Class Of Poly Research Articles

Distribution system resilience improvement against hurricanes: optimal line hardening according to reconfiguration potentials

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a notable increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters related to global warming. Large‐scale blackouts caused by natural disasters demonstrate the extreme vulnerability of power systems to these devastations. Resilience planning is the key to preparing power systems for natural disasters by enhancing the vital infrastructure's robustness. This paper proposes a new resilience improvement framework based on resiliency assessment and optimal hardening to improve the distribution system's resiliency against hurricanes. The main goal is to find the optimal distribution system line hardening solution according to reconfiguration potentials after the hurricane to minimize the distribution system cost of energy not supplied. Fragility curves and Monte Carlo simulations are used for the distribution system resilience assessment. Poles and conductors are vulnerable components of distribution system lines; therefore, two hardening strategies have been outlined using measures like replacing old poles with new poles, upgrading pole classes, and vegetation management. This method is modelled as an optimization program considering budget limitations and load priorities and implemented by a genetic algorithm on the IEEE 33‐bus standard network. The results show that optimal line hardening according to network reconfiguration potentials significantly increased the distribution system's resilience.

Effect of thermal processing conditions on the structure and properties of porous PENK/PVDF composite films and its application as lithium-ions separators

By developing high-performance lithium-ion battery technology, the demands on the design of separator modification have increased. However, battery performance and safety are limited by conventional polyolefin separators' poor thermal resistance and electrolyte wettability. Biphenyl-type poly (arylene ether nitrile ketone) (BP-PENK) is synthesized. PENK polymers are a class of poly (aryl ether) with excellent properties of both Poly (aryl ether nitrile) (PEN) and Poly (ether ketone) (PEEK). The BP-PENK/PVDF composite film is further processed by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS), and the impact of annealing temperatures on the thermal resistance and crystalline phase structure of composite separators has been studied. The composite separator owns enhanced ionic conductivity, excellent electrolyte wettability, and superior thermal durability. The cell equipped with the composite separator has a discharge-specific capacity of 146.5 mAh·g−1 and a capacity retention rate of 86.64 %. In this way, A novel approach to producing lithium-ion battery separators that possess outstanding electrochemical properties and high thermal durability is provided.

Assessment of Carbon Sequestration in Private Forests across Two Different Physiographic Regions of Nepal: Implications for Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation

Private forests offer diverse ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, which are crucial for Nepal. However, there is a notable absence of comprehensive research on these services. Assessing carbon sequestration in private forests can have economic advantages for forest owners by promoting resource conservation and contributing to greenhouse gas reduction. This study aims to estimate and compare carbon stocks in private forests located in two distinct physiographic regions of Nepal while also identifying the factors influencing these carbon stocks. The analysis focuses on 16 private forests (with 0.1 to 0.5 hectares) each from Chitwan district (Terai region) and Kavrepalanchok district (Hilly region). Field data collection involved direct measurements of tree and sapling diameter at breast height (DBH), as well as height and class of trees and poles, utilizing a total enumeration method. These collected values were utilized to calculate aboveground biomass (AGTB), aboveground sapling biomass (AGSB), belowground biomass, and carbon stock. Private forests of Terai region were dominated by Shorea borneensis, Tectona grandis, and Dalbergia sissoo, whereas the Hilly region was dominated by Pinus patula, Alnus nepalensis, Schima wallichii, and Quercus leucotrichophora. The aboveground biomass carbon in the Terai region’s private forests was estimated to be 83.53 t·ha−1, while in the Hilly region, it was 37.32 t·ha−1. The belowground biomass carbon in the Terai region’s private forests was found to be 21.72 t·ha−1, compared to 9.70 t·ha−1 in the Hilly region. Consequently, the estimated total carbon stock in the Terai and Hilly regions’ private forests was 105.25 t·ha−1 (386.26 t·ha−1 CO2-eq) and 47.02 t·ha−1 (172.57 t·ha−1 CO2-eq), respectively. Carbon sequestration in the Terai region’s private forests was discovered to be 2.24 times higher than that in the Hilly region. These findings underscore the significant potential of private forests, which can generate economic benefits through carbon trading and leverage mechanisms such as REDD+/CDM to promote sustainable conservation practices.

Spectroscopic, quantum computational, topological, Fukui functions and molecular docking analysis on a potential anti-cancer molecule Nicotinamide by DFT method

Nicotinamide has been identified as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic activity in the medical field. To evaluate the cytotoxic effects of nicotinamide against cancer cells; a detailed spectroscopic investigation was made and examined through FT-IR, FT-Raman and UV–Vis techniques. For quantum computational calculation, the DFT method was performed in order to identify the structural and vibrational assignments of the molecule on the basis of the potential energy distribution. The Time-dependent DFT method was applied to compute electronic excitation and predict UV–Vis spectra. The molecular electrostatic potential, frontier molecular orbitals, natural bond orbital, electronic localization function and localized orbital locator were analyzed to study the topological, chemical reactivity and bioactivity nature of the molecule by suitable computational techniques. The scatter plot of the reduced density gradients was constructed to predict the weak interactions. In addition to these analyses, the local reactivity descriptors like the local softness and Fukui functions were obtained. Furthermore, the molecular docking studies of the molecule were carried out to analyze the biological activity against cancer cells with the target proteins under the class of Poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase enzyme inhibitors and the respective docking parameters were calculated. As per the investigation, the anti-cancer activity had revealed based on molecular docking analysis and it had been identified that the nicotinamide molecule could act as a good inhibitor against cancer.

ASSESSMENT OF THE NATURAL REGENERATION STATUS OF IRVINGIA GABONENSIS (BUSH MANGO) IN THE KWANO FOREST OF GASHAKA GUMTI NATIONAL PARK, NIGERIA

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) describes the bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis) species as currently listed in the “lower risk or near threatened” category of its red list and an important versatile tree species in the family Irvingiaceae. I. gabonensis regenerates through seeds and it produces seeds with good germination as such; its natural size in natural habitat is actively regenerating. The present study was conducted to assess the natural regeneration status of I. gabonensis in Kwano Forest of Gashaka Gumti National Park in Nigeria. Through the biophysical survey, the number of regenerants (seedling, saplings, poles, and adults) and trees per hectare (based on diameter classes) was assessed in the forest. The study revealed that there was an increasing trend of I. gabonensis seedlings with good regeneration status. While saplings and adults are fair in regeneration per hectare in Kwano forest, respectively. Furthermore, poles had poor regeneration potentials in the study area. Hence, collectively, there was an apparent diminishing of the natural regeneration trend of I. gabonensis trees among pole classes in the Kwano Forest as a result of constant invasion and disturbances of bush pigs feedings on the ripe fruits thereby creating a setback on regeneration trend. The information is a basis to conservationists toward preservation and sustainable use of the tree species. Hence, the need for concurrent development of possible and efficient alternative method of regeneration is necessary.

UC Secure Private Branching Program and Decision Tree Evaluation

Branching program (BP) is a DAG-based non-uniform computational model for L&#x002F;poly class. It has been widely used in formal verification, logic synthesis, and data analysis. As a special BP, a decision tree is a popular machine learning classifier for its effectiveness and simplicity. In this work, we propose a UC-secure efficient 3-party computation platform for outsourced branching program and&#x002F;or decision tree evaluation. We construct a constant-round protocol and a linear-round protocol. In particular, the overall (online &#x002B; offline) communication cost of our linear-round protocol is <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O( {d( {\ell + log m + log n} )} )$</tex-math></inline-formula> and its round complexity is 2<i>d</i>-1, where <i>m</i> is the DAG size, n is the number of features, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell $</tex-math></inline-formula> is the feature length, and <i>d</i> is the longest path length. To enable efficient oblivious hopping among the DAG nodes, we propose a lightweight 1-out-of-<i>N</i> shared OT protocol with logarithmic communication in both online and offline phase. This partial result may be of independent interest to some other cryptographic protocols. Our benchmark shows, compared with the state-of-the-arts, the proposed constant-round protocol is up to 10X faster in the WAN setting, while the proposed linear-round protocol is up to 15X faster in the LAN setting.

O-179 Fertilization topologies that occur seldom or not at all in nature give rise to distinct functional classes of mouse embryos

Abstract Study question Would new embryo properties emerge if fertilization was imposed on oocytes in regions, such as the animal pole, where it does not take place naturally? Summary answer Oocyte fertilization at the animal pole, vegetal pole or equator results in 2-cell embryos with distinguishable transcriptomes and functional peculiarities. What is known already There is fertilization bias in embryos used in basic and clinical research, because: 1) sperm–oocyte fusion hardly occurs at the surface above the meiotic spindle – the animal pole; 2) the region opposite the spindle - vegetal pole - is poorly accessible to sperm due to tiny perivitelline space. These regions are also avoided during intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for fear of damaging the spindle or losing the sperm nucleus into the 2nd polar body. Pole materials are held non-essential for mouse development, but this conclusion relies on the 2nd polar body, which is an unreliable topological marker. Study design, size, duration Oocytes were rotated using a micromanipulator fitted with Nomarski optics, using the meiotic spindle as a landmark. Between 9:30 and 10:30 am single sperm heads were microinjected (ICSI) at the animal or vegetal pole (treatments) vs. the naturally prevalent equatorial region (control). This way two fertilization topologies and possibly also two classes of zygotes were created that are otherwise seldom or not at all represented in natural fertilization, in vitro insemination or conventional ICSI. Participants/materials, setting, methods Metaphase II oocytes were collected from 8-week-old B6C3F1 mice stimulated with 10 I.U. eCG+hCG. Sperm heads from a single batch of cryopreserved CD1 semen were deposited via ICSI in the cortex at the animal pole, vegetal pole or half-way between poles i.e. equatorially. Zygotes were cultured in KSOM(aa) and analyzed (triplicate or more) for: cleavage rates, transcriptomes at the 2-cell stage (RNAseq), blastocyst germ layers (immunostaining for trophectoderm, primitive endoderm, epiblast), and postimplantation development. Main results and the role of chance Although full development was supported irrespective of ICSI site, embryos clustered by site, as revealed by single-cell RNAseq of 21, 21 and 13 two-cell embryos whose oocytes were fertilized at the animal pole, vegetal pole or equator, respectively. When examining the sister blastomeres together, 462 genes of the shared transcriptome were differently expressed between ICSI sites, with the equatorial class contributing most to the difference (adj.p&amp;lt;0.05, Wilcoxon test). This was true also when examining the sister blastomeres separately: interblastomere differences of the equatorial class exceeded those of the pole classes (72% vs. 14% of differently expressed genes). Ontology analysis of the differently expressed genes using Enrichr pointed at the endomembrane system – an acquaintance of oocyte polarity studies (PMID 10545249; PMID 29746690). Follow-up of 2-cell embryos to blastocysts revealed that sister blastomere contribution to each germ layer was less balanced in the equatorial class, as measured by linear correlation of cell numbers (e.g. equatorial R2=0.00 vs. polar R2&amp;gt;0.23 for the epiblast). Summing up, it is difficult to reconcile these data with a mainstream view that fertilization at the animal pole is harmful. Rather they support that the topology of fertilization defines functional classes of 2-cell embryos with distinguishable transcriptomes. Limitations, reasons for caution This is an animal study. Mouse ICSI uses mercury-loaded piezo-driven needles, human ICSI does not. The higher consistency of using the one and same batch of cryopreserved spermatozoa was traded off against lower developmental rates. Single-cell resolution posed a limit on RNAseq depth. Results need confirmation in other mouse strains. Wider implications of the findings The higher blastomere similarity observed after ICSI at the vegetal pole compared to ICSI at the equator is not consistent with the prevalent model of first zygotic cleavage that is driven by the topology of the two apposing pronuclei. Trial registration number not applicable

Improvement of Islet Engrafts via Treg Induction Using Immunomodulating Polymeric Tolerogenic Microparticles.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a life-threatening condition for which islet transplantation offers a way to extend longevity and vastly improve quality of life, but the degree and duration of success can vary greatly due to the patient's protective immunity against foreign material. The field is in need of cellular engineering modalities to promote a localized, tolerogenic environment to protect transplanted islet tissue. Artificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) can be designed exogenously to mimic immune cells, such as dendritic cells, and administered to patients, allowing greater control over T cell differentiation. As regulatory T cell (Treg) modulation can reduce the activity of cytotoxic T-effector populations, this strategy can be used to promote immune acceptance of both biomaterials and cellular transplants, such as islets. A new class of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and PLGA/PBAE-blend aAPCs containing transforming growth factor beta and conjugated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies, called tolerogenic aAPCs (TolAPCs), are specifically designed to generate a tolerogenic response by inducing Tregs. We characterized TolAPCs' physical and chemical properties via advanced particle imaging and sizing modalities and investigated their impact on the local and systemic immune system across BALB/c and C57BL/6 mouse strains as well as healthy male and female mice via histologic, gene expression, and immunofluorescence staining methods. Strain-specific differences were observed, whereas sex made no difference in the TolAPC response. TolAPCs stimulated the expansion of FOXP3+ Tregs and provided islet cell protection, maintaining improved glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vitro when co-cultured with cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. We also explored the ability of this TolAPC platform to promote tolerance in a streptozotocin-induced murine T1D C57BL/6 mouse model. We achieved partial islet protection over the first few days following co-injection with PLGA/PBAE TolAPCs; however, grafts failed soon thereafter. Analysis of the local injection site demonstrated that other immune cell types, including APCs and cytotoxic natural killer cells, increased in the islet injection site. While we aimed to promote a localized tolerogenic microenvironment in vivo using biodegradable TolAPCs to induce Tregs and extend islet transplant durability, further TolAPC improvements will be required to both elongate efficacy and control additional immune cell responders.

Consequences of poly(ethylene oxide) and poloxamer P188 on transcription in healthy and stressed myoblasts

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poloxamers, a class of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymers, have many personal and medical care applications, including the stabilization of stressed cellular membranes. Despite the widespread use, the cellular transcriptional response to these molecules is relatively unknown. C2C12 myoblasts, a model muscle cell, were subjected to short-term Poloxamer 188 (P188) and PEO181 (8,000g/mol) treatment in culture. RNA was extracted and sequenced to quantify transcriptomic impact. The addition of moderate concentrations (14µM) of either polymer to unstressed cells caused substantial differential gene expression, including at least twofold modulation of 357 and 588 genes, respectively. In addition, evaluation of the transcriptome response to osmotic stress without polymer treatment revealed dramatic change in RNA expression. Interestingly, the addition of polymer to stressed cells-at concentrations that provide physiological protection-did not yield a significant difference in expression of any gene relative to stress alone. Genome-scale expression analysis was corroborated by single-gene quantitative real-time PCR. Changes in protein expression were measured via western blot, which revealed partial alignment with the RNA results. Collectively, the significant changes to expression of multiple genes and resultant protein translation demonstrates an unexpectedly broad biochemical response to these polymers in healthy myoblasts invitro. Meanwhile, the lack of substantial transcriptional response to polymer treatment in stressed cells highlights the physical nature of that protective mechanism.

The class of poly. normal operators

In this paper, we introduce a new class of operators on separable Hilbert space called poly. normal operator. An operator is called poly. normal if there exists a polynomial ℙ, where such that , where * is the adjoint operator of . We investigated some basic properties and new results were discussed in this research.

Discovering the Roots: Uniform Closure Results for Algebraic Classes Under Factoring

Newton iteration is an almost 350-year-old recursive formula that approximates a simple root of a polynomial quite rapidly. We generalize it to a matrix recurrence (allRootsNI) that approximates all roots simultaneously. In this form, the process yields better circuit complexity in the case when the number of rootsris small but the multiplicities are exponentially large. Our method sets up a linear system inrunknowns and iteratively builds the roots as formal power series. For an algebraic circuit\( f(x_1,\ldots ,x_n) \)of sizes, we prove that each factor has size at most a polynomial insand the degree of the squarefree part off. Consequently, if\( f_1 \)is a\( 2^{\Omega (n)} \)-hard polynomial, then any nonzero multiple\( \prod _{i} f_i^{e_i} \)is equally hard for arbitrary positive\( e_i \)’s, assuming that\( \sum _i\deg (f_i) \)is at most\( 2^{O(n)} \).It is an old open question whether the class of poly(n) size formulas (respectively, algebraic branching programs) is closed under factoring. We show that given a polynomialfof degree\( n^{O(1)} \)and formula (respectively, algebraic branching program) size\( n^{O(\log n)} \), we can find a similar-size formula (respectively, algebraic branching program) factor in randomized poly(\( n^{\log n} \)) time. Consequently, if the determinant requires an\( n^{\Omega (\log n)} \)size formula, then the same can be said about any of its nonzero multiples.In all of our proofs, we exploit the following property of multivariate polynomial factorization. Under a random linear transformation\( \tau \), the polynomial\( f(\tau \overline{x}) \)completely factors via power series roots. Moreover, the factorization adapts well to circuit complexity analysis. Therefore, with the help of the strong mathematical characterizations and the ‘allRootsNI’ technique, we make significant progress towards the old open problems; supplementing the vast body of classical results and concepts in algebraic circuit factorization (e.g., [17,51,54,111]).

Optimal Design of Distribution Overhead Powerlines Using Genetic Algorithms

As the design of distribution overhead power lines becomes increasingly standardized in the 21st century, the reduced search space of its design parameters allows for increasing opportunities to automate the design process. It involves specifying the distribution utility pole heights and classes, pole-top attachments, and conductor span tensions. A successful algorithm must be able of generating designs that are compliant with applicable codes and utility standards, achieve construction labour and material costs that are commensurate to that of a human-created design, and require a reasonable computation time. A design automation algorithm is created for ATCO Electricity, Alberta, Canada. Based on provided requirements and constraints, it uses the genetic algorithm to optimize the design parameters, including a completed design staking list, material loading file, and relevant calculation reports for use by the design department. Evaluation of the developed tool is based on five samples of real design scenarios. Within a reasonable amount of computation time, the tool produces results free from major design errors, comparable in material and construction costs to those of human-created designs. Furthermore, the design automation tool makes rigorous use of design decisions that result in small cost savings but that are not commonly found in human-created designs.

A Hybrid Physics-Based and Data-Driven Model for Power Distribution System Infrastructure Hardening and Outage Simulation

Power outages caused by severe storms produce enormous economic losses and societal disruptions. Infrastructure hardening for a more resilient power grid can reduce weather-induced outages but necessitates accurate simulations of intervention efficacy. Data-driven models have been developed to forecast outages but struggle with extreme events where data might be limited. Meanwhile, physics-based models can predict failures under strong winds but have limited scope in lower wind ranges. Despite the two models’ complementary benefits, studies investigating their integration have been limited. In the present study, the physical attributes of the infrastructure system are incorporated into data-driven models by coupling structural fragilities of the pole-wire overhead power distribution system with machine learning (ML) techniques applied in an outage prediction model for the northeastern United States. The ML model is used to calibrate the physics-based fragility curves, which are subsequently used to predict outages for high-impact events where empirical data may be limited. The results of this hybrid physics-based and data-driven (HPD) model indicate modeling improvements using hybrid over strictly data-driven approaches for extreme events. Root mean square error improvements of 48% are exhibited for high-impact event outage prediction. The hybrid model was then utilized to counterfactually assess the impacts of grid hardening activities such as pole replacement, pole class upgrade, improved pole chemical treatment, and undergrounding in reducing pole failures over the last fifteen years. The results indicate selected strategies targeted to the oldest 5% of infrastructure could have reduced over 100 (33% of all) pole failures annually across the state of Connecticut.

New classes of functionalized parylenes and poly(phenylene vinylene)s via coupling of dihaloxylyl diesters

New classes of poly(p-xylylene)s and poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s were synthesized and studied.

Isothermal modelling of protein adsorption to thermo-responsive polymer grafted Sepharose Fast Flow sorbents.

In this study, five adsorption isotherm models, that is, the Langmuir, Freundlich, Langmuir-Freundlich, Temkin and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherms, were utilized for the analysis of the experimental adsorption data for six classes of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based thermo-responsive copolymer-grafted Sepharose Fast Flow sorbents of different copolymer compositions with two structurally related proteins, namely bovine holo-lactoferrin and bovine holo-transferrin at 20 and 50°C. The experimental data for bovine holo-lactoferrin could be mathematically fitted to the Freundlich and Temkin isotherms when the protein feed concentrations were in the range of 1-40mg/mL at both 20 and 50°C. Similar analysis of the binding of the homologous protein, bovine holo-transferrin, to the same thermo-responsive copolymer-grafted sorbents revealed that the experimental data could be fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms with coefficients of determination value over 0.90.

A new class of poly(ether‐block‐amide)s based on semi‐aromatic polyamide: synthesis, characterization and structure–property relations

AbstractA new type of poly(ether‐amide) thermoplastic elastomer (TPAE) was synthesized using poly(decamethylene terephthalamide (10T)/decamethylene isophthalamide) as hard segment and poly(ethylene glycol) as soft segment via an efficient, accessible and low‐pollution melt polymerization method. Thermoplastic elastomer was synthesized based on semi‐aromatic polyamide for the first time. The effects of various compositions of hard segments on the thermal and mechanical properties were investigated. The results show that TPAE synthesized from semi‐aromatic polyamide has excellent thermal stability, the initial decomposition temperature of all samples being between 370 and 378 °C. With an increase of 10T content, crystallization ability of the hard segment increased. As 10T content increased, TPAE changed from amorphous to crystalline, and the melting temperature ranged from 175 to 236 °C. Tensile testing revealed that TPAE had excellent and adjustable mechanical properties, and that tensile strength, elongation at break and elasticity modulus were in the ranges 7–40 MPa, 468–835% and 0.036–1.80 MPa. Furthermore, high‐temperature tensile test results showed that TPAE‐4 still maintained considerable mechanical properties, and had better mechanical properties compared with Pebax® 5533. In particular, TPAE‐4 had higher performance decay point for which elasticity modulus and stress at ε = 500% decreased rapidly when the temperature was higher than 80 °C, this point for Pebax® 5533 appearing at 50 °C. Such outstanding performance indicated that this new class of elastomer has the potential to be used in high‐temperature conditions. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry

Structural and Electronic properties of PVK/C60 Nanoheterostructure interfaces- A DFT Approach

This work seeks to investigate total-energy electronic structure calculation based on density functional theory in the framework of both local density approximations (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation using Perdew, Burke and Ernzerhof (GGA-PBE) form of exchange-correlation with Grimme van der Waals (vdW) correction. Structural and electronic properties as well as density of states of the new class of poly(9-vinylcarbazole)/C60 (PVK/C60) nanoheterostructures were explored. Three different structural PVK/C60 models were examined and were found to exhibit direct semiconducting behavior base on the two exchange-correlation functionals used, (GGA-PBE & LDA-PZ). The band-gaps calculated with the GGA pseudopotential are 1.276, 1.117 and 0.893 eV, whereas that of the LDA pseudopotentials are, 1.198, 1.010 and 0.749 eV respectively on the three different structural PVK/C60 models. We noted that these bandgaps of the nanoheterostructures can be deliberately tuned leading to promising potential applications in optoelectronics, biomechanics, nanoelectronics, nanoelectro mechanical systems (NEMS), spintronics, opto-electronics and photonic devices manufacturing industry. The calculated structural lattice parameters are in excellent agreement with available experimental data.

Rethinking Northern Hardwood Forest Management Paradigms with Silvicultural Systems Research: Research–Management Partnerships Ensure Relevance and Application

AbstractWell-designed, robust partnerships are important for addressing forest resource problems that intersect diverse ownerships, management, and research expertise. Here, we describe a case study of a research–management partnership. First, we describe the rationale and design of a large-scale, long-term experiment focused on increasing the sustainability and resilience of managed northern hardwoods. With the experiment as context, we next discuss details of the partnership contributing to its success, as well as some challenges. The experiment is a Michigan-wide evaluation of silvicultural alternatives to the current paradigm of selection silviculture. Our goal is to identify combinations of silvicultural treatments that increase the diversity and density of sapling recruits over forested landscapes where deer-browsing pressure and other limiting factors are at play. Pretreatment data from our 140-site study bolstered justification for the research, with sapling and pole classes generally lacking adequate stocking and diversity of desirable species over large geographic extents. We anticipate that the wildlife and forestry research–management model used to develop this project will be useful for other rapidly developing challenges that cannot wait decades to be addressed without potentially catastrophic losses to forest function. Key beneficial elements of our partnership include: (1) sensitivity to information needs at all management levels (i.e., policy to practice), (2) capitalizing on differences in strengths and reward systems of managers and scientists, (3) structured, frequent scientist–manager meetings to maintain focus on research and management application outcomes, (4) long-term relations and support that build trust, and (5) explicit wildlife and forestry collaboration on problems requiring joint expertise. Challenges to our partnership generally revolved around communication, workload, and implementation issues, and were partially alleviated by planning.

Wide-ranging transcriptome remodelling mediated by alternative polyadenylation in response to abiotic stresses in Sorghum.

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) regulates diverse developmental and physiological processes through its effects on gene expression, mRNA stability, translatability, and transport. Sorghum is a major cereal crop in the world and, despite its importance, not much is known about the role of post-transcriptional regulation in mediating responses to abiotic stresses in Sorghum. A genome-wide APA analysis unveiled widespread occurrence of APA in Sorghum in response to drought, heat, and salt stress. Abiotic stress treatments incited changes in poly(A) site choice in a large number of genes. Interestingly, abiotic stresses led to the re-directing of transcriptional output into non-productive pathways defined by the class of poly(A) site utilized. This result revealed APA to be part of a larger global response of Sorghum to abiotic stresses that involves the re-direction of transcriptional output into non-productive transcriptional and translational pathways. Large numbers of stress-inducible poly(A) sites could not be linked with known, annotated genes, suggestive of the existence of numerous unidentified genes whose expression is strongly regulated by abiotic stresses. Furthermore, we uncovered a novel stress-specific cis-element in intronic poly(A) sites used in drought- and heat-stressed plants that might play an important role in non-canonical poly(A) site choice in response to abiotic stresses.

Fabrication of Photothermally Responsive Nanocomposite Hydrogel through 3D Printing

AbstractThe responsive hydrogels have received great attention in many fields. However, the molding method and response mode of such hydrogels are criticized when it comes to real applications. In this work, a novel class of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide)/graphene oxide (PNIPAm/GO) nanocomposite hydrogel through self‐assembly three‐dimensional (3D) printing via ultraviolet light polymerization. The precursor is ordinarily constituted by NIPAm monomer, crosslinker, and water mixed with a photoinitiator, besides the introduction of nanoclay adjusts the shear thinning properties to an optimal level, which is important for the 3D printing precision. Then, the graphite oxide as infrared light absorber endows the hydrogel fast photothermal excited responsivity instead of conventional temperature response. The shrinkage and swelling of the composite hydrogel can be controlled by turning the near‐infrared light on or off. Meanwhile, the reversible behavior of as‐prepared hydrogel is easily regulated by altering the content of GO and illumination time of near‐infrared light. Additionally, a round tube is obtained based on the as‐prepared hydrogel, which can be driven to get a pencil, indicating their potential applications in actuator and other functional program.