productivity and thus contribute to achieving food and energy security, (2) Give some examples of online farming information services such as the “CROPROTECT” tool I am developing in the UK, the CABI “Plantwise” Knowledge Bank and the IRRI “Rice Doctor,” and (3) Consider lessons learnt so far.There are huge opportunities to facilitate knowledge exchange through online systems for farmers and people who advise farmers. CROPROTECT is interacting with users to determine priorities in terms of the pests, weeds, and diseases covered and is providing key information to assist with their management. Knowledge is a critical input for farming systems. Crop protection in particular is becoming more difficult due to evolution of pest resistance and changes in legislation.Up to date information can be made rapidly available and shared online through websites and smartphone Apps. Agricultural extension no longer relies solely on physical meetings and printed documents. The capacity to share information via the Internet is tremendous with its potential to reach a wide audience in the farming community, to provide rapid updates and to interact more with the users. However, in an era of information deluge,accessing relevant information and ensuring reliability are essential considerations. There is also a need to bring science and farming communities together to turn information into relevant farming knowledge.
分类: 工程与技术科学 >> 工程与技术科学其他学科 提交时间: 2023-01-03 合作期刊: 《2022年第三届艺术设计、传播与工程科学研讨会》
摘要: Currently, the research field of industrial product service system design is immature and design models need to be improved. A territorialised design approach can effectively address these issues [1]. Geographical design refers to the use of design in system design to support the sustainable design of the system. While a new, more sustainable business model for production and consumption systems has begun to emerge internationally, this global generalisation does not necessarily lead to improvements in product service design. The construction of the ontology is based on the position and role in the design of industrial product service systems. The article suggests that advances in geobased information technology have made this situation more complex. Therefore, shifting the level of design from the global level to the regional or local level allows for a clearer, timely and pragmatic interpretation of sustainability. The article explores territorialisation as a new design approach to support the design of service systems for industrial products. In order to meet this need, designers need access to geographical information that enables them to be incorporated in an appropriate way into the design specifications for territorial product services. In this context, ontologies can play an important role in the analysis and discovery of GIS within the product lifecycle and associated service networks. Sustainability enhancements may be the result of this integration. The article focuses on the environmental pillar.
分类: 地球科学 >> 水文学 提交时间: 2018-07-05 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》
摘要: Since 1960, the steppe regions of North Africa have been subject to an increasing desertification, including the degradation of traditional pastures. The initially dominant species (Artemisia herba-alba, Lygeum spartum and Stipa tenacissima) declined and were progressively replaced by other species (Atractylis serratuloides and Salsola vermiculata) that are more tolerant to the new conditions. It is not clear whether these changes are due to anthropogenic reasons or climatic determinism. We have carried out a statistical analysis of the climate to detect putative rainfall changes during the 20th century in the Algerian steppes based on data from 9 meteorological stations, including 2 Saharan stations (El Oued and Touggourt), 3 pre-Saharan stations (Biskra, Laghouat and Ain Sefra) and 4 steppe stations (Djelfa, Saida, Mchria and El-Bayadh) located in the arid high plains, which represent the bioclimate diversities of the region. Previous studies suggested that significant rainfall changes for the 20th century only had records in the south of the Oran region. Most of the studies, however, looked at restricted territories over limited periods, and did not integrate the rainiest period 20042014. Our work is designed to integrate all the longest time series of meteorological data available for the steppe regions of Algeria. Our results confirm the spatial rainfall distribution (significant rainfall changes only recorded in the southwestern region) evidenced by previous studies, and reveal a decreasing rainfall gradient from northeastern to southwestern Algeria. Moreover, the results reveal a trend of significant decrease of rainfall in the southern Oran region, marked by two drought periods in 19801985 and 19992003. However, with the exception of the southwestern region, rainfall overall has not declined since the beginning of the 20th century. While less marked in other regions, the drought appear to have affected all territories of the Algerian steppe. Consequently, our study implies that the climate was not a leading influence in the on-going degradation of the vegetation cover of steppe landscapes. Such a vegetation evolution thus appears to be have been determined more by human activities than by climate forcing.
分类: 生物学 >> 植物学 >> 植物生态学和植物地理学 提交时间: 2016-05-04
摘要: Reliance on fossil fuels is causing unprecedented climate change and is accelerating environmental degradation and global biodiversity loss. Together, climate change and biodiversity loss, if not averted urgently, may inflict severe damage on ecosystem processes, functions and services that support the welfare of modern societies. Increasing renewable energy deployment and expanding the current protected area network represent key solutions to these challenges, but conflicts may arise over the use of limited land for energy production as opposed to biodiversity conservation. Here, we compare recently identified core areas for the expansion of the global protected area network with the renewable energy potential available from land-based solar photovoltaic, wind energy and bioenergy (in the form of Miscanthusgiganteus). We show that these energy sources have very different biodiversity impacts and net energy contributions. The extent of risks and opportunities deriving from renewable energy development is highly dependent on the type of renewable source harvested, the restrictions imposed on energy harvest and the region considered, with Central America appearing at particularly high potential risk from renewable energy expansion. Without restrictions on power generation due to factors such as production and transport costs, we show that bioenergy production is a major potential threat to biodiversity, while the potential impact of wind and solar appears smaller than that of bioenergy. However, these differences become reduced when energy potential is restricted by external factors including local energy demand. Overall, we found that areas of opportunity for developing solar and wind energy with little harm to biodiversity could exist in several regions of the world, with the magnitude of potential impact being particularly dependent on restrictions imposed by local energy demand. The evidence provided here helps guide sustainable development of renewable energy and contributes to the targeting of global efforts in climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
分类: 物理学 >> 普通物理:统计和量子力学,量子信息等 提交时间: 2017-04-06
摘要: The bio-based diamine and epoxy monomer derived from isosorbide are synthesized. Especially, the diamine is obtained using microwave assistant thiol-ene coupling reaction in the aqueous media and the influence of reaction parameters, such as initiator con
分类: 材料科学 >> 材料科学(综合) 提交时间: 2017-03-30
摘要: The bio-based diamine and epoxy monomer derived from isosorbide are synthesized. Especially, the diamine is obtained using microwave assistant thiol-ene coupling reaction in the aqueous media and the influence of reaction parameters, such as initiator con
分类: 材料科学 >> 材料科学(综合) 提交时间: 2017-03-30
摘要: The bio-based diamine and epoxy monomer derived from isosorbide are synthesized. Especially, the diamine is obtained using microwave assistant thiol-ene coupling reaction in the aqueous media and the influence of reaction parameters, such as initiator con
分类: 生物学 >> 生物物理学 >> 肿瘤学 提交时间: 2016-05-11
摘要: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common complication caused by malignant diseases. However, subjectivity, poor sensitivity, and substantial false-negative rates of cytology assay hamper accurate MPE diagnosis. The aim of this study was to assess whether CD163+CD14+ tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) could be used as a biomarker for enabling sensitive and specific MPE diagnosis. Pleural effusion samples and peripheral blood samples were collected from 50 MPE patients and 50 non-malignant pleural effusion (NMPE) patients, respectively. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell phenotypes, and RT-qPCR was used to detect cytokine expression in these monocytes and macrophages. A blinded validation study (n = 40) was subsequently performed to confirm the significance of CD163+CD14+ TAMs in MPE diagnosis. Student's t test, rank sum test, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were used for statistical analysis. Notably, CD163+CD14+ cell frequency in MPE was remarkably higher than that in NMPE (P < 0.001). In a blinded validation study, a sensitivity of 78.9 % and a specificity of 100 % were obtained with CD163+CD14+ TAMs as a MPE biomarker. In total (n = 140), by using a cutoff level of 3.65 %, CD163+CD14+ cells had a sensitivity of 81.2 % and a specificity of 100 % for MPE diagnosis. Notably, MPE diagnosis by estimating CD163+CD14+ cells in pleural effusion could be obtained one week earlier than that obtained by cytological examination. CD163+CD14+ macrophages could be potentially used as an immune diagnostic marker for MPE and has better assay sensitivity than that of cytological analysis.