Comparisons between competing and non-competing sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.） populations demonstrate pronounced effects of density on plant height growth, height-to-crown width ratio, and s popuiaUon＇s height i...Comparisons between competing and non-competing sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.） populations demonstrate pronounced effects of density on plant height growth, height-to-crown width ratio, and s popuiaUon＇s height inequality. In the present study, non-destructive measurements of height and the prolected crown area of sunflower plants were taken at seven times from emergence to fruit maturation in even-aged monospeclflc stands with initial densities of 1, 4, 16, and 64 plants/m^2. The mean height of populations Increased and then decreased with increasing population density; the height Inequalities of uncrowded populations decreased during stand growth, whereas the height inequaiiUes of crowded popuisUons decreased first and then increased during stand development. The interindlvidual relationships between the relative height growth rate and height within uncrowded populations became significantly negative during population growth, whereas these relationships were negative first and then became positive during the development of crowded populations. In the uncrowded populations, the static Interindlvldual relationship between height-to-crown width ratio and volume was positive, whereas for the crowded population these relationships became negative with increasing competition for light. The data suggest that the plastic responses of plant height and height-to-crown width ratio to light competition will become more Intense with increasing competition Intensity. The results of the present study argue strongly for the Importance of size-dependent Individual-level plastic responses due to size-asymmetric light competition In generating the variations in population height inequality.展开更多
Gold nanoparticles(GNPs) are emerging as a novel tool to improve existing cancer therapeutics. GNPs are being used as radiation dose enhancers in radiation therapy as well as anticancer drugs carriers in chemotherapy....Gold nanoparticles(GNPs) are emerging as a novel tool to improve existing cancer therapeutics. GNPs are being used as radiation dose enhancers in radiation therapy as well as anticancer drugs carriers in chemotherapy. However,the success of GNP-based therapeutics depends on their ability to penetrate tumor tissue. GNPs of 20 and 50 nm diameters were used to elucidate the effects of size on the GNP interaction with tumor cells at monolayer and multilayer level. At monolayer cell level, smaller NPs had a lower uptake compared to larger NPs at monolayer cell level. However, the order was reversed at tissue-like multilayer level. The smaller NPs penetrated better compared to larger NPs in tissue-like materials.Based on our study using tissue-like materials, we can predict that the smaller NPs are better for future therapeutics due to their greater penetration in tumor tissue once leaving the leaky blood vessels. In this study, tissue-like multilayer cellular structures(MLCs) were grown to model the post-vascular tumor environment. The MLCs exhibited a much more extensive extracellular matrix than monolayer cell cultures. The MLC model can be used to optimize the nano–micro interface at tissue level before moving into animal models. This would accelerate the use of NPs in future cancer therapeutics.展开更多
Molecular dynamics computer simulation based on the Born-Mayer-Huggins potential function has been carried out to study the effects of cluster size and temperature on the nucleation rate of sodium chloride clusters in...Molecular dynamics computer simulation based on the Born-Mayer-Huggins potential function has been carried out to study the effects of cluster size and temperature on the nucleation rate of sodium chloride clusters in the temperature range of 580 K to 630 K. Clusters with 256 and 500 NaCl molecules have been studied and the results have been compared with those obtained from 108 molecule clusters. The melting point (MP) of the clusters were observed to increase with the size of the clusters and can be well described by a linear equation MP=1107(37)-1229(23)N -1/3 (N is the number of molecules in the cluster). The nucleation rate was found to decrease with increasing the cluster size or temperature. Various nucleation theories have been used to interpret the nucleation rates obtained from this molecular dynamics simulation. It is possible to use a constant diffuse interface thickness to interpret the nucleation rate from the diffuse interface theory in the temperature range of this study. However,the interfacial free energy estimated from classical nucleation theory and diffuse interface theory increases too fast with increasing the temperature while that from Gran-Gunton theory does not change with changing temperatures. The sizes of critical nuclei estimated from all the theories are smaller than those estimated from our simulations.展开更多
The size-controlled silica microspheres were prepared by a facile method and the growth mechanism was simply studied. The as-prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission elec- t...The size-controlled silica microspheres were prepared by a facile method and the growth mechanism was simply studied. The as-prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission elec- tron microscopy. The CO2 adsorption behaviors and methane catalytic oxidation were also measured. The results show that the as-prepared silica is perfect sphere, and the particle size can be controlled by adding tartaric acid. Spherical silica and sphere/tube（rod）-shaped silica were obtained by adjusting reaction time. Silica microspheres with uniform size exhibit high capacity of CO2 adsorption, while others with wide size-distribution exhibit excellent catalytic performance, suggesting it is an effective method by regulating size to utilize its advantages selectively. Therefore, it will be an ideal strategy to develop the efficient multifunctional materials by a facile route.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （30270243）.Acknowledgments The authors thank Professor Du GZ, Zhou SR and Yuan JL （School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University） for their helpfu comments on a draft of this paper.
文摘Comparisons between competing and non-competing sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.） populations demonstrate pronounced effects of density on plant height growth, height-to-crown width ratio, and s popuiaUon＇s height inequality. In the present study, non-destructive measurements of height and the prolected crown area of sunflower plants were taken at seven times from emergence to fruit maturation in even-aged monospeclflc stands with initial densities of 1, 4, 16, and 64 plants/m^2. The mean height of populations Increased and then decreased with increasing population density; the height Inequalities of uncrowded populations decreased during stand growth, whereas the height inequaiiUes of crowded popuisUons decreased first and then increased during stand development. The interindlvidual relationships between the relative height growth rate and height within uncrowded populations became significantly negative during population growth, whereas these relationships were negative first and then became positive during the development of crowded populations. In the uncrowded populations, the static Interindlvldual relationship between height-to-crown width ratio and volume was positive, whereas for the crowded population these relationships became negative with increasing competition for light. The data suggest that the plastic responses of plant height and height-to-crown width ratio to light competition will become more Intense with increasing competition Intensity. The results of the present study argue strongly for the Importance of size-dependent Individual-level plastic responses due to size-asymmetric light competition In generating the variations in population height inequality.
基金the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada(NSERC)Canadian Foundation for Innovation(CFI)
文摘Gold nanoparticles(GNPs) are emerging as a novel tool to improve existing cancer therapeutics. GNPs are being used as radiation dose enhancers in radiation therapy as well as anticancer drugs carriers in chemotherapy. However,the success of GNP-based therapeutics depends on their ability to penetrate tumor tissue. GNPs of 20 and 50 nm diameters were used to elucidate the effects of size on the GNP interaction with tumor cells at monolayer and multilayer level. At monolayer cell level, smaller NPs had a lower uptake compared to larger NPs at monolayer cell level. However, the order was reversed at tissue-like multilayer level. The smaller NPs penetrated better compared to larger NPs in tissue-like materials.Based on our study using tissue-like materials, we can predict that the smaller NPs are better for future therapeutics due to their greater penetration in tumor tissue once leaving the leaky blood vessels. In this study, tissue-like multilayer cellular structures(MLCs) were grown to model the post-vascular tumor environment. The MLCs exhibited a much more extensive extracellular matrix than monolayer cell cultures. The MLC model can be used to optimize the nano–micro interface at tissue level before moving into animal models. This would accelerate the use of NPs in future cancer therapeutics.
文摘Molecular dynamics computer simulation based on the Born-Mayer-Huggins potential function has been carried out to study the effects of cluster size and temperature on the nucleation rate of sodium chloride clusters in the temperature range of 580 K to 630 K. Clusters with 256 and 500 NaCl molecules have been studied and the results have been compared with those obtained from 108 molecule clusters. The melting point (MP) of the clusters were observed to increase with the size of the clusters and can be well described by a linear equation MP=1107(37)-1229(23)N -1/3 (N is the number of molecules in the cluster). The nucleation rate was found to decrease with increasing the cluster size or temperature. Various nucleation theories have been used to interpret the nucleation rates obtained from this molecular dynamics simulation. It is possible to use a constant diffuse interface thickness to interpret the nucleation rate from the diffuse interface theory in the temperature range of this study. However,the interfacial free energy estimated from classical nucleation theory and diffuse interface theory increases too fast with increasing the temperature while that from Gran-Gunton theory does not change with changing temperatures. The sizes of critical nuclei estimated from all the theories are smaller than those estimated from our simulations.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China（Nos.21136007, 51572185）, the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province, China（No.2014011016-4） and the Coal-Based Key Scientific and Technological Project of Shanxi Province, China（No.MQ2014-10）.
文摘The size-controlled silica microspheres were prepared by a facile method and the growth mechanism was simply studied. The as-prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission elec- tron microscopy. The CO2 adsorption behaviors and methane catalytic oxidation were also measured. The results show that the as-prepared silica is perfect sphere, and the particle size can be controlled by adding tartaric acid. Spherical silica and sphere/tube（rod）-shaped silica were obtained by adjusting reaction time. Silica microspheres with uniform size exhibit high capacity of CO2 adsorption, while others with wide size-distribution exhibit excellent catalytic performance, suggesting it is an effective method by regulating size to utilize its advantages selectively. Therefore, it will be an ideal strategy to develop the efficient multifunctional materials by a facile route.
