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The shale gas revolution bolsters ethane supply, thereby enhancing the economic viability of ethylene production from ethane. Presently, catalytic ethane dehydrogenation technology exhibits immense potential in the realm of ethylene production. This study achieves the electrochemical oxidative dehydrogenation conversion of ethane to ethylene via a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), effectively circumventing the issue of excessive oxidation during the ethane oxidative dehydrogenation process. An active electrode with an in situ grown metal-oxide interface significantly promotes the activation of the ethane C–H bond, leading to efficient ethylene production. Under the co-electrolysis mode of ethane with CO 2 , the Co@CeO 2 electrode demonstrates exceptional performance, achieving an ethane conversion rate of 33.1% and an ethylene selectivity of 88.9% at an applied voltage of 1.0 V. Moreover, the metal-oxide interface constructed via an in situ exsolved method effectively prevents the agglomeration of nanoparticles at high temperatures, thus enhancing the catalyst's resistance to coking and stability. Notably, the electrode's performance does not exhibit significant degradation even after 100 h of electrochemical reaction. • The electrochemical oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane effectively inhibited excessive oxidation. • The in situ grown metal-oxide interface has stability and promotes the activation of the ethane C–H bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The facile in situ synthesis of graphene-coated metal-oxide nanoparticles and their potential applications in optoelectronic devices are highly anticipated. In this study, we prepared three-dimensional graphene flakes decorated with ZnO nanoparticles (LIG/ZnO) using femtosecond laser-induced zinc salt-containing cork. The LIG/ZnO heterojunction was formed by carbonizing the cork and decomposing the zinc salt in situ to coat LIG during laser irradiation. The correlation between the zinc salt concentration and the morphology, structure, and field-emission characteristics of LIG/ZnO was systematically investigated. The optimized LIG/ZnO-5 emitters demonstrate a decreased threshold electric field (E th) of 1.07 V/μm, an enhanced field enhancement factor (β) value of 20,559, and a maximum current density of 18.07 mA/cm2 at 1.96 V/μm, representing the most superior performance reported to date. The enhanced field-emission performance of LIG/ZnO can be attributed to the larger number of effective emission sites from ZnO nanoparticles and LIG edges, as well as to the energy band variation induced by the heterostructures. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show the migration of electrons from the LIG to the ZnO after the formation of the heterojunction, which elevates the Fermi level of emitters. In addition, the accumulation of electrons on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles in the presence of a strong electric field results in a downward shift of the energy band, thereby enhancing the likelihood of electron-vacuum tunneling. • LIG/ZnO heterojunctions were prepared by ultrafast laser direct writing. • The morphology of LIG/ZnO synthesized by laser irradiation and the density of coated ZnO nanoparticles are controllable. • The relationship between the concentration of zinc salt, and field emission characteristics of LIG/ZnO was systematically studied. • The optimized LIG/ZnO-5 emitters have a low E th ∼1.07 V/μm and stable electron emission properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe a case of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) masquerading as viral retinal necrosis (VRN). A 75-year-old-man with a history of T-PLL in complete remission complained of an acute vision loss in his right and only eye. Ophthalmic examination demonstrated the presence of anterior chamber cells, mild vitritis, and peripheral retinal whitening with intraretinal hemorrhages evocative of VRN. While the anterior chamber tap came back negative for HSV, VZV, and CMV, cytology performed on the aqueous humor described the presence of leukemic cells. T-PLL can rarely masquerade as a viral retinal necrosis. Diagnostic work-up should therefore always rule out the infectious causes of retinitis. Anterior chamber tap can sometimes prove useful in the diagnosis of T-PLL even in the absence of a hypopyon, avoiding the need for vitrectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antimicrobial properties of copper ions can reduce the overgrowth of microorganisms to a certain extent. That reduces the amount of antibiotics used, to avoid superbugs and potential harm. The authors reviewed the antimicrobial mechanisms of copper and copper‐containing nanoparticles (NPs), focusing on the factors influencing their antimicrobial properties. They concluded that the antimicrobial properties were better in environments conducive to the precipitation of copper ions and exposure to microorganisms. Comparing copper with other metal ions leads to the question of why copper is such an important antimicrobial metal ion. In recent years, with the development of science and technology and the understanding of the microscopic world, scientists have skillfully applied the antimicrobial properties of copper in various settings, from direct contact with food to breeding and hygienic environments, and have confirmed the safety of the application. However, because of the toxic effect of NPs, the future goal is to synthesize a copper‐containing NP with good biocompatibility and antibacterial efficiency to benefit human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional contexts, enterprises often hesitate to engage in data sharing due to the associated heightened risks and transaction costs. Blockchain technology, leveraging its encryption algorithms and smart contracts, effectively alleviates these challenges, thereby encouraging enterprises to actively participate in data sharing. The adoption of reasonable reward and penalty mechanisms can prevent opportunistic behaviours and stimulate data sharing among businesses. It is noteworthy that blockchain technology and data alliance have a mutually substitutive effect in terms of risk and communication costs, while they complement each other in regulatory and transaction costs. The integration of blockchain technology with data alliance can enhance collaborative revenue and reduce various costs. When distributing collaborative revenue, it is crucial to adhere to the guiding principle of ‘prioritizing efficiency while considering fairness’. Collaboration becomes a reality when all parties collectively achieve a substantial overall revenue threshold. Subsequently, in-depth exploration of fair resource allocation principles is crucial to ensure the equitable distribution of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is generally recognized as the optimal electrochemical conversion device for CO2 reduction reaction due to its high efficiency. However, the development of SOECs is limited by the lack of cathode materials with high electrocatalytic activity and stability. Perovskite cathodes exhibit redox stability at high temperatures, but their electrocatalytic activity remains limited. In this study, both A-site defects and B-site doping are designed for the perovskite La0.5Sr0.5TiO3−δ. This cathode material promotes B-site exsolution through A-site defects, resulting in high-density nanoparticles. The in situ exsolved nanoparticles and the oxide substrate form a metal–oxide interfacial structure that significantly enhances the electrocatalytic activity and stability of the SOEC cathodes. The La0.45Sr0.45Ti0.9Mn0.1Fe0.1O3−δ cathode exhibits exceptional electroreduction performance under the operating conditions of 850 °C, producing a CO yield of 5.3 mL min−1 cm−2 with a current efficiency of 97.1%. Even after 100 h of operation, the SOEC maintains excellent durability. This work provides new ideas for improving surface and interface engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One new seco-cyclic phorbol derivative and one new phorbol 12-monoester, named 13-oxo-14-isopropylphorbol (2), 12-angelylphorbol (5), together with four known compounds, named 4a-deoxyphorbol, 13-oxo-14-isopropenylphorbol, 12-isobutyrylphorbol, and phorbol-12-(2-methylbutyrate) were obtained by hydrolyzing croton oil. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. These compounds showed no cytotoxicity (CC50 > 200 μM). Phorbol-12-monoesters 4–6 showed the weak inhibitory activities on syncytia formation induced by HIV-1IIIB (4, EC50 = 56.05 μM; 5, EC50 = 72.97 μM; 6, EC50 = 52.58 μM). The seco-cyclic phorbol derivatives (2, 3) showed no anti-HIV-1 activities (EC50 > 200 μM), which indicated that chemical cleavage of cyclopropanols might affect anti-HIV-1 activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effects of boost invariance breaking on the isotropization of pressure in the glasma, using a 3+1D glasma simulation. The breaking is attributed to spatial fluctuations in the classical color charge density along the collision axis. We present numerical results for pressure and energy density at mid-rapidity and across a wider rapidity region. It is found that, despite varying longitudinal correlation lengths, the behaviors of the pressure isotropizations are qualitatively similar. The numerical results suggest that, in the initial stage, longitudinal color electromagnetic fields develop, similar to those in the boost invariant glasma. Subsequently, these fields evolve into a dilute glasma, expanding longitudinally in a manner akin to a dilute gas. We also show that the energy density at mid-rapidity exhibits a 1 / τ decay in the dilute glasma stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the challenges of time‐delay and low accuracy in online gas‐phase composition monitoring during olefin copolymerization processes. Three flowmeters based on different mechanisms are installed in series to measure the real‐time exhaust gas flow rate from the reactor. For the same gas flow, the three flowmeters display different readings, which vary with the properties and composition of the gas mixture. Consequently, the composition of the mixed gas can be determined by analyzing the reading of the three flowmeters. Fitting equations and three machine learning models, namely decision trees, random forests, and extreme gradient boosting, are employed to calculate the gas composition. The results from cold‐model experimental data demonstrate that the XGBoost model outperforms others in terms of accuracy and generalization capabilities. For the concentration of ethylene, propylene, and hydrogen, the determination coefficients (R2) were 0.9852, 0.9882, and 0.9518, respectively, with corresponding normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) values of 0.0352, 0.0312, and 0.0706. The effectiveness of the online monitoring device is further validated through gas phase copolymerization experiments involving ethylene and propylene. The yield and composition of the ethylene and propylene copolymers are successfully predicted using the online measurement data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the condensation scenario of charged pions in external magnetic field and rotation, which was first considered by Y. Liu and I. Zahed. Based on the Ginzburg-Landau analysis of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, we find that the charged-pion condensation takes place only when both a strong coupling constant and negatively large baryon chemical potential are applied. Besides, our numerical calculation shows that the chiral restoration induced by the interplay between magnetic field and rotation (i.e., the rotational magnetic inhibition) interrupts the formation of the charged-pion condensate. This suggests that the analysis of such condensation requires a careful treatment of the inner structure of pions, which was not taken into account before. We also discuss the underlying physical mechanism of our finding and the indication of charged-rho condensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) QCD corrections for the process e+e− → J/ψ + J/ψ at the B factories. By including the NNLO corrections, the cross section turns negative due to the poor convergence of perturbative expansion. Consequently, to obtain a reasonable estimation for the cross section, the square of the amplitude up to NNLO is used. In addition, the contributions from the bottom quark and the light-by-light part, which are usually neglected, are also included. The final cross section is obtained as 1.76 − 1.66 + 2.42 fb at a center-of-mass energy of s = 10.58 GeV. Our result for total cross section and differential cross section could be compared with precise experimental measurement in future at the B factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, significant research has been conducted to explore the use of 3D triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures for their exceptional vibrational damping properties and their ability to provide a continuous, smooth surface. The emergence of 3D printing has enabled the application of TPMS structures in fields such as medicine and aviation. In civil engineering, the compressive capacity of structures is a fundamental parameter in structural design. To evaluate the potential of porous TPMS structures in civil engineering, we have designed and manufactured four types of Skeletal-TPMS units using Stereolithography (SLA) technology. Axially loaded tests and nonlinear finite element method (NFEM) simulations have been performed to investigate the compressive strength and stiffness of the units. Our findings indicate that compared to solid blocks, the compressive strength of Skeletal-TPMS units decreases by 71.3% to 82.6%, and the stiffness decreases by 64.9% to 79.2%. The Skeletal-SP units show better compressive resistance than Skeletal-IWP units. This study provides new valuable insights for structural design and applications using TPMS structures in civil engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an imbalance in the development of artificial intelligence between industries. Compared to non-AI enterprise, AI- enterprise will save labor, enhance innovation capabilities, and improve production efficiency. By constructing a two-industry model of AI and non-AI enterprise, this paper finds that with the development of artificial intelligence in the same industry, the AI enterprise will occupy a dominant position, attracting labor and capital from the non-AI enterprise into the AI enterprise. In different industries, the development of artificial intelligence improves the production efficiency of the enterprise. However, due to the price effect, non-AI enterprise benefits more. Labor and capital flow from AI enterprise to non-AI enterprise. In order to promote the improvement of production efficiency in the whole society, the government can tax non-AI enterprise and subsidize them to AI enterprise. Taxation promotes the degree of automation and the improvement of production efficiency, but it has only a short-term effect on the development of AI. At the same time, taxation inhibits the development of non-AI enterprise, and there is a high risk of unemployment. When both industries use artificial intelligence for production, the labor share and the capital share of the two industries will tend to the same value. The convergence of technology measures is conducive to increasing labor income share and reducing income inequality, but it is not conducive to innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A network interface program for controllers (NICON) for pseudo-dynamic hybrid simulations is presented. The program is implemented as an independent program residing between the simulation model and an actuator controller with various functions necessary for hybrid simulations, such as communication, coordinate transformation, error compensation. These functions are generalized to allow for a generic configuration of actuator setup theoretically with any number of control points and control degrees of freedom. Application examples of NICON to hybrid simulations of civil infrastructures subjected to earthquakes or fire are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth oxides have been proven for their ability to refine grains and have high melting points. In this paper, different contents of rare earth oxide La2O3 were added into the Ni60/WC-Ni composite coating, in order to study its effect on the coating properties. SEM observation confirmed that the grain was refined significantly after the addition of La2O3. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) was applied to investigate the composition and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) was used to measure the residual stress in the coating samples. In addition, the microhardness and wear resistance of the samples were tested. The results showed that the dilution ratio of coatings with different additions of La2O3 was in the range of 2.4 to 9.8%, and the sample with 1.0% addition of La2O3 exhibited the highest hardness of 66.1 HRC and best wear resistance with a wear volume of 9.87 × 106 μm3, and the residual stress increased from 159.4 MPa to 291.0 MPa. This implies that the performance of the coating has been obviously improved after the addition of La2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Studies have shown that fasting blood glucose (FBG) is closely associated with poor prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but its association with in-stent restenosis (ISR) is still unclear. Therefore, this study was to explore the association between FBG with ISR in patients with CHD after PCI. Design. In this cohort study, we included 531 patients with CHD who underwent PCI. Logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), subgroup analysis and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were used to assess the association between FBG with ISR. Results. A total of 124 (23.4%) patients had ISR. Patients with higher levels of FBG had higher incidence of ISR compared to those with lower levels of FBG (p = 0.002). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, higher levels of FBG remained strongly associated with higher risk of ISR (as a categorical variable, OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.21–2.94, p = 0.005; as a continuous variable, OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03–1.23, p = 0.011). ROC analysis also showed that FBG might be associated with the occurrence of ISR (AUC = 0.577, 95% CI: 0.52–0.64, p = 0.013). Subgroup analyses showed the association of FBG with ISR was also stable in several subgroups (< 60 years or ≥ 60 years, male, with or without smoking, without diabetes and without hypertension). And RCS analysis showed that FBG was linearly and positively associated with the risk of ISR. Conclusions. Higher levels of FBG were closely associated with higher risk of ISR in patients with CHD after PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coptis chinensis Franch. (CCF) is a Traditional Chinese medicine known for its good anti-cancer effects. However, the bioactive compounds and mechanisms underlying its anti-colorectal adenocarcinoma (COAD) remains unclear. Objectives: This study aims to reveal the bioactive compounds and mechanism of CCF against COAD by utilizing bioinformatics, molecular docking simulation and in vitro experiments. Materials and Methods: Bioactive compounds and candidate targets of CCF against COAD were collected using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database, Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Gene Cards, and SwissTargetPrediction databases, respectively. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using the DAVID (v2022q3) database. The "Compounds-Targets-Pathways" (C-T-P) and "Protein-Protein Interaction" (PPI) networks were constructed using Cytoscape (v3.8.0) to identify the hub targets. AutoDock Vina (v1.2.0), UNLCAN, TCGA, MTT, plate cloning, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays were used to confirm the results. Results: The "C-T-P" and "PPI" networks revealed three hub targets: checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1), polo like kinase 1 (PLK1), and aurora kinase B (AURKB). Molecular docking simulation results showed that berberine, a candidate bioactive compound of CCF, had high affinity with the hub targets, comparable to that of positive drugs. Both CCF ethanol extracts and berberine significantly down-regulated CHEK1, PLK1, and AURKB, inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of HCT-116 cells. Conclusion: To summarize, CCF inhibits COAD by down-regulating CHEK1, PLK1, and AURKB, with berberine as its primary bioactive compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the influence of postoperative body mass index (BMI) change on postoperative quality of life (QOL) in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) plus modified single stoma cutaneous ureterostomy (MSSCU) or ileal conduit (IC). Methods: Patients were divided into two groups according to different BMI change patterns: patients experiencing an elevated postoperative BMI level, along with a clinically significant increase in their BMI (an increase of more than 10%) were categorized as Group 1, while patients experiencing a decrease postoperative BMI level, along with a clinically significant reduction in their BMI (a decrease of more than 5%) were categorized as Group 2. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the correlations between quality‐of‐life scores and postoperative clinical parameters. Results: Spearman correlation analysis showed that postoperative BMI, late complications and catheter‐free state were significantly associated with postoperative global QoL and symptom scale in MSSCU and postoperative global QoL and physical scale in IC patients. Additionally, postoperative BMI, catheter‐free state and the use of adjuvant therapy were associated with bad performance in many scales of QoL like body image, future perspective, social scale, future perspective (MSSCU), and abdominal bloating (IC) (Table 2, p<0.05). Patients in Group 2 with significant weight loss had a better Global QoL, a lower rate of stomal stricture and a higher catheter‐free state compared with those in Group 1 in both IC and MSSCU patients. MSSCU patients in Group 2 could achieve a comparable Global QoL as to IC patients in Group 1. Conclusion: Controlling the substantial increase in body weight after surgery contributes to improving QoL, reducing the occurrence of stomal stricture, and ensuring a postoperative catheter‐free state in BCa patients undergoing MSSCU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal process parameters of ultrasonic-assisted processing were studied to further improve the molding quality and mechanical properties of Ni60/WC-TiO2+La2O3 composite coating. A single-factor experiment was used to explore the influences of ultrasonic vibration frequencies on Ni60/WC-TiO2+La2O3 composite coating. The microstructure, elemental composition, phase composition, hardness, and wear resistance of the coating were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), an energy spectrometer, a microhardness meter, a friction and wear tester, and other equipment. Ultrasonic vibrations significantly improved the problems of pores in the coating, and the porosity was reduced from 0.13 to 0.014%. When the vibration frequency was 32 kHz in the experiment, the aspect ratio of the coating was optimized from 2.06 to 2.48, the dilution rate increased from 5.60 to 5.79%, the hardness increased from 960.25 to 988.45 HZ1.0, and the friction coefficient was reduced from 0.34 to 0.27. The coating performance was significantly improved, and the research results provide a reference for preparing excellent Ni60/WC-TiC+La2O3 composite coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Seafood tends to be highly vulnerable to spoilage and deterioration due to biochemical reactions and microbial contaminations, which requires appropriate processing technologies to improve or maintain its quality. Flavor, as an indispensable aspect reflecting the quality profile of seafood and influencing the final choice of consumers, is closely related to the processing technologies adopted. This review gives updated information on traditional and emerging processing technologies used in seafood processing and their implications on flavor. Traditional processing technologies, especially thermal treatment, effectively deactivate microorganisms to enhance seafood safety and prolong its shelf life. Nonetheless, these methods come with limitations, including reduced processing efficiency, increased energy consumption, and alterations in flavor, color, and texture due to overheating. Emerging processing technologies like microwave heating, infrared heating, high pressure processing, cold plasma, pulsed electric field, and ultrasound show alternative effects to traditional technologies. In addition to deactivating microorganisms and extending shelf life, these technologies can also safeguard the sensory quality of seafood. This review discusses emerging processing technologies in seafood and covers their principles, applications, developments, advantages, and limitations. In addition, this review examines the potential synergies that can arise from combining certain processing technologies in seafood processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neo-tetraploid rice lines exhibit high fertility and strong heterosis and harbor novel specific alleles, which are useful germplasm for polyploid rice breeding. However, the mechanism of the fertility associated with miRNAs remains unknown. In this study, a neo-tetraploid rice line, termed Huaduo21 (H21), was used. Cytological observation and RNA-sequencing were employed to identify the fertility-related miRNAs in neo-tetraploid rice. Results: H21 showed high pollen fertility (88.08%), a lower percentage of the pollen mother cell (PMC) abnormalities, and lower abnormalities during double fertilization and embryogenesis compared with autotetraploid rice. A total of 166 non-additive miRNAs and 3108 non-additive genes were detected between H21 and its parents. GO and KEGG analysis of non-additive genes revealed significant enrichments in the DNA replication, Chromosome and associated proteins, and Replication and repair pathways. Comprehensive multi-omics analysis identified 32 pairs of miRNA/target that were associated with the fertility in H21. Of these, osa-miR408-3p and osa-miR528-5p displayed high expression patterns, targeted the phytocyanin genes, and were associated with high pollen fertility. Suppression of osa-miR528-5p in Huaduo1 resulted in a low seed set and a decrease in the number of grains. Moreover, transgenic analysis implied that osa-MIR397b-p3, osa-miR5492, and osa-MIR5495-p5 might participate in the fertility of H21. Conclusion: Taken together, the regulation network of fertility-related miRNAs-targets pairs might contribute to the high seed setting in neo-tetraploid rice. These findings enhance our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of pollen fertility associated with miRNAs in neo-tetraploid rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐layer multi‐pass welding is required for complicated welding of the intersecting seam in the jacket. Traditional manual welding of intersecting curves with low efficiency and poor consistency has been gradually replaced by robotic welding. However, this process cannot eliminate the defects during the welding forming process, resulting in welding deviations. It is difficult to meet the requirements in all‐position welding of intersecting curves. To achieve accurate layering and routing for robotic welding, it is necessary to study the weld forming control and prediction method in the jacket. Response surface methodology adhering to central composite design is used to establish a mathematical model to correlate the effects of input process parameters (voltage, current, speed, weaving amplitude) on response variables, i.e., aspect ratio, cross‐sectional area, and side wetting angle. The confirmation experiments and analysis of variance results validate that the percentage error between the predicted and actual values is less than 5%, which demonstrates the developed models are reliable. Prediction of filling weld forming changes of intersecting joints in jackets can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In geophysical exploration, the expression of the electromagnetic field in homogeneous layered media involves Hankel integrals, and the kernel function can be simplified into a combination of zero- and first-order Bessel functions. Owing to the complex nature of the electromagnetic field, only a few analytical expressions for the Hankel integrals of the electromagnetic field in layered media exist. Moreover, as the argument of the Bessel functions increases, the Hankel integrals exhibit rapid oscillations and slow decay, making it difficult for the computation of the electromagnetic field to achieve high accuracy, especially for high-frequency and long-range transmission and reception scenarios. To address this issue, we propose a fully analytical integration method applicable to both high and low frequencies and long and short transmission and reception distances. The study used quadratic function interpolation for the coefficient part of the Hankel integrals in the expression of the electromagnetic field in layered media. The interpolated results within each element, multiplied by the Bessel functions, could derive analytical expressions. Then, by summing up all the discrete elements, the numerical solution of the Hankel integrals could be obtained, resulting in a high-precision numerical simulation of the layered media. The fully analytical integration algorithm was tested using the expressions of the electromagnetic field in the entire space with different forms of Bessel function integrals. The computational results demonstrated the correctness and high accuracy of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm exhibited high computational accuracy in different frequency ranges and transmission and reception distances, especially in high-frequency and long-distance scenarios, where its accuracy exceeds that of the four selected digital filtering algorithms by over two orders of magnitude, indicating its strong universality.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study by Funahashi et al. explores the expression of miRNA in schizophrenia patients, providing valuable insights into potential biomarkers and treatment effects. The study suggests that miR-675-3p is upregulated in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) who are treated with clozapine. However, caution is needed when interpreting these findings, as the upregulation of miR-675-3p may be a feature of TRS itself rather than a specific effect of clozapine. The study also compares miRNA expression in non-TRS patients treated with antipsychotics other than clozapine, but the lack of detailed information on specific antipsychotic regimens introduces a significant variable. Further research is needed to separate the effects of the disease from the effects of treatment and to better understand clozapine's specific influence on miRNA expression in TRS. [Extracted from the article]

The uncertainty brought about by the high proportion of distributed generations poses great challenges to the operational safety of novel distribution systems. Therefore, this paper proposes an online reactive power and voltage control method that integrates source–load uncertainty and a mechanism–data hybrid drive (MDHD) model. Based on the concept of a mechanism and data hybrid drive, the mechanism-driven deterministic reactive power optimization strategy and the stochastic reactive power optimization strategy are used as training data. By training the data-driven CNN–GRU network model offline, the influence of source–load uncertainty on reactive power optimization can be effectively assessed. On this basis, according to the online source and load predicted data, the proposed hybrid-driven model can be applied to quickly obtain the reactive power optimization strategy to enable fast control of voltage. As observed in the case studies, compared with the traditional deterministic and stochastic reactive power optimization models, the hybrid-driven model not only satisfies the real-time requirement of online voltage control, but also has stronger adaptability to source–load uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Device-free indoor identification of people with high accuracy is the key to providing personalized services. Visual methods are the solution but they require a clear view and good lighting conditions. Additionally, the intrusive nature leads to privacy concerns. A robust identification and classification system using the mmWave radar and an improved density-based clustering algorithm along with LSTM are proposed in this paper. The system leverages mmWave radar technology to overcome challenges posed by varying environmental conditions on object detection and recognition. The point cloud data are processed using a refined density-based clustering algorithm to extract ground truth in a 3D space accurately. A bi-directional LSTM network is employed for individual user identification and intruder detection. The system achieved an overall identification accuracy of 93.9% and an intruder detection rate of 82.87% for groups of 10 individuals, demonstrating its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huashandong W deposit (7.7 Mt @ 0.26% WO3) is a newly discovered Neoproterozoic scheelite-dominated deposit in the world-class Jiangnan tungsten belt, South China. It occurs largely in metasedimentary rocks near the western margin of the Neoproterozoic Jiuling batholith and mainly consists of W-bearing exogreisen, hydrothermal breccias, and quartz veins. Two episodes of Neoproterozoic granite magmatism are identified with zircon U-Pb ages of ca. 830–823 and 807–804 Ma, respectively. According to cross-cutting relationships and mineral assemblages, two periods of hydrothermal alteration and W mineralization, corresponding to the two episodes of granite magmatism, are recognized in the Huashandong deposit. The early period is dominated by greisenization and associated scheelite mineralization whereas the late period is characterized by sericitization, hydrothermal brecciation, quartz veining, and associated scheelite and minor wolframite mineralization. Molybdenite Re-Os dating indicates that the early- and late-period W mineralization took place at ca. 828 and 800 Ma, respectively. Zircon trace element characteristics suggest that the Jiuling granite crystallized from reduced granitic magmas and has the potential for W mineralization. The petrologic and geochemical features of the Jiuling granite, coupled with the zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotopic signatures and molybdenite Re-Os ages, imply that the Huashandong W deposit is genetically related to two phases of evolved granodiorites in the Jiuling batholith. The magmatic-hydrothermal nature of both metallogenic events is confirmed by H-O isotopes on hydrothermal quartz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic flow prediction (TFP) has attracted increasing attention with the development of smart city. In the past few years, neural network-based methods have shown impressive performance for TFP. However, most of previous studies fail to explicitly and effectively model the relationship between inflows and outflows. Consequently, these methods are usually uninterpretable and inaccurate. In this paper, we propose an interpretable local flow attention (LFA) mechanism for TFP, which yields three advantages. (1) LFA is flow-aware. Different from existing works, which blend inflows and outflows in the channel dimension, we explicitly exploit the correlations between flows with a novel attention mechanism. (2) LFA is interpretable. It is formulated by the truisms of traffic flow, and the learned attention weights can well explain the flow correlations. (3) LFA is efficient. Instead of using global spatial attention as in previous studies, LFA leverages the local mode. The attention query is only performed on the local related regions. This not only reduces computational cost but also avoids false attention. Based on LFA, we further develop a novel spatiotemporal cell, named LFA-ConvLSTM (LFA-based convolutional long short-term memory), to capture the complex dynamics in traffic data. Specifically, LFA-ConvLSTM consists of three parts. (1) A ConvLSTM module is utilized to learn flow-specific features. (2) An LFA module accounts for modeling the correlations between flows. (3) A feature aggregation module fuses the above two to obtain a comprehensive feature. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets show that our method achieves a better prediction performance. We improve the RMSE metric by 3.2%–4.6%, and the MAPE metric by 6.2%–6.7%. Our LFA-ConvLSTM is also almost 32% faster than global self-attention ConvLSTM in terms of prediction time. Furthermore, we also present some visual results to analyze the learned flow correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female college students are more likely to have a strong stress response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which seriously affects their health and merits greater attention. The present study is a randomized controlled trial carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a yoga intervention could have a positive impact on balance and flexibility and be the primary form of home exercise for female college students in China. Forty female college students were randomly selected for the study. After 16 weeks of yoga intervention, the ability of the yoga group to balance on one leg improved by 5.35 seconds (using the single-limb stance test) and 5.7 seconds (using the Romberg test). The flexibility of the lower back and legs increased by 3.5 cm (using the sit and reach test), and the flexibility of the groin and hip increased by 6 cm (using the Splits test). The balance ability and flexibility of the control group before and after the experiment were not significantly different (p>0.05). These results suggest that during the COVID-19 outbreak when access to public facilities was limited, a yoga intervention could have a positive impact on health and be the main form of home exercise for female college students. Schools and government departments could design online yoga classes to encourage individuals to actively participate in yoga to stay healthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peripheral corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) has been reported to affect gastrointestinal motility through corticotropin‐releasing factor receptor located in enteric nervous system (ENS), but less is known about of the relationship between peripheral CRF and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). Methods: Mice were intraperitoneally injected with CRF receptor agonists to determine their effects on colonic ICC. Chronic heterotypic stress (CHeS) was applied to mice to determine endogenous CRF‐CRF receptor signaling on colonic ICC. Results: We found that stressin1, a selective CRF receptor 1 (CRF1) agonist, significantly increased the expression of CRF1 but had no effect on the expression of CRF2 in the smooth muscles of murine colon. The protein expression of c‐Kit, Anoctamin‐1 (ANO1), and stem cell factor (SCF) in the colonic smooth muscles was significantly decreased in stressin1‐treated mice. Accordingly, 2‐(4‐Chloro‐2‐methylphenoxy)‐N′‐(2‐methoxybenzylidene) acetohydrazide (Ani 9), a selective ANO1 blocker, had a less significant inhibitory effect on CMMC in stressin1‐treated mice compared to the saline‐treated ones. Similarly, we also found that ICC and ANO1 were reduced in the colonic smooth muscles of mice by treatment with sauvagine (ip), a CRF2 agonist. However, different with stressin1, sauvagine decreased the expression of CRF2 besides increasing CRF1 expression in the colonic smooth muscles. Similar results of CRF1 and c‐Kit expressions were also obtained from the colon of CHeS‐treated mice. Conclusion: All these results suggest that CRF may be involved in the abnormality of colonic motility through peripheral CRF1 to decrease the number and function of ICC, which provides a potential target for treating stress‐induced gastrointestinal motility disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Y 2.5- x Bi 0.5 Al x Fe 5 O 12 (YIG-Al x) ceramics have been synthesized at 1175 ℃ by the solid-state reaction method. The effects of the co-doped Bi3+, Al3+ ions on the phases, micromorphology, and dielectric and magnetic properties of the yttrium iron garnets (YIG) were investigated. Excessive introduction of Al3+ ions led to the collapse of the YIG lattice and precipitation of the Bi3+ and Fe3+ ions; while moderate Al3+ doping improved the dielectric properties, but not the saturation magnetization. The YIG-Al 0.2 ceramics proved to have particularly good electromagnetic properties (ε r = 18.34 ± 0.05@11.19 GHz, tan δ = 3.09 ± 0.55 × 10−4, M s = 19.82 ± 0.55 emu/g). Additionally, tightly bonded Y 2.3 Bi 0.5 Al 0.2 Fe 5 O 12 /Ni 0.8 Zn 0.2 Fe 2 O 4 (YIG-Al 0.2 /NZF) composite substrates were prepared by co-firing at 1175 ℃. The composite substrates exhibited superior electromagnetic properties (YIG-Al 0.2 : ε r = 18.37 ± 0.05@11.15 GHz, tan δ = 3.08 ± 0.55 × 10−4, M s = 21.09 ± 0.55 emu/g; NZF: M s = 67.5 ± 0.55 emu/g), which were slightly affected by the diffusion of Ni and Zn from the NZF. Our findings show that YIG-Al 0.2 /NZF substrates have great potential for use as RF band circulators. • The YIGs appropriately doped with Bi3+-Al3+ ions has good dielectric properties. • The co-pressed and co-fired techniques were applied to the composite substrates. • The YIG-Al 0.2 /NZF ferrites composite substrates possess high electromagnetic properties. • Diffusion of Fe3+ ions of the YIG-Al 0.2 /NZF ferrites composite substrates was small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust storm is an important meteorological phenomenon on Mars. By modifying the structure of the Martian atmosphere and ionosphere, it plays an indispensable role in the Martian photochemistry and atmospheric loss. This study is devoted to evaluating the effects of the 2018 global dust storm (GDS) on the photochemical escape of atomic C, N, and O on Mars based on multi-instrument measurements made by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft. The data set is divided into the non-dusty and dusty stages, for which the hot atom production rates from a variety of channels are calculated. A one-dimensional Monte Carlo model is then constructed to obtain the escape probability profile for each channel. By combining the above results, we derive the photochemical escape rates, both prior to and during the GDS. Our calculations suggest that the GDS-induced C, N, and O escape is generally reduced by ∼30– |$40{{\%}}$| relative to the quiet, pre-GDS state, in direct contrast to the well-known result of GDS-induced strong enhancement of atomic H escape. We further propose that the GDS-induced variation of photochemical escape essentially reflects the competition between two effects: the modification of hot atom production (enhancement for photodissociation or reduction for dissociative recombination) driven by the variation of the background atmosphere and the reduction of escape probability due to atmospheric expansion. During the GDS, the latter is usually more effective and responsible for the overall reduction of photochemical escape on Mars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we calculate the next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) QCD corrections to e+e− → J/ψ + ηc at the B factories. After including the NNLO corrections, the cross section of e+e−→ J/ψ +ηc is enhanced by about 17%, and the perturbative series of the prediction shows the convergent behavior. It is also found that the contributions from bottom quark starts at the α s 3 -order, which is about 2.4% of the total prediction. The renormalization scale μR dependence of the cross section is reduced at the NNLO level, but the prediction is sensitive to the charm quark mass mc. By considering the uncertainties caused by renormalization scale μR, charm quark mass mc and the NRQCD factorization scale μΛ, our prediction shows agreement with the BABAR and BELLE measurements within errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mandarin Chinese, the expression nǐ kànzhe bàn ba can be employed in either ‘you-decide use’ (you assess and decide by yourself), whereby the speaker disclaims his/her deontic authority to the recipient in decision-making, or ‘I-claim use’ (you have to assess and decide cautiously), whereby he/she claims a higher degree of deontic authority than the recipient when determining a proposed action. Focusing on the ‘I-claim use’ of nǐ kànzhe bàn ba, this study examines how this expression is manipulated by customers to negotiate solutions for their complaints with customer service representatives in Chinese e-shopping platforms. Utilising naturally occurring data from Taobao service encounters spanning about one year, this study employs a discursive approach and finds that this expression fulfills one of a number of pragmatic functions: (1) when there is no mutual agreement on the complaint proposals, the customers deploy it to upgrade their deontic authority to orient to their own unilateral solution and refrain from further negotiations; (2) when expressing a negative evaluation, the customers use it to pre-empt potential complainables that reflect their strong deontic authority; or (3) following non-substantive rectification on the part of the agent, the customers use it to express diluted deontic authority in order to display disaffiliation and solicit more substantive proposals. By analyzing the use of this expression in e-shopping service encounters, our study contributes to understanding how deontic authority is exercised in negotiating solutions to complaints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium alloys with porous structure are promising for human bone scaffold transplantation due to biodegradability and similar mechanical properties, which is also conducive to the growth, proliferation and differentiation of cells. The preparation of porous magnesium alloy bone scaffolds by Selective Laser Melting(SLM) method in additive manufacturing avoids the morphological and performance defects arising from traditional casting and other processes while precisely controlling porosity and dimensions. This paper presents the feasibility of porous magnesium alloy bone scaffolds for clinical applications and describes the SLM process. The enhancement mechanism is analyzed to clarify the performance advantages of the SLM process for magnesium alloys. The mechanism of action and optimization is also analyzed according to the variation of elements and process parameters. Finally, the bottlenecks of the current process and its factors are summarized, and the directions of improvement and future development trends are proposed to realize its medical industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perforated cold-formed steel (PCFS) beams are regarded as an economical option for steel construction industry owing to its various advantages. They can provide access for the facilities like electric wires and pipelines to penetrate the web so that extra building space could be saved. However, the web openings might change the web stress distribution as well as reduce the cross-sectional properties, which make the PCFS beams more susceptible to buckling and may have effect on their load-bearing capacity. In this paper, a simplified spring model was proposed based on the use of energy method, to predict the critical moment of lateral-torsional buckling of PCFS channel beams with circular holes in web subject to pure bending. The effect of hole sizes and lateral restraint at the tension flange was examined by using the derived analytical solution. In addition, eigenvalue buckling analysis was conducted by using finite-element package ANSYS to validate the accuracy of the proposed analytical model. The results demonstrated that the proposed analytical solution was reliable and the critical moment predicted can be used for the extension of DSM formulae for the design of PCFS beams when considering the failure caused by lateral-torsional buckling of the beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Patients with low HBV DNA levels (< 2000 IU/mL), HBV DNA negative, and HBsAg-negative hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection can still progress to decompensated cirrhosis; however, clinical research data in such patients, especially treatment-naïve patients, are currently insufficient. This study assessed the natural history of aforementioned patients.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 250 patients with HBV-associated decompensated cirrhosis(HBV DNA < 2000 IU/mL) who had not been treated with antiviral medication.Results: The mean age of the 250 patients was 53.90 ± 11.73 years and 183 patients (73.2%) were male. HBV DNA, HBsAg, and HBeAg positivity was detected in 77 (30.8%), 200 (80%), and 137 (54.8%) patients, respectively. HBsAg (odds ratio [OR], 3.303; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.338-8.152; P = 0.010) and HBeAg (OR, 0.200; 95% CI, 0.107-0.376; P < 0.001) positivity were independent factors for low HBV DNA levels. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (P < 0.001) and portal vein thrombosis (P = 0.001) was higher in the low HBV DNA levels group. Multivariate analysis showed that HBV DNA positivity (OR, 3.548; 95% CI, 1.463-8.604; P = 0.005), HBeAg positivity (OR, 0.080; 95% CI, 0.022-0.289; P < 0.001), and glutamyltransferase (GGT) (OR, 1.003; 95% CI, 1.000-1.006; P = 0.040) were independent factors for HCC. Age was not related to the occurrence of cirrhosis complications.Conclusion: Patients with decompensated cirrhosis with HBV DNA < 2000 IU/mL still had severe liver damage and could develop severe cirrhosis complications. HCC risk was higher in low HBV DNA levels patients. HBsAg positivity and HBeAg negativity may be associated to the occurrence of low HBV DNA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature matching between high-resolution satellite stereos plays an important role in satellite image orientation. However, images of changed regions, weak-textured regions and occluded regions may generate low-quality matches or even mismatches. Furthermore, matching throughout the entire satellite images often has extremely high time cost. To compute good matching results at low time cost, this paper proposes an image block selection method for high-resolution satellite stereos, which processes feature matching in several optimal blocks instead of the entire images. The core of the method is to formulate the block selection into the optimization of an energy function, and a greedy strategy is designed to compute an approximate solution. The experimental comparisons on various satellite stereos show that the proposed method could achieve similar matching accuracy and much lower time cost when compared with some state-of-the-art satellite image matching methods. Thus, the proposed method is a good compromise between matching accuracy and matching time, which has great potential in large-scale satellite applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the safety and low toxicity, photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment has received extensive attention. However, the excess H2S in cancer cells reduces the PDT efficiency, because H2S indirectly depletes the reactive oxygen species (ROS). To improve anticancer efficiency, a mitochondria-targeted iridium(III) complex Ir-MMB has been developed as H2S consumer and photo-oxidation anticancer agent. On the one hand, complex Ir-MMB can consume H2S with sensitive phosphorescence turn-on, which has been successfully applied to exogenous and endogenous H2S response imaging in living cells. On the other hand, Ir-MMB can enhance its anticancer activity and cause photo-oxidation damage via catalyzing the oxidation of reduced form of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NADH) to NAD+ and producing H2O2 under light, and ultimately results in cell apoptosis through mitochondrial depolarization and ROS production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of LNPs, LPs, and PMs are synthesized to systematically compare their biodistribution. • LNPs have generally high biodistribution, facilitated by improved pharmacokinetics and cell uptake. • For LNPs, lipid composition rather than surface charge impacts biodistribution. • Appropriate lipid combination confers organ selectivity to LNPs for selective drug delivery to the lung or liver. • LNPs as carrier of chemotherapeutic agents are therapeutically superior to LPs and PMs. • Organ-selectivity significantly improves therapeutic potency of LNPs in treating organ-related tumors. Regulating the biodistribution of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs) by tailoring their physicochemical properties for organ-selective drug delivery is a rational strategy for precise therapy of organ-related cancer. Unfortunately, it remains inconclusive and even conflicting as to the correlation between the physicochemical properties of NDDSs and their biodistribution, due to the interplay of the physicochemical properties, high diversity of NDDSs type, and lack of a criteria for biodistribution evaluation. We synthesized lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), liposomes (LPs), and polymeric micelles (PMs), the most successful NDDSs, with different compositions and surface charges, and systematically compared their biodistribution by determining loaded docetaxel (DTX). It was found that LNPs, regardless of composition and surface charge, showed generally improved biodistribution in the liver, spleen, and lung compared with LPs and PMs. Stiffer structure of LNPs than LPs contributed to the improved biodistribution by improving their pharmacokinetics and cell uptake, which was theoretically and experimentally verified. More importantly, results further suggested that lipid composition, especially lipid combination, profoundly impacted the biodistribution of LNPs and accurately tailoring LNPs formulation using commercially available lipids could effectuate selective biodistribution to the lung or liver. In lung- and liver-related tumor models, LNPs exhibited enhanced therapeutic potency, as compared to LPs and PMs, which was further significantly enhanced once endowed with organ selectivity. While LNPs are mainly focused on delivering nucleic acid molecules, this work first unveils therapeutic superiority of LNPs as carrier of chemotherapeutic agents over LPs and PMs, and highlights the potential of organ-selective LNPs in precise cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a life-threatening cardiovascular disease that, on average, results in 8.5 million deaths worldwide each year. Timely revascularization of occluded vessels is a critical method of myocardial salvage. However, reperfusion paradoxically leads to the worsening of myocardial damage known as myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI). Therefore, reducing the size of myocardial infarction after reperfusion is critical and remains an important therapeutic goal. The susceptibility of the myocardium to MI/RI may be increased by diabetes. Currently, some traditional antidiabetic agents such as metformin reduce MI/RI by decreasing inflammation, inhibiting oxidative stress, and improving vascular endothelial function. This appears to be a new direction for the treatment of MI/RI. Recent cardiovascular outcome trials have shown that several oral antidiabetic agents, including glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), and sodium-glucose-linked transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is), not only have good antidiabetic effects but also have a protective effect on myocardial protection. This article aims to discuss the mechanisms and effects of oral antidiabetic agents, including GLP-1RAs, DPP-4is, and SGLT-2is, on MI/RI to facilitate their clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the mainstream girder types of long-span bridges, the flat steel box girder (FSBG) under thermal action has been one primary concern for bridge engineers and researchers. This research presents a field study of the temperature field distribution characteristics of FSBG and its influential environmental factors. To achieve this, an acquisition equipment that comprises of thermometers and environmental sensors is applied to a prototype cable-stayed bridge under construction, in which the structural temperature field of FSBG and the surrounding environmental data are collected and analyzed thoroughly. The results indicate that the vertical temperature distribution (VTD) in certain time instants exhibits significant variations and the maximum vertical temperature gradient can reach up to 27.9 °C. Despite of this, it is found that the VTD of FSBG can be covered by several current standards such as AASHTO standard and New Zealand standard. As for the transverse temperature distribution (TTD), it is found that both the variation and temperature difference of TTD in certain time instants are considerable, especially at the deck surface, which far exceed those of the TTD prescribed in current standards. This indicates that the TTD of FSBG should be seriously considered during the bridge design phase. Furthermore, the field study reveals that the wind speed has negative effect on the structural temperature of FSBG (when the air temperature is less than that of FSBG), while the solar radiation exerts positive effect on the structural temperature of FSBG. The outcome of this study can provide valuable references for thermal design, monitoring and control of long-span bridges employing FSBGs as bridge main girder. • Temperature field distribution of FSBG is evaluated via field study. • Effect of wind speed and solar radiation on structural temperature of FSBG is elucidated. • An acquisition equipment is deployed on a prototype bridge to facilitate the field study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing studies on shrinking cities focus on identifying and characterizing population contraction at the city scale and lack an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms of population contraction and daily life scenarios at the street scale. To fill this gap, this study employed semi-structured interviews and participant observation to analyze the street vitality and mechanisms of operation of Dongda Street in Rugao County of Jiangsu Province in China. The study found the following. First, the interspersed urban renewal has allowed residents to retain their original lifestyles and time-space routines, and they continue to enact an endogenous street ballet. Second, new residents gradually develop new lifestyles and time-space routines in the streets, showcasing an exogenous street ballet. Third, both groups jointly perform hybrid street ballets in their daily lives through close public interactions. These findings suggest that while Dongda Street is an aging neighborhood, the survival of the original street pattern and old buildings has allowed the neighborhood to retain its historical flavor. Additionally, the moving in of creative industries and merchants injects new vitality into the neighborhood. These findings examine daily street life in the context of population contraction and help break the stereotypes of population contraction. • The interspersed urban renewal has allowed local residents to retain their original endogenous street ballet. • New residents gradually develop time-space routines in the streets, showcasing an exogenous street ballet. • Both groups jointly perform hybrid street ballets in their daily lives through close public interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the geography of metropolitan opportunities has focused on a set of opportunities in different urban areas over time to justify policy interventions. The Beijing government implemented large-scale policy interventions to achieve structural industrial changes in order to stop the downward spiral of poverty and segregation in "urban villages." Beijing has accelerated the redevelopment of urban villages and helped tens of thousands of low-wage migrant workers in garment villages move to surrounding secondary cities or small towns in Hebei Province with better opportunities. However, low-wage migrant workers did not respond linearly to the intervention. This study analyzes the reasons underlying the response of low-wage migrant workers to these policy interventions. First, the antipoverty policy is a geographic exercise, moving low-end industries from a global center to peripheral locations. This study considers why this mobility strategy for improving opportunity has become the arena for opportunistic behavior and conceptualizes the logic of opportunism and the self-worth of low-wage migrant workers in a metropolitan area. Second, the Beijing government is attempting to disperse the low-end informal industries into formal industrial bases in Hebei. Dispersal campaigns inevitably involve circuitous mobility and the outcome of dispersal is inherently unstable. One of the crucial questions in dispersal strategies is scale. Would an upscaled Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) City Region or a downscaled "neighborhood effect" better implement the antipoverty strategy? This dispersal strategy can break up the concentration of migrants, but their perceived opportunities remain in Beijing. One of the obstacles to the full implementation of the dispersal strategy is grassroots opposition. This study uses a three-year survey conducted prior to the COVID−19 lockdown to analyze how displaced migrant workers perceive these opportunities in their processual and networked decision-making. Garment villages are important "anchor places" where migrants can mobilize their social capital and facilitate upward mobility outside a dominant institution in Beijing. This study reveals how garment workers replicated informal habitats in more remote locations in Beijing as the old habitats disappeared. • Urban villages provide a critical "anchor" for the social reproduction of migrants. • Migrants often replicate the urban village in more remote locations when the old one disappears. • Suzhi discourse is an intangible factor in labor mobility. • Migrants' networks may be diluted in the upscaled Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regionalism. • We need more inclusive policies to settle the displaced workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a multi-platform simulation method for the seismic performance assessment of masonry infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames, especially for those that, due to inadequate reinforcing details, tend to undergo shear failure during an earthquake. The multi-platform method is based on a micro–macro modeling approach in which a detailed finite element model of the RC frame is incorporated with a strut model of the infill wall. It exploits the strut model to increase its computational efficiency and the finite element model based on the modified compression field theory to capture the nonlinear behaviour of the RC frame. The proposed method is validated against previously tested frames subjected to lateral loads, and its advantages over the conventional strut models are demonstrated through both quasi-static and dynamic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apache Spark is a popular open-source distributed data processing framework that can efficiently process massive amounts of data. It provides more than 180 configuration parameters for users to manually select the appropriate parameter values according to their own experience. However, due to the large number of parameters and the inherent correlation between them, manual tuning is very tedious. To solve the problem of tuning through personal experience, we designed and implemented a reinforcement-learning-based Spark configuration parameter optimizer. First, we trained a Spark application performance prediction model with deep neural networks, and verified the accuracy and effectiveness of the model from multiple perspectives. Second, in order to improve the search efficiency of better configuration parameters, we improved the Q-learning algorithm, and automatically set start and end states in each iteration of training, which effectively improves the agent's poor performance in exploring better configuration parameters. Lastly, comparing our proposed configuration with the default configuration as the baseline, experimental results show that the optimized configuration gained an average performance improvement of 47%, 43%, 31%, and 45% for four different types of Spark applications, which indicates that our Spark configuration parameter optimizer could efficiently find the better configuration parameters and improve the performance of various Spark applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial-based self-healing concrete (BSHC) is a well-known healing technology which has been investigated for a few decades for its excellent crack healing capacity. Nevertheless, considered as costly and time-consuming, the healing performance (HP) of concrete with various types of bacteria can be designed and evaluated only in laboratory environments. Employing machine learning (ML) models for predicting the HP of BSHC is inspired by practical applications using concrete mechanical properties. The HP of BSHC can be predicted to save the time and cost of laboratory tests, bacteria selection and healing mechanisms adoption. In this paper, three types of BSHC, including ureolytic bacterial healing concrete (UBHC), aerobic bacterial healing concrete (ABHC) and nitrifying bacterial healing concrete (NBHC), and ML models with five kinds of algorithms consisting of the support vector regression (SVR), decision tree regression (DTR), deep neural network (DNN), gradient boosting regression (GBR) and random forest (RF) are established. Most importantly, 22 influencing factors are first employed as variables in the ML models to predict the HP of BSHC. A total of 797 sets of BSHC tests available in the open literature between 2000 and 2021 are collected to verify the ML models. The grid search algorithm (GSA) is also utilised for tuning parameters of the algorithms. Moreover, the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) are applied to evaluate the prediction ability, including the prediction performance and accuracy of the ML models. The results exhibit that the GBR model has better prediction ability (R2GBR = 0.956, RMSEGBR = 6.756%) than other ML models. Finally, the influence of the variables on the HP is investigated by employing the sensitivity analysis in the GBR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is taken up by plant roots and translocated via phosphate transporters. Previously, we showed that phosphate transporter OsPHT1;4 in the PHT1 family participates in phosphate acquisition and mobilization; it facilitates the embryo development of Japonica rice Nipponbare. This study investigated the potential of manipulating the expression of OsPHT1;4 to increase Pi acquisition efficiency and crop productivity in rice cv. Wuyunjing 7 (WYJ 7), a cultivar widely grown in Yangtze River Delta of China. The OsPHT1;4 overexpression lines and wild-type WYJ 7 were treated under different Pi conditions in hydroponic and field experiments. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis and the transgenic plants expressing GUS reporter gene indicate strong expression of OsPHT1;4 in roots and leaf collars of cv. WYJ 7. The total P contents in shoots of the OsPHT1;4-overexpressing plants were significantly higher under Pi-deficient hydroponic conditions than the wild type under Pi sufficiency and deficiency. 33Pi uptake and translocation assays confirmed the results. In the field condition, OsPHT1;4 overexpression lines had a higher P concentration in tissues than the wild type control, and the panicle performance of the overexpression lines including the grain yield was improved as well. Taken together, our results show that OsPHT1;4 plays an important role in the acquisition and mobilization of Pi in WYJ 7, especially under Pi deficiency. The study highlights the importance of OsPHT1;4 in improving the agronomic traits of the widely grown rice cultivar in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal injury repair is a complex process during which the maintenance of the proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) exert a crucial role. MicroRNAs have been proven to exert an essential function in repairing skin burns. This study delves into the regulatory effects of miR‐24‐3p on the migration and proliferation of HSFs that have sustained a thermal injury, thereby, providing deeper insight into thermal injury repair pathogenesis. The PPAR‐β protein expression level progressively increased in a time‐dependent manner on the 12th, 24th and 48th hour following the thermal injury of the HSFs. The knockdown of PPAR‐β markedly suppressed the proliferation of and migration of HSF. Following thermal injury, the knockdown also promoted the inflammatory cytokine IL‐6, TNF‐α, PTGS‐2 and P65 expression. PPAR‐β contrastingly exhibited an opposite trend. A targeted relationship between PPAR‐β and miR‐24‐3p was predicted and verified. miR‐24‐3p inhibited thermal injured HSF proliferation and migration and facilitated inflammatory cytokine expression through the regulation of PPAR‐β. p65 directly targeted the transcriptional precursor of miR‐24 and promoted miR‐24 expression. A negative correlation between miR‐24‐3p expression level and PPAR‐β expression level in rats' burnt dermal tissues was observed. Our findings reveal that miR‐24‐3p is conducive to rehabilitating the denatured dermis, which may be beneficial in providing effective therapy of skin burns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent aluminum oxynitride (AlON) ceramic was successfully fabricated without doping sintering additive by the pressureless sintering method. Γ‐Al2O3 nano‐powder that can be assimilated by the AlON matrix was used for promoting the densification of AlON during the sintering. The sintering behavior of AlON and the effects of γ‐Al2O3 nano‐powder on the phase, hardness, and transmittance of AlON have been investigated in detail. The mechanisms of γ‐Al2O3 nano‐powder on the AlON green body modifying and the sintering promoting are revealed. The transmittance of the AlON ceramic is dramatically enhanced by doping γ‐Al2O3 nano‐powder and the 2 mm thick sample doped with 2.5 wt% γ‐Al2O3 nano‐powder shows an inline transmittance above 81% at 1500 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]