Geochemistry of the Early Cretaceous saline lacustrine shales on the Lingshan Island, East China: implications for provenance, tectonic setting, and paleoweathering

Xiangyu Zhang,Lu Liu,Qiang Sun,Yanming Xu,Shoujun Li,Xiaoli Wang,Xuxue Wang,Ying Sun,Wenxia Wang 한국지질과학협의회 2023 Geosciences Journal Vol.27 No.4

Early Cretaceous saline lacustrine black shales in the Fajiaying Formation were deposited under hothouse conditions and have a complex structure and history of sedimentary evolution. In this study, integrated petrographic and geochemical investigations were utilized to determine the provenance, tectonic setting, and paleoweathering conditions of these shales, therefore revealing their depositional history. Shale in the area under investigation has not been subjected to any post-depositional alteration, mechanical sorting, or recycling, hence its geochemistry has not been affected. The chondrite normalized rare earth elements (REE) pattern of shales displayed typical characteristics, including an enrichment in light REE (LREE), a flat pattern for heavy REE (HREE), and a negative europium (Eu) anomaly. Specific trace element ratios suggested that the sediments were primarily derived from felsic source rocks. Furthermore, there was no discernible shift in the sediment source between the Qiancengya and the Laohuzui sections. The discrimination diagrams of major and trace elements used to understand the tectonic history showed that the majority of the source rocks originated from the active continental margin (ACM) and continental island-arc (CIArc). The bivariate plots and low average values of CIW (chemical index of weathering) and CIA (chemical index of alteration) for the examined shale suggested that chemical weathering in the source terrain under arid conditions was extremely weak. Importantly, with the change of climate from dry-hot to warmhumid, an increase in CIA and CIW was observed which indicated a gradual increase in chemical weathering.

Association analysis of polymorphism in the NR6A1 gene with the lumbar vertebrae number traits in sheep

Xiangyu Zhang,Cunyuan Li,Xiaoyue Li,Zhijin Liu,Wei Ni,Yang Cao,Yang Yao,Esenbay Islamov,Junchang Wei,Xiaoxu Hou,Shengwei Hu 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.10

Introduction The vertebral number is an economically significant trait, which is associated with body length and carcass traits. Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 6, Group A, Member 1 (NR6A1) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and it plays an important role in the early development of embryos. Objectives The NR6A1 gene was considered as an important candidate for influence vertebrae number, while the potential associations between this gene and the number of lumbar vertebrae traits of sheep have not been explored. Methods In this study, we detected the genetic variants of NR6A1 gene and analyzed the associations of the polymorphisms with lumbar number traits in 130 Kazakh sheep. We use single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique to detect single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of NR6A1 gene, and the association of the genotype and lumbar number variation was analyzed by independent Chi-square test. Results We detect SNP of NR6A1 gene by PCR-SSCP technique, and polymorphisms were only found in the coding region of exon-6 and exon-8 of NR6A1 gene. In order to investigate the connection between the SNP locus and lumbar number traits in sheep, we conducted a Chi-square test for independence for exon-6 and exon-8 of NR6A1 gene, respectively. Association analysis revealed significant associations between the SNP (rs414302710: A >C) in the exon-8 of NR6A1 gene with the number of lumbar vertebrae (P < 0.01). Conclusion Our study indicated that this SNP (rs414302710: A>C) locus of exon-8 of NR6A1 gene in sheep possible influence the number of lumbar vertebrae, which has the potential to be applied in selective breeding of sheep.

The sedimentary environment of Early Cretaceous rift basin in eastern China and its response to the Faraoni event

Xiangyu Zhang,Shoujun Li,Xiuli Zhao,Geng Geng,Mingming Yan 한국지질과학협의회 2020 Geosciences Journal Vol.24 No.4

To better understand the sedimentary environment of the rift basin under the influence of a warm global climate, Lingshan Island in eastern Shandong Province (China) was studied. Inorganic geochemical indexes (B, equivalent B, B/Ga, Ga, V, Couch’s palaeosalinity, Adams’s palaeosalinity, Sr/Ba, Sr/Cu, Rb/Sr, Al2O3/MgO, and CaO/MgO·Al2O3) were analyzed and a quantitative calculation of palaeosalinity was carried out based on the Adams and Couch methods. The sedimentary environment of the rift basin at Lingshan Island was determined according to the morphology and distribution of its palaeobiota as well as inorganic geochemical indexes. We demonstrate that eastern China had high-temperature drought-like conditions during the Early Cretaceous, which may have been influenced by the Faraoni event. The dry-hot climate transformed the rift basin at Lingshan Island into saline lacustrine basin. Therefore, the salinization of water was not influenced by seawater but was the response of terrestrial strata to the warm, dry climate. This study helps to understand the sedimentary background of Cretaceous rift basins in eastern China and the influence of a warm climate on China’s terrestrial strata.

The Possible Mechanisms Involved in Citrinin Elimination by Cryptococcus podzolicus Y3 and the Effects of Extrinsic Factors on the Degradation of Citrinin

( Xiaoyun Zhang ),( Zhen Lin ),( Maurice Tibiru Apaliya ),( Xiangyu Gu ),( Xiangfeng Zheng ),( Lina Zhao ),( Mandour Haydar Abdelhai ),( Hongyin Zhang ),( Weicheng Hu ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2017 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.27 No.12

Citrinin (CIT) is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi belonging to the Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Monascus spp. This toxin has been detected in many agricultural products. In this study, a strain Y3 with the ability to eliminate CIT was screened and identified as Cryptococcus podzolicus, based on the sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region. Neither uptake of CIT by cells nor adsorption by cell wall was involved in CIT elimination by Cryptococcus podzolicus Y3. The extracellular metabolites of Cryptococcus podzolicus Y3 stimulated by CIT or not showed no degradation for CIT. It indicated that CIT elimination was attributed to the degradation of intracellular enzyme(s). The degradation of CIT by C. podzolicus Y3 was dependent on the type of media, yeast concentration, temperature, pH, and initial concentration of CIT. Most of the CIT was degraded by C. podzolicus Y3 in NYDB medium at 42 h but not in PDB medium. The degradation rate of CIT was the highest (94%) when the concentration of C. podzolicus Y3 was 1 × 10⁸ cells/ml. The quantity of CIT degradation was highest at 28°C, and there was no degradation observed at 35°C. The study also showed that acidic condition (pH 4.0) was the most favorable for CIT degradation by C. podzolicus Y3. The degradation rate of CIT increased to 98% as the concentration of CIT was increased to 20 μg/ml. The toxicity of CIT degradation product(s) toward HEK293 was much lower than that of CIT.

Life-Cycle Economic Evaluation of Batteries for Electeochemical Energy Storage Systems

Zhang Donghao,Cai Xiangyu,Song Chunyan,Liu Jie,Ding Jia,Zhong Cheng,Hu Wenbin 대한전기학회 2021 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.16 No.5

Batteries are considered as an attractive candidate for grid-scale energy storage systems (ESSs) application due to their scalability and versatility of frequency integration, and peak/capacity adjustment. Since adding ESSs in power grid will increase the cost, the issue of economy, that whether the benefi ts from peak cutting and valley fi lling can compensate for the cost input of adding energy storage system or not, is particularly concerned. Here we show how the cost of battery deployment can potentially be minimized by carrying out an economic assessment for the cases of diff erent batteries applied in ESSs. To make this analysis, we develop a techno-economic model and apply it to the cases of ESSs with batteries in applications. Our results show that batteries could be attractive for investors even now if appropriate batteries are selected for ESSs applications. Valve regulated lead acid batteries has a lower cost of initial investment, which is suitable for the situations that are sensitive to the initial investment cost. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4 , LFP) battery can be applied in the situations with a high requirement for service life. While zinc-air batteries still have great application prospects to cope with resource depletion due to excellent performance, low cost and low pollution. The current policy debate should therefore be refocused so as to promote technological development and to encompass the removal of such barriers.

Bond Behavior of Spiral Ribbed Ultra-high Strength Steel Rebar Embedded in Plain and Steel Fiber Reinforced High-Strength Concrete

Xiangyu Li,Jianwei Zhang,Juan Liu,Wanlin Cao 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.10

The bond behavior of spiral ribbed ultra-high strength (SRUHS) steel rebar embedded in plain high strength concrete (HSC) and steel fiber reinforced high strength concrete (SFRHSC) is experimentally studied using pull-out tests. The influencing factors of concrete type, embedded length, cover thickness and stirrup ratio are considered and the bond failure characteristics as well as the whole process of stress-slip behavior are analyzed. The research shows good anchorage ductility between SRUHS steel rebar and HSC. Since SRUHS steel rebars have continuous spiral bite teeth with concrete, the concrete in the rib dales is not easily sheared off, thereby leading to a reliable bond strength. Compared to specimens without steel fibers, steel fiber reinforcement can increase the ultimate bond strength, bond stiffness and residual strength. Meanwhile, it will also reduce the influence of cover thickness, stirrup ratio on the specimens with steel fibers. Finally, a prediction calculation for ultimate bond stress and an analytical model for bond stress-slip relation are proposed, which match well with test results.

A novel method for generation and prediction of crack propagation in gravity dams

Kefan Zhang,Fangyun Lu,Yong Peng,Xiangyu Li 국제구조공학회 2022 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.81 No.6

The safety problems of giant hydraulic structures such as dams caused by terrorist attacks, earthquakes, and wars often have an important impact on a country’s economy and people’s livelihood. For the national defense department, timely and effective assessment of damage to or impending damage to dams and other structures is an important issue related to the safety of people’s lives and property. In the field of damage assessment and vulnerability analysis, it is usually necessary to give the damage assessment results within a few minutes to determine the physical damage (crack length, crater size, etc.) and functional damage (decreased power generation capacity, dam stability descent, etc.), so that other defense and security departments can take corresponding measures to control potential other hazards. Although traditional numerical calculation methods can accurately calculate the crack length and crater size under certain combat conditions, it usually takes a long time and is not suitable for rapid damage assessment. In order to solve similar problems, this article combines simulation calculation methods with machine learning technology interdisciplinary. First, the common concrete gravity dam shape was selected as the simulation calculation object, and XFEM (Extended Finite Element Method) was used to simulate and calculate 19 cracks with different initial positions. Then, an LSTM (Long-Short Term Memory) machine learning model was established. 15 crack paths were selected as the training set and others were set for test. At last, the LSTM model was trained by the training set, and the prediction results on the crack path were compared with the test set. The results show that this method can be used to predict the crack propagation path rapidly and accurately. In general, this article explores the application of machine learning related technologies in the field of mechanics. It has broad application prospects in the fields of damage assessment and vulnerability analysis.

Synthesis of acid-activated reversible conversion supramolecular nanoplatform: application in drug delivery and anti-tumor activity

Yang Cuiting,Xiangyu Chen,Jinkui Teng,Shuai Chen,Jianmei Yang,Xiaoqing Liu,Junnan He,Jin Zhang,Yan Zhao 한국고분자학회 2024 Macromolecular Research Vol.32 No.1

Supramolecular nanoplatforms with stimuli-responsive behavior feature sensitive performance and effective drug delivery, which are desirable as intelligent drug delivery systems. Generally, tumor cells are characterized by excessive acid production, resulting in a lower pH in the tumor microenvironment (pH < 6.5) than in normal tissues (pH ≈7.4) and providing the possibility for the drug delivery system to exploit this decrease in pH as a trigger for drug release. Here, an acid-sensitive supramolecular nanoplatform (CM-β-CD/FC12 +Br− NPs) with assembly/disassembly properties was designed and constructed, which was exploited to capture, deliver, and release anti-tumor compound CSL. 2D NOESY was utilized to examine the host–guest interaction and the potential mechanism for CM-β-CD/FC12 +Br− NPs loading CSL. CM-β-CD/FC12 +Br− NPs present good blood compatibility. Cytotoxicity assay revealed that CSL-loaded NPs display minimal toxicity against normal cells BEAS-2B and good anticancer ability against five human cancer cell lines, especially for Human hepatoma cell line SMMC-7721. In addition, cell apoptosis and cycle assay further verified that CSL-loaded NPs-induced apoptosis in SMMC- 7721 cells up to ~ 93%, as well as blocking the cells in G0/G1 phase and inhibiting the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells in a dose-dependent manner. We expect that CM-β-CD/FC12 +Br− NPs will be potential acid-answered drug delivery candidates.

Mechanical and antibacterial properties of resin co-filled with mesoporous silica and graphene quantum dots

Lu Shuxin,Zhang Hongyu,Chai Maozhou,Yao Xiaohong,Zhang Xiangyu,Yang Yongqiang 한국탄소학회 2023 Carbon Letters Vol.33 No.2

Poor mechanical properties and bacterial infection are the main problems faced by dental restorative resins in clinical use. In this study, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) grafted with imidazole groups and mesoporous silica (MSN) are co-filled in a dental resin to impart excellent antimicrobial activity and mechanical properties to the dental resin. The higher specific surface area of GQDs and MSN results in an increased contact area with the resin matrix, which enhances the strength of the dental composite resin. The introduction of GQDs significantly improves the antimicrobial activity of the resin. The inhibition efficiency of the composite resin against Streptococcus mutans reached 99.9% with the addition of GQDs at only 0.2 wt.%. When MSN and GQDs are co-filled, MSN interferes with the release of GQDs, thus reducing the antimicrobial activity of the dental resin but improving the cyto-compatibility. By reasonably adjusting the amount of GQDs and MSN, the dental composite resin can exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties, mechanical properties and cyto-compatibility at the same time.

Effect of silicon additions on the hot pressing of B4C

Hongkang Wei,Yu-Jun Zhang,Xiangyu Deng 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2011 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.12 No.5

In the present study, the effect of silicon additions on the hot pressing of boron carbide was investigated. B4C-based ceramic composites with the addition of silicon powder up to 12 wt.% were prepared by hot pressing at 1850 oC under a vacuum and 60 MPa pressure. The results show that addition of silicon powder affected the sintering behavior of B4C significantly. Silicon powder reacted with free-carbon originating in the B4C phase and formed a solid solution in the B4C structure. For the B4C-8 wt.%Si specimen, a high fracture toughness of 5.04 MPa·m1/2 and modest flexural strength of 354 MPa were obtained. It seems that the improvement in fracture toughness is attributed to the high relative density and the change of fracture mode by the formation of the SiC phase.