MEI LAN^#, JINGFENG HU^#, HONGLI YANG, LIQIN ZHANG, XUEZHONG XU, JIANGMING HE^*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 751-767, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.012954

Abstract Clubroot of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis), caused by the obligate parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae, accounts for serious yield losses. The aim of our study was to explore the phytohormone levels and metabolome changes in the roots of resistant and susceptible B. rapa genotypes at a late stage of infection, i.e., 28 days post-infection. Both genotypes showed decreased auxin levels after P. brassicae infection except for indole-3-acetic acid. Overall, the susceptible genotype had higher auxin and cytokinin levels after infection, with the exception of trans-zeatin and 3- indolebutyric acid as compared to the resistant genotype. Jasmonic acid levels declined… More >

Fenwicks Shombe Musonye^1,*, Hiram Ndiritu², Robert Kinyua³

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.2, pp. 211-224, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.013890

Abstract Pinch Analysis is an attractive solution for reduction of thermal energy costs in thermo-chemical industries. In this approach, maximum internally recoverable heat is determined and a heat exchange network is designed to meet the recovery targets. The thermal performance of a heat exchanger over its lifetime is however a concern to industries. Thermal performance of a heat exchanger is affected by many factors which include the physical properties of the shell and tube materials, and the chemical properties of the heat transfer fluid. In this study, thermal performance of shell and tube heat exchangers designed to meet heat recovery targets… More >

Lei Guo^1,2,3, Zi Guan¹, Lixia Guo^1,2,3,*, Weiping Shen¹, Zhilong Xue¹, Pingping Chen¹, Mingru Li¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.12, pp. 1711-1727, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.013415

Abstract A recycled aggregate (RA) was prepared by crushing and sieving demolished discarded concrete pavements and was subsequently tested and analyzed to determine its various physical properties. On this basis, pervious concrete (PC) mix proportions were designed. Coarse RA particles with sizes of 5–10 and 10–20 mm were selected. Concrete specimens were prepared with a water–cement ratio of 0.3, an aggregate–cement ratio of 4.5, the substitute rates of RA with 0, 25%, 50%, 75% and a single-/double-gap-graded RA mix (mass ratio of particles with sizes of 5–10 mm to particles with sizes of 10–20 mm: 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 2:3 and 3:2).… More >

Huiyun Li, Ye Liu, Sumei Chen, Jiafu Jiang, Aiping Song, Weimin Fang, Fadi Chen^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.4, pp. 851-859, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.012361

Abstract Black spot disease, caused by the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria tenuissima (Fr.) Wiltsh (A. tenuissima), is considered a highly destructive disease of Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.). A set of 17 accessions of commercial chrysanthemum cultivars were evaluated for resistance to A. tenuissima by seedling artificial inoculation. It was found that the reaction of the accessions to artificial inoculation ranged from resistant to highly susceptible. Five varieties of chrysanthemum (‘Zhongshan Taogui’, ‘Jinba’, ‘Zhongshan Jinguan’, ‘Jinling Wanhuang’ and ‘Jinling Yangguang’) were resistant; two varieties of chrysanthemum (‘Zhongshan Xinggui’ and ‘Zhongshan Jinkui’) were moderately resistant; and others were susceptible to various degrees, four varieties… More >

Bin Wang¹, Dayong Li², Yuxin Qin^3,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.17, No.4, pp. 179-188, 2020, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2020.011050

Abstract Swimming, as a sport beneficial to body and mind, also has a place in international sports. For swimmers and coaches, it is always the most important to improve the propulsion and reduce the resistance during swimming. This paper briefly introduced the resistance of human body in swimming, described the dynamic resistance of human body in arm stroke, and then introduced the principle of micro disturbance method which was used for measuring the dynamic resistance in swimming. Finally, ten swimmers from school team and ten beginners were tested for the dynamic resistance in freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke when they swam with… More >

Yuan Zhang¹, Ping Li¹, Yiqiang Wu^1,2, Guangming Yuan^1,2, Xianjun Li^1,2, Yingfeng Zuo^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.11, pp. 1473-1488, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.011788

Abstract The Chinese fir wood was impregnated using a cyclic increasingpressure method (CIPM) with phenolic prepolymers as the impregnating modifier. Unmodified Chinese fir and progressive increasing-pressure method (PIPM) impregnated Chinese fir were used as reference samples and were compared and analyzed. The product’s chemical structure, internal morphology, crystal structure, and heat resistance were characterized. The transversal and longitudinal sections showed better filling effects, so that it bore greater external loading and reduced the water storage space. CIPM infused more phenolic prepolymer into the Chinese fir. Not only producing more physical filling but also forming more hydrogen bond associations and chemical bond… More >

SOHEILA HASANIAN¹, NOUR AMIRMOZAFARI², AHMAD FARAJZADEH SHEIKH^3,*, IRAJ MEHREGAN¹

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 411-419, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08976

Abstract Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are the essential cause of infections in communities and hospitals. The present study was conducted to determine the molecular typing of MRSA, isolated from hospitalized patients, using the double-locus sequence typing (DLST). In total, 280 S. aureus isolated from clinical specimens by phenotypic (catalase, coagulase, DNase, oxacillin, vancomycin screening agar and antibiotic disk diffusion), and molecular methods (PCR for determining the mecA, vanA and nuc genes). The DLST and sequencing was performed for MRSA containing mecA. Out of 280 specimens, confirmed as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), 123 (43.9%) strains were MRSA. The highest resistance toward… More >

MST FARHANA NAZNEEN CHOWDHURY¹, MOHD RAFII YUSOP^1,2,*, SITI IZERA ISMAIL³, SHAIRUL IZAN RAMLEE¹, YUSUFF OLADOSU², MONIR HOSEN², GOUS MIAH⁴

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 269-278, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09627

Abstract Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is the popular spicy vegetable crops belonging to family Solanaceae. Chili peppers are known for their pungency characteristic due to the presence of capsaicinoids that classifies them into hot or sweet pepper. Chili is used as spices, folk remedies for diseases, vegetables, and coloring agent showing a diverse role in human’s life. However, its production is hampered by different biotic stress and abiotic factors. Similarly, the unavailability of high yielding varieties, high temperature, and disease incidence, particularly, anthracnose disease, are the major constraints responsible for the low production of chili pepper. The advents of molecular markers,… More >

Nawaf N. Hamadneh¹, Waqar A. Khan², Ilyas Khan^{3, *}

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.65, No.2, pp. 1015-1032, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.011476

Abstract One of the most significant considerations in the design of a heat sink is thermal management due to increasing thermal flux and miniature in size. These heat sinks utilize plate or pin fins depending upon the required heat dissipation rate. They are designed to optimize overall performance. Elliptical pin fin heat sinks enhance heat transfer rates and reduce the pumping power. In this study, the Firefly Algorithm is implemented to optimize heat sinks with elliptical pin-fins. The pin-fins are arranged in an inline fashion. The natureinspired metaheuristic algorithm performs powerfully and efficiently in solving numerical global optimization problems. Based on… More >

Yukun Lv, Jiaxi Yang^*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.16, No.4, pp. 827-835, 2020, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2020.010343

Abstract On the basis of a macro flow resistance method and the Darcy Theory, a mathematical model is elaborated to characterize the flow resistance of a bag filter serving a coal-fired power plant. The development of the theoretical model is supported through acquisition of relevant data obtained by scanning the micro structure of the bag filter by means of an electron microscope. The influence of the running time and boiler load on the flow resistance and the impact of the flow resistance on the efficiency of the induced draft fan are analyzed by comparing the results of on-site operation tests. We… More >