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Viral infection can regulate the cell cycle, thereby promoting viral replication. Hijacking and altering the cell cycle are important for the virus to establish and maintain a latent infection. Previously, Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV)-latently infected P8-Se301-C1 cells, which grew more slowly than Se301 cells and interfered with homologous SeMNNPV superinfection, were established. However, the effects of latent and superinfection with baculoviruses on cell cycle progression remain unknown. In this study, the cell cycle profiles of P8-Se301-C1 cells and SeMNPV or Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV)-infected P8-Se301-C1 cells were characterized by flow cytometry. The results showed that replication-related genes MCM4, PCNA, and BAF were down-regulated (p < 0.05) in P8-Se301-C1 cells, and the S phase of P8-Se301-C1 cells was longer than that of Se301 cells. P8-Se301-C1 cells infected with SeMNPV did not arrest in the G2/M phase or affect the expression of Cyclin B and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1). Furthermore, when P8-Se301-C1 cells were infected with SeMNPV after synchronized treatment with hydroxyurea and nocodazole, light microscopy and qRT-PCR analysis showed that, compared with unsynchronized cells and S and G2/M phase cells, SeMNPV-infected P8-Se301-C1 cells in G1 phase induced G2/M phase arrest, and the amount of virus adsorption and intracellular viral DNA replication were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, budded virus (BV) production and occlusion body (OB)-containing cells were both increased at 120 h post-infection (p < 0.05). The expression of Cyclin B and CDK1 was significantly down-regulated at 48 h post-infection (p < 0.05). Finally, the arrest of SeMNPV-infected G1 phase cells in the G2/M phase increased BV production (p < 0.05) and the number of OB-containing cells. In conclusion, G1 phase infection and G2/M arrest are favorable to SeMNPV proliferation in P8-Se301-C1 cells, thereby alleviating the homologous superinfection exclusion. The results contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between baculoviruses and insect cell cycle progression and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sisal fiber exhibits a fibrous and porous structure with significant surface roughness, making it highly suitable for storing phase change materials (PCMs). Its intricate morphology further aids in mitigating the risk of PCM leakage. This research successfully employs vacuum adsorption to encapsulate paraffin within sisal fiber, yielding a potentially cost-effective, durable, and environmentally friendly phase change energy storage medium. A systematic investigation was carried out to evaluate the effects of sisal-to-paraffin mass ratio, fiber length, vacuum level, and negative pressure duration on the loading rate of paraffin. The experimental results demonstrate that a paraffin loading rate of 8 wt% can be achieved by subjecting a 3 mm sisal fiber to vacuum adsorption with 16 wt% paraffin for 1 h at −0.1 MPa. Through the utilization of nano-CT imaging enhancement technology, along with petrographic microscopy, this study elucidates the mechanism underlying paraffin storage within sisal fiber during vacuum adsorption. The observations reveal that a substantial portion of paraffin is primarily stored within the pores of the fiber, while a smaller quantity is firmly adsorbed onto its surface, thus yielding a durable phase change energy storage medium. The research findings contribute to both the theoretical foundations and the available practical guidance for the fabrication and implementation of paraffin/sisal fiber composite phase change energy storage mediums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing technology, we constructed a transgenic mouse model to express specific fluorescent protein in pancreatic β cells, which harbor tdTomato exogenous gene downstream of the Ins2 promoter in C57BL/6 J mice. The Ins2-specific single-guide RNA-targeted exon2 was designed for the CRISPR/Cas9 system and Donor vector was constructed at the same time. Then Cas9, sgRNA, and Donor vector were microinjected in vitro into the mouse zygotes that were implanted into pseudo-pregnant mice. We obtained homozygotes through mating heterozygotes, and verified the knockin effect through genotype identification, in vivo imaging, and frozen section. Six F0 mice and stable inherited Ins2-IRES-tdTomato F1 were obtained. Genome sequencing results showed that the knockin group had no change in the Ins2 exon compared with the control group, while only the base sequence of tdTomato was added and no base mutation occurred. However, in vivo imaging and frozen section did not observe the expression of red fluorescent protein (RFP), and the protein expression of knockin gene tdTomato was negative. As a result, the expressions of tdTomato protein and fluorescence intensity were low and the detection threshold was not reached. In the CRISP/Cas9 technique, the exogenous fragment of IRES connection would affect the transcription level of the preceding gene, which in turn would lead to low-level expression of the downstream gene and affect the effect of gene insertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Purpose: Challenges remain in dose accumulation for cervical cancer radiotherapy combined with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy (BT) as there are many large and complex organ deformations between different treatments. This study aims to improve deformable image registration (DIR) accuracy with the introduction of multi-metric objectives for dose accumulation of EBRT and BT. (2) Materials and methods: Twenty cervical cancer patients treated with EBRT (45–50 Gy/25 fractions) and high-dose-rate BT (≥20 Gy in 4 fractions) were included for DIR. The multi-metric DIR algorithm included an intensity-based metric, three contour-based metrics, and a penalty term. Nonrigid B-spine transformation was used to transform the planning CT images from EBRT to the first BT, with a six-level resolution registration strategy. To evaluate its performance, the multi-metric DIR was compared with a hybrid DIR provided by commercial software. The DIR accuracy was measured by the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and Hausdorff distance (HD) between deformed and reference organ contours. The accumulated maximum dose of 2 cc (D2cc) of the bladder and rectum was calculated and compared to simply addition of D2cc from EBRT and BT (ΔD2cc). (3) Results: The mean DSC of all organ contours for the multi-metric DIR were significantly higher than those for the hybrid DIR (p ≤ 0.011). In total, 70% of patients had DSC > 0.8 using the multi-metric DIR, while 15% of patients had DSC > 0.8 using the commercial hybrid DIR. The mean ΔD2cc of the bladder and rectum for the multi-metric DIR were 3.25 ± 2.29 and 3.54 ± 2.02 GyEQD2, respectively, whereas those for the hybrid DIR were 2.68 ± 2.56 and 2.32 ± 3.25 GyEQD2, respectively. The multi-metric DIR resulted in a much lower proportion of unrealistic D2cc than the hybrid DIR (2.5% vs. 17.5%). (4) Conclusions: Compared with the commercial hybrid DIR, the introduced multi-metric DIR significantly improved the registration accuracy and resulted in a more reasonable accumulated dose distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficient control of thermal comfort has been already an important part of residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, the optimisation of energy saving control for thermal comfort is not an easy task due to the complex dynamics of HVAC systems, the dynamics of thermal comfort and the trade-off between energy saving and thermal comfort. To solve the above problem, we propose a deep reinforcement learning-based thermal comfort control method in multi-zone residential HVAC. In this paper, firstly we design a SVR-DNN model, consisting of Support Vector Regression and a Deep Neural Network to predict thermal comfort value. Then, we apply Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) based on the output of the SVR-DNN model to achieve an optimal HVAC thermal comfort control strategy. This method can minimise energy consumption while satisfying occupants' thermal comfort. The experimental results show that our method can improve thermal comfort prediction performance by 20.5% compared with DNN; compared with deep Q-network (DQN), energy consumption and thermal comfort violation can be reduced by 3.52% and 64.37% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the efficacy of uterine artery embolization (UAE) in the treatment of uterine fibroid and share the experience of transvaginal fibroid expulsion (FE) after UAE. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the changes in uterine and fibroid volume in 152 patients with symptomatic uterine fibroid after UAE at Fujian Provincial Hospital and Fujian Longyan People Hospital from March 2014 to March 2020. After a 12-month follow-up, the improvement in postoperative clinical symptoms and the incidence of complications were evaluated. We also shared the clinical features and imaging findings of four patients with FE after UAE. Results: All 152 patients successfully underwent UAE. After a 12-month follow-up, the postoperative volumes of the uterus and fibroid at 3, 6, and 12 months were significantly reduced or disappeared compared to those before surgery (P < 0.05). Clinical symptoms, such as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, prolonged menstrual period, anemia, increased leucorrhea, pelvic discomfort, and urinary tract compression, were significantly improved after UAE. Among the 152 patients, the incidences of postoperative fever, nausea, vomiting, lower abdominal pain, and increased vaginal secretion were 7.89%, 7.24%, 3.95%, 19.08%, and 4.61%, respectively. Additionally, there were six cases of FE, with an incidence of 3.95%. Three cases of fibroid specimens and pathological images of fibroid biopsy, which were expelled through the vagina, were also provided. Conclusion: UAE is a satisfactory alternative surgical method for symptomatic uterine fibroid with definitive efficacy and high safety. However, it is necessary to guard against the occurrence of postoperative complications such as FE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a common phenomenon in oil and gas industries. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) often leads to MIC and oilfield acidification. Glutaraldehyde is a highly effective biocide, which is used to kill SRB. In this paper, the effect of glutaraldehyde as a biocide against the MIC of X80 steel has been studied by weight-loss tests, electrochemical measurements, and surface analysis techniques. The results show that glutaraldehyde can effectively alleviate the MIC problem caused by SRB. After adding 100 parts per million (ppm) of glutaraldehyde, the number of SRB cells and the corrosion rate of samples decrease significantly. The damage of pitting corrosion caused by SRB on the surface of X80 steel is controlled by glutaraldehyde. Electrochemical measurements corroborate the weight-loss measured data and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black hole shadow and gravitational lensing play important roles in testing gravitational theories in the strong field regime. As the first-order modifications from quantum gravity, the nonlocality can be manifested by black hole shadow and gravitational lensing. For example, the nonlocal parameter introduced by nonlocality will affect the shape and size of the black hole shadow, and also affect the deflection angle of light rays. In this paper, we mainly investigate the effects of the nonlocality on the black hole shadow and the gravitational lensing for two types of rotating black holes in nonlocal gravity. It is found that the size of the black hole shadow decreases with the nonlocal parameter since the nonlocality weakens the gravitational constant, and the shape of the shadow becomes more deformed with the increase in the nonlocal parameter. However, if the rotation parameter is small, the shape of the shadow is almost a circle even though the nonlocal parameter approaches its maximum. The energy emission rate in both models is also studied. The results show that there is a peak for each curve and the peak decreases and shifts to the low frequency with the increase in the nonlocal parameter. In addition, we also explore the shadow of both types of black holes surrounded by a nonmagnetized pressureless plasma which satisfies the separability condition. It is found that the plasma has a frequency-dependent dispersive effect on the size and shape of the black hole shadow. For the gravitational lensing, we find that the nonlocal parameter of model A makes a positive contribution to the deflection angle, which can be compared with the contribution of the rotation parameter, while the nonlocal parameter of model B makes a negative contribution which can be ignored. These results may be helpful for probing nonlocal gravity in future observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chest X-ray (CXR) is widely used to diagnose conditions affecting the chest, its contents, and its nearby structures. In this study, we used a private data set containing 1630 CXR images with disease labels; most of the images were disease-free, but the others contained multiple sites of abnormalities. Here, we used deep convolutional neural network (CNN) models to extract feature representations and to identify possible diseases in these images. We also used transfer learning combined with large open-source image data sets to resolve the problems of insufficient training data and optimize the classification model. The effects of different approaches of reusing pretrained weights (model finetuning and layer transfer), source data sets of different sizes and similarity levels to the target data (ImageNet, ChestX-ray, and CheXpert), methods integrating source data sets into transfer learning (initiating, concatenating, and co-training), and backbone CNN models (ResNet50 and DenseNet121) on transfer learning were also assessed. The results demonstrated that transfer learning applied with the model finetuning approach typically afforded better prediction models. When only one source data set was adopted, ChestX-ray performed better than CheXpert; however, after ImageNet initials were attached, CheXpert performed better. ResNet50 performed better in initiating transfer learning, whereas DenseNet121 performed better in concatenating and co-training transfer learning. Transfer learning with multiple source data sets was preferable to that with a source data set. Overall, transfer learning can further enhance prediction capabilities and reduce computing costs for CXR images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acetylcholine (ACh) and norepinephrine (NE) are representative neurotransmitters of parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves, respectively, that antagonize each other to coregulate internal body functions. This also includes the control of different kinds of hormone secretion from pancreatic islets. However, the molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated, and whether innervation in islets is abnormal in diabetes mellitus also remains unclear. Methods and results: Immunofluorescence colocalization and islet perfusion were performed and the results demonstrated that ACh/NE and their receptors were highly expressed in islet and rapidly regulated different hormones secretion. Phosphorylation is considered an important posttranslational modification in islet innervation and it was identified by quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses in this study. The phosphorylated islet proteins were found involved in many biological and pathological processes, such as synaptic signalling transduction, calcium channel opening and insulin signalling pathway. Then, the kinases were predicted by motif analysis and further screened and verified by kinase‐specific siRNAs in different islet cell lines (αTC1‐6, Min6 and TGP52). After functional verification, Ksr2 and Pkacb were considered the key kinases of ACh and NE in insulin secretion, and Cadps, Mlxipl and Pdcd4 were the substrates of these kinases measured by immunofluorescence co‐staining. Then, the decreased expression of receptors, kinases and substrates of ACh and NE were found in diabetic mice and the aberrant rhythm in insulin secretion could be improved by combined interventions on key receptors (M3 (pilocarpine) or α2a (guanfacine)) and kinases (Ksr2 or Pkacb). Conclusions: Abnormal innervation was closely associated with the degree of islet dysfunction in diabetic mice and the aberrant rhythm in insulin secretion could be ameliorated significantly after intervention with key receptors and kinases in the early stage of diabetes mellitus, which may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for diabetes mellitus in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterotrimeric G proteins function as key players in guard cell signaling to many stimuli, including ultraviolet B (UV-B) and ethylene, but whether guard cell G protein signaling is activated by the only one potential G protein-coupled receptor, GCR1, is still unclear. Here, we found that gcr1 null mutants showed defects in UV-B- and ethylene-induced stomatal closure and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) in guard cells, but these defects could be rescued by the application of a Gα activator or overexpression of a constitutively active form of Gα subunit GPA1 (cGPA1). Moreover, the exogenous application of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or NO triggered stomatal closure in gcr1 mutants and cGPA1 transgenic plants in the absence or presence of UV-B or ethylene, but exogenous ethylene could not rescue the defect of gcr1 mutants in UV-B-induced stomatal closure, and gcr1 mutants did not affect UV-B-induced ethylene production in Arabidopsis leaves. These results indicate that GCR1 positively controls UV-B- and ethylene-induced stomatal closure by activating GPA1-dependent ROS and NO production in guard cells and that ethylene acts upstream of GCR1 to transduce UV-B guard cell signaling, which establishes the existence of a classic paradigm of G protein signaling in guard cell signaling to UV-B and ethylene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the coninuous improvement and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, this technology has been used in the asset management of companies. To improve the asset management level of Chinese start-ups, firstly, back-propagation neural network (BPNN) has been studied in depth, and an evaluation system of the company's asset quality has been established. Secondly, the BPNN is integrated with the evaluation indicators of asset quality, and an evaluation model of asset quality based on BPNN is constructed. Next, start-up A is taken as the experimental object; the evaluation score of the asset quality of A company is input into the model, which proves that there is still a certain gap between the asset management level of start-ups and mature companies. Finally, to find out the problems of the company's asset quality, the traditional financial analysis method is used to carry out a specific microanalysis of the evaluation indicators of its asset quality. In view of the existing problems, suggestions are put forward for prudent investment, improve inventory operation efficiency, increase investment in R&D and innovation, improve the quality of sales outlets, and increase the proportion of high-quality intangible assets. The asset quality evaluation system for start-ups established here includes 19 evaluation indicators. The BPNN-based asset quality evaluation model selects 5 mature companies in the same industry as sample companies. The scores of the evaluation indicators of asset quality of the 5 sample companies in the past three years are normalized and input into the model. The model contains 19 nodes of the input layer, 39 nodes of the hidden layer, and 1 node of the output layer. The target error rate is 0.001, the learning rate is 0.1, the number of training times is 1000, and the training function is the trainlm function. This research has a certain reference for the application of AI technology in the asset management of start-ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the drying quality and obtain a crispy texture of papaya slices, microwave vacuum drying (MVD) was studied in this research. The effects of different slice thickness (3, 6, 9, 12 mm), microwave power density (6, 8, 10, 12 W/g), drying temperature (50, 55, 60, 65, 70°C), and vacuum degree in relative pressure (−75, −80, −85, −90 kPa) on the drying characteristics and comprehensive quality of papaya slice were discussed. The Box–Behnken central combination experiments were designed and the response surface optimization analysis was carried out. According to the results of the response surface experiments, the impact factors during papaya slices drying on the comprehensive score were ranked from largest to smallest as follows: microwave power density, vacuum degree, and drying temperature. The fragility and hardness of papaya slices showed an upward trend with the increase of thickness. The optimum technologic parameters were set at the microwave power density of 10 W/g, vacuum degree of −90 kPa, drying temperature of 54.58°C, and slice thickness of 6 mm. The comprehensive score F can be up to the maximum value of 8.80 with the deviation from the verification test of 4.4%, and the papaya slices with obvious pore structure and remarkable crispness were obtained. Novelty impact statement: Microwave vacuum drying technology combines the advantages of microwave drying and vacuum drying, which has remarkable drying efficiency through internal heating and promotes the slices to form a crispy texture. In this work, the influence of different factors on the fragility and hardness quality of papaya chips were explored firstly. Increasing drying temperature has no significant influence on the fragility and hardness value. Meanwhile, the hardness value went up while the fragility fluctuated slightly as the power density was added. The variation trend of papaya porosity microstructure gradually expanded with the increase of vacuum degree. The results provided theoretical support for the application of microwave vacuum drying technology in papaya crisp chips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the great changes of social development environment and the lack of psychological preparation of many students, many college students have many psychological problems in the process of adapting to the environment. If the problem cannot be solved in time, it will seriously affect their future adaptation and mental health. In order to solve the psychological problems of college students, the networked dynamic model constructed by using big data modeling technology can realize the system functions required by users and model the model accordingly. The main research direction of this paper is to study the influencing factors and change trend of college students' mental health under the background of big data. In the network-oriented scenario, the missing value of the data is supplemented, and the sequence prediction technology is added to the data. Finally, by adding corresponding data samples to the improved big data dynamic model, the results of the addition completion method and data sequence prediction technology are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficient control of thermal comfort has been already an important part of residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, the optimisation of energy saving control for thermal comfort is not an easy task due to the complex dynamics of HVAC systems, the dynamics of thermal comfort and the trade-off between energy saving and thermal comfort. To solve the above problem, we propose a deep reinforcement learning-based thermal comfort control method in multi-zone residential HVAC. In this paper, firstly we design a SVR-DNN model, consisting of Support Vector Regression and a Deep Neural Network to predict thermal comfort value. Then, we apply Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) based on the output of the SVR-DNN model to achieve an optimal HVAC thermal comfort control strategy. This method can minimise energy consumption while satisfying occupants' thermal comfort. The experimental results show that our method can improve thermal comfort prediction performance by 20.5% compared with DNN; compared with deep Q-network (DQN), energy consumption and thermal comfort violation can be reduced by 3.52% and 64.37% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating CD25hi B cells, a subset of regulatory B cells in humans, are closely related to inflammation and autoimmune diseases. This study is aimed at investigating the alternation of CD25hi Bregs and their correlation with CD4 effector and regulatory T cells in T1D individuals. We included 68 autoantibody-positive T1D and 68 age-matched healthy individuals with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and assessed them with CD25hi Bregs and CD4 effector or regulatory T cells by flow cytometry. Here, we demonstrate that the frequency of CD25hi Bregs was significantly decreased in T1D subjects (P = 0.0016), but they were not affected by disease status (age at T1D diagnosis or duration) or T1D risk loci (rs2104286 or rs12251307) in IL2RA (all P > 0.05). Moreover, higher IgD (P = 0.043) and lower CD27 (P = 0.0003) expression was observed in CD25hi Bregs of T1D individuals, but not the expression of IgM, CD24, or CD38 (all P > 0.05). Although there was no correlation between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 effector T cell subsets in either T1D or healthy individuals (all P > 0.05), we found a positive correlation between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 Tregs in healthy controls (Sp. r = 0.3544 , P = 0.0249), which disappeared in T1D subjects (Sp. r = 0.137 , P = 0.401). In conclusion, our results suggest that decreased CD25hi Bregs and alternation of their phenotypes are features of T1D regardless of disease duration and T1D genetic risk loci, and an impaired balance between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 Tregs might contribute to the pathogenesis of T1D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanowire (Ag NW)-based transparent back electrodes prepared via all solution-process are promising for bifacial and semitransparent perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the inadequate electrical contact between the silver nanowires themselves and the contact with substrate leads to reduced overall solar cell performance; meanwhile, serious corrosion of Ag NW in ambient environment restricting the further applications. In this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a binder in Ag NW electrode significantly enhances the conductivity and transparency at the same time improving the interface electric contact. The PSC with PVP modified Ag NW electrode demonstrated frontside and backside efficiency approaching 18 % and 14.1 % (AM1.5, 1 Sun), respectively, which achieves 82 % efficiency with normal Ag device and bifacial factor of 79 %. The long-term storage stability of PSC is also improved by PVP protection. The final device structure is ITO/Ni O x /MeO/(FA0.92MA0.08)0.95Cs0.05Pb(I0.9Br0.1)3/PEAI/PC61BM/BCP/ Ag NW. This work highlights the method to fabricate robust transparent Ag NW electrode for bifacial perovskite solar cells. • Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in Ag nanowire (Ag NW) electrode significantly enhances the conductivity and transparency. • PVP modified Ag NW electrode improves the interface electric contact and charge transport of the solar cell. • The Perovskite solar cell (PSC) with PVP modified Ag NW electrode demonstrated high efficiency and bifacial factor. • The long-term storage stability of PSC is also improved by PVP protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the mining industry and the overuse of inorganic fertilizers have led to an excess of manganese (Mn) in the soil, thereby, contaminating the soil environment and people's health. On heavy metal-contaminated soils, the combined arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)-phytoremediation technique becomes a hotspot because of its environmentally friendly, in situ remediation. AMF inoculation often leads to a decrease in host Mn acquisition, which provides a basis for its application in phytoremediation of contaminated soils. Moreover, the utilization value of native AMF is greater than that of exotic AMF, because native AMF can adapt better to Mn-contaminated soils. In addition to the fact that AMF enhance plant Mn tolerance responses such as regionalization, organic matter chelation, limiting uptake and efflux, and so on, AMF also develop plant-independent fungal pathways such as direct biosorption of Mn by mycorrhizal hyphae, fungal Mn transporter genes, and sequestration of Mn by mycorrhizal hyphae, glomalin, and arbuscule-containing root cortical cells, which together mitigate excessive Mn toxicity to plants. Clarifying AMF-plant interactions under Mn stress will provide support for utilizing AMF as a phytoremediation in Mn-contaminated soils. The review reveals in detail how AMF develop its own mechanisms for responding to excess Mn and how AMF enhance plant Mn tolerance, accompanied by perspectives for future research. [Display omitted] • AMF inoculation diversely affects host Mn levels, dominated by reduced Mn uptake. • Mn-contaminated soils reduce AMF diversity, along with Glomus as the dominant genus and native AMF more tolerant. • AMF enhances plant Mn tolerance such as regionalization and chelation. • AMF hyphae have direct biosorption and sequestration of Mn. • Fungal Mn transporters, glomalin, and arbuscule-contained cortical cells mitigate Mn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Both laser/chlorine and laser/PS systems could efficiently degrade CBZ. • HO·, Cl· and ClO· were dominant for CBZ degradation in laser/chlorine system. • CBZ degradation in laser/PS system was primarily attributed to HO· and SO 4. -. • The degradation pathways of CBZ were proposed based on DFT analysis. Residual carbamazepine (CBZ) in water is difficult to remove through conventional treatment processes, threatening the safety of drinking water. Ultraviolet-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) have shown promise in removing refractory organic pollutants, while the low energy and efficiency of traditional mercury lamps hinder their practical applications. In this study, the performance and mechanism of an intensive-energy light source, UV laser, were systematically explored in UV-AOPs (laser/chlorine, laser/persulfate (PS)). It was found that UV laser exhibited a significantly activating ability for chlorine and PS due to its precise wavelength and high pulse energy. When exposed to UV laser (266 nm, 4.2 mW/cm2) combined with 200 μM chlorine and PS, the kinetic rate constants for the degradation of 10 μM CBZ were determined to be 3.160 × 10-3 and 1.227 × 10-3 s−1, respectively. The degradation of CBZ was dominated by hydroxyl radicals (60.98 %) and sulfate radicals (23.15 %) in laser/PS system, while in laser/chlorine system, hydroxyl radicals (54.90 %), chlorine radicals (27.43 %), and chlorine oxide radicals (13.81 %) were primary reactive species. Furthermore, both the laser/chlorine and laser/PS systems demonstrated compatibility with a wide pH range of 5.0–9.0 and high resistance to anionic interference. Moreover, the electrophilic and nucleophilic sites of CBZ and energy barrier of the initial reaction were calculated based on the density functional theory (DFT). Additionally, the degradation pathways of CBZ and the toxicity of transformation products in laser/chlorine and laser/PS processes were proposed and evaluated. These results demonstrated that the UV laser-based processes exhibited promising prospects in eliminating refractory organic pollutants in water treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell transplantation has brought about a breakthrough in the treatment of nerve injuries, and the efficacy of cell transplantation compared to drug and surgical therapies is very exciting. In terms of transplantation targets, the classic cells include neural stem cells (NSCs) and Schwann cells, while a class of cells that can exist and renew throughout the life of the nervous system - olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) - has recently been discovered in the olfactory system. OECs not only encircle the olfactory nerves but also act as macrophages and play an innate immune role. OECs can also undergo reprogramming to transform into neurons and survive and mature after transplantation. Currently, many studies have confirmed the repairing effect of OECs after transplantation into injured nerves, and safe and effective results have been obtained in clinical trials. However, the specific repair mechanism of OECs among them is not quite clear. For this purpose, we focus here on the repair mechanisms of OECs, which are summarized as follows: neuroprotection, secretion of bioactive factors, limitation of inflammation and immune regulation, promotion of myelin and axonal regeneration, and promotion of vascular proliferation. In addition, integrating the aspects of harvesting, purification, and prognosis, we found that OECs may be more suitable for transplantation than NSCs and Schwann cells, but this does not completely discard the value of these classical cells. Overall, OECs are considered to be one of the most promising transplantation targets for the treatment of nerve injury disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metal–organic framework (MOF) built from a combination of metal cations, neutral azole ligands and sulphate anions, [Cu2(DHBDI)3(SO4)2]n (1, DHBDI = 1H,5H-benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]diimidazole), was synthesized. MOF 1 exhibits good chemical stability in acids, bases and boiling water while showing high hydrophilicity. Meanwhile, MOF 1 exhibits a proton conductivity of 1.14 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 90 °C and 98% RH, among the best for MOF materials with uncoordinated N sites. Temperature-dependent conductivity measurements suggest a vehicle mechanism (Ea = 0.64 eV) for proton transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating CD25hi B cells, a subset of regulatory B cells in humans, are closely related to inflammation and autoimmune diseases. This study is aimed at investigating the alternation of CD25hi Bregs and their correlation with CD4 effector and regulatory T cells in T1D individuals. We included 68 autoantibody-positive T1D and 68 age-matched healthy individuals with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and assessed them with CD25hi Bregs and CD4 effector or regulatory T cells by flow cytometry. Here, we demonstrate that the frequency of CD25hi Bregs was significantly decreased in T1D subjects (P = 0.0016), but they were not affected by disease status (age at T1D diagnosis or duration) or T1D risk loci (rs2104286 or rs12251307) in IL2RA (all P > 0.05). Moreover, higher IgD (P = 0.043) and lower CD27 (P = 0.0003) expression was observed in CD25hi Bregs of T1D individuals, but not the expression of IgM, CD24, or CD38 (all P > 0.05). Although there was no correlation between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 effector T cell subsets in either T1D or healthy individuals (all P > 0.05), we found a positive correlation between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 Tregs in healthy controls (Sp. r = 0.3544, P = 0.0249), which disappeared in T1D subjects (Sp. r = 0.137, P = 0.401). In conclusion, our results suggest that decreased CD25hi Bregs and alternation of their phenotypes are features of T1D regardless of disease duration and T1D genetic risk loci, and an impaired balance between CD25hi Bregs and CD4 Tregs might contribute to the pathogenesis of T1D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Growing studies have demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in tumor progression. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential roles of lncRNA LINC00958 (LINC00958) and its biological functions in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods. The expression of LINC00958 in 11 cases of EOC and adjacent nontumor specimens and five cell lines was detected by qRT-PCR. CCK-8, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays were conducted to study the cell viabilities of EOC cells. Wound scratch and transwell analyses were carried out for the examination of cell invasion and migration of EOC cells. The targeting associations between LINC00958 and STAT1 were demonstrated by ChIP analyses combined with luciferase reporter assays. The related proteins of Wnt/β-catenin signaling were determined using RT-PCR. Results. Higher levels of LINC00958 were observed in EOC tissues and cell lines. Our data also revealed that high LINC00958 expression was partly induced by STAT1. Functionally, knockdown of LINC00958 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of EOC cells. Mechanistic investigation showed that the inhibitory effect of LINC00958 knockdown on EOC cells was mediated by the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Conclusion. Our findings suggested that STAT1-induced overexpression of LINC00958 promoted EOC progression by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of an adverse maternal environment (AME) in conjunction with a postweaning Western diet (WD) in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adult offspring has not been explored. Likewise, the molecular mechanisms associated with AME-induced NAFLD have not been studied. The fatty acid translocase or cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) has been implicated to play a causal role in the pathogenesis of WD-induced steatosis. However, it is unknown if CD36 plays a role in AME-induced NAFLD.Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the isolated and additive impact of AME and postweaning WD on the expression and DNA methylation of hepatic Cd36 in association with the development of NAFLD in a novel mouse model.Methods: AME constituted maternal WD and maternal stress, whereas the control (Con) group had neither. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed a WD [40% fat energy, 29.1% sucrose energy, and 0.15% cholesterol (wt/wt)] 5 wk prior to pregnancy and throughout lactation. Non invasive variable stressors (random frequent cage changing, limited bedding, novel object, etc.) were applied to WD dams during the last third of pregnancy to produce an AME. Con dams consumed the control diet (CD) (10% fat energy, no sucrose or cholesterol) and were not exposed to stress. Male offspring were weaned onto either CD or WD, creating 4 experimental groups: Con-CD, Con-WD, AME-CD, and AME-WD, and evaluated for metabolic and molecular parameters at 120 d of age.Results: AME and postweaning WD independently and additively increased the development of hepatic steatosis in adult male offspring. AME and WD independently and additively upregulated hepatic CD36 protein and mRNA expression and hypomethylated promoters 2 and 3 of the Cd36 gene.Conclusions: Using a mouse AME model together with postweaning WD, this study demonstrates a role for CD36 in AME-induced NAFLD in offspring and reveals 2 regions of environmentally induced epigenetic heterogeneity within Cd36. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the thick brane system in the so-called f(Q) gravity, where the gravitational interaction was encoded by the nonmetricity Q like scalar curvature R in general relativity. With a special choice of f (Q) = Q - b Q n , we find that the thick brane system can be solved analytically with the first-order formalism, where the complicated second-order differential equation is transformed to several first-order differential equations. Moreover, the stability of the thick brane system under tensor perturbation is also investigated. It is shown that the tachyonic states are absent and the graviton zero mode can be localized on the brane. Thus, the four-dimensional Newtonian potential can be recovered at low energy. Besides, the corrections of the massive graviton Kaluza–Klein modes to the Newtonian potential are also analyzed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rolling bearings are an important part of problems that often occur in rotating machinery. Their fault conditions are complex and difficult to diagnose. Aiming at the problem that small sample learning has a large difference between the true feature value and the target feature value and the generalization ability is weak, this paper proposes a small sample learning model that combines semi-supervised variational autoencoder and LightGBM classification model. The Bayesian optimization and improvement algorithm based on Gaussian process is used to optimize the LightGBM hyperparameters, thus effectively solving the defects such as unstable performance, weak ability of extracting features, and overfitting in small sample learning. Comparative verification on the bearing experimental data set released by the Western Reserve University in the United States shows that the method has better diagnostic accuracy when facing small sample data space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With escalating demand for urban parking structures, the columns within these structures are more susceptible to hazards resulting from vehicle collisions compared to other public buildings. Moreover, it is crucial to emphasize the significant increase in the risk of collapse in parking structures subjected to vehicle collisions, primarily owing to their heightened dynamic response and low required bearing capacity. Consequently, to prevent vehicles from directly crashing on the columns, besides providing an alternate load path, urgent implementation of protective measures utilizing energy-absorbing materials is necessary for parking structures. This study proposes a honeycomb panel-based (HP) protective device for steel parking structures aimed at absorbing energy and mitigating damage resulting from vehicle collisions. A simplified multi-scale simulation, considering reasonable material models and boundary conditions, is employed to study the performance of parking structures under transverse impact. The deformation patterns, impact loads, transverse deflections, internal energies, and horizontal reactions are compared for the parking structures with and without the HP protective devices. Innovatively, a classical progressive collapse loading scheme is employed to simulate the vertical residual resistance of the beam-column substructure after the transverse impact. Finally, a comprehensive investigation is conducted on the effects of critical parameters of HP protective device. The results demonstrate that a properly designed HP protective device can significantly enhance the resistance of parking structures to transverse impact, thereby effectively mitigating the risk of progressive collapse in such structures after impact. • A honeycomb panel-based (HP) protective device for steel parking structures is proposed. • A simplified multi-scale simulation considering reasonable material and boundary is employed. • A vertical residual resistance of substructure after transverse impact is innovatively simulated. • The HP protective device with a reasonable design can present a noticeable protective effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the homogeneity testing problem of binomial proportions for stratified partially validated data obtained by double-sampling method with two fallible classifiers. Several test procedures, including the weighted-least-squares test with/without log-transformation, logit-transformation and double log-transformation, and likelihood ratio test and score test, are developed to test the homogeneity under two models, distinguished by conditional independence assumption of two classifiers. Simulation results show that score test performs better than other tests in the sense that the empirical size is generally controlled around the nominal level, and hence be recommended to practical applications. Other tests also perform well when both binomial proportions and sample sizes are not small. Approximate sample sizes based on score test, likelihood ratio test and the weighted-least-squares test with double log-transformation are generally accurate in terms of the empirical power and type I error rate with the estimated sample sizes, and hence be recommended. An example from the malaria study is illustrated by the proposed methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous microneurographic studies found that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) increased in normotensive pregnant women and was even greater in women with gestational hypertension and preeclampsia during the third trimester. It is possible that sympathetic activation during the latter months of normal pregnancy helps return arterial pressure to non-pregnant levels. However, when the increase in sympathetic activity is excessive, hypertension ensues. The key question that must be addressed is whether sympathetic activation develops early during pregnancy and remains high throughout gestation, or whether this sympathetic overactivity only occurs at term, providing the substrate for preeclampsia and other pregnancy-associated cardiovascular complications. Methods: This was a literature review of autonomic neural control during pregnancy. Results: Recent work from our laboratory and other laboratories showed that in healthy women resting MSNA increased in early pregnancy, increased further in late pregnancy, and returned to the pre-pregnancy levels shortly after delivery. We found that women who exhibited excessive sympathetic activation during the first trimester, before any clinical signs and symptoms appeared, developed gestational hypertension at term. We also found that the level of corin, an atrial natriuretic peptide-converting enzyme, was increased in the maternal circulation, especially during late pregnancy, as a homeostatic response to elevated sympathetic activity. Conclusion: These findings provide important insight into the neural mechanisms underlying hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. With this knowledge, early prevention or treatment targeted to the appropriate pathophysiology may be initiated, which may reduce maternal and fetal death or morbidity, as well as cardiovascular risks in women later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The doping of silicon (Si) has been proved to improve the bioactivity of Ca-P ceramics. In light of this thinking, in the present study, Ca-P coatings with La2O3 by addition of 10 wt% SiO2 and 10 wt% diatomaceous earth (DE) were fabricated by laser cladding on Ti6Al4V, respectively. Coating doped without Si was also fabricated as the comparison group for the experiment. The effect of two different Si sources on the surface morphology, microstructure, microhardness, and bioactivity was systematically studied. The experimental results show that the Si-doped coating is of rough surface morphology, and the addition of DE significantly reduces the number of cracks and improves the microhardness. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that the amount of bioactive phase tricalcium-phosphate (TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) reaches maximum in the DE-doped coating. After soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF), the precipitate of bone-like apatite in the DE-doped coating is significantly higher than that of the other coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium-based gradient bioceramic coating fabricated by laser cladding has been studied due to its excellent comprehensive performance and potential value in biomaterials. However, pore sizes of the coating prepared using traditional laser cladding technique are typically too small which can reduce its osteogenesis performance. To address this issue, a porous gradient bioceramic coating is successfully prepared on a titanium alloy surface by adding a pore-forming agent to the coating powder with subsequent laser cladding process. The bioceramic coating prepared with the optimized processing conditions (output power P = 1.8 kW, scanning speed V = 240 mm/min, and spot diameter D = 4 mm) exhibits a flat surface that comprises of a uniform enamel microstructure. The coating is metallurgically bonded to the substrate with a low number of microcracks. When the amount of pore-forming agent A = 2.5 wt%, the distribution of pores in coating becomes more uniform. When A = 2.5 to 10 wt%, the most probable pore size is 2.5 μm. It is shown that pore-forming agent quantity A = 2.5 wt% has a significant advantage in producing more large-sized pores in the coating. The number of pores in coating shows a trend of decreasing first, then increasing, and then decreasing. The coating phase consists of HA, β-TCP, TiO 2 , CaTiO 3 , etc., which is consistent with the coating material without pore-forming agent. In general, microhardness gradually decreases with increasing pore-forming agent quantity. The maximum microhardness values of coatings with and without pore-forming agent are 976 HV 0.2 and 2086 HV 0.2 , respectively. Therefore, with the addition of a suitable amount of pore-forming agent, a porous bioceramic coating can be fabricated by an optimized laser cladding technique. This porous morphology will be beneficial for improving the osteogenic properties of the coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse maternal environment (AME) and high‐fat diet in early childhood increase the risk of cognitive impairment and depression later in life. Cognitive impairment associates with hippocampal dysfunction. A key regulator of hippocampal function is the glucocorticoid receptor. Increased hippocampal GR expression associates with cognitive impairment and depression. Transcriptional control of GR relies in part upon the DNA methylation status at multiple alternative initiation sites that are tissue specific, with exon 1.7 being hippocampal specific. Increased exon 1.7 expression associates with upregulated hippocampal GR expression in early life stress animal models. However, the effects of AME combined with postweaning western diet (WD) on offspring behaviors and the expression of GR exon 1 variants in the hippocampus are unknown. We hypothesized that AME and postweaning WD would impair cognitive function and cause depression‐like behavior in offspring in conjunction with dysregulated hippocampal expression of total GR and exon 1.7 variant in mice. We found that AME‐WD impaired learning and memory in male adult offspring concurrently with increased hippocampal expression of total GR and GR 1.7. We also found that increased GR 1.7 expression was associated with decreased DNA methylation at the GR 1.7 promoter. We speculate that decreased DNA methylation at the GR 1.7 promoter plays a role in AME‐WD induced increase of GR in the hippocampus. This increased GR expression may subsequently contribute to hippocampus dysfunction and lead to the cognitive impairment seen in this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a dynamic theoretical viscoplastic model of voids subjected to external dynamic tensile loadings. The material viscosity and temperature are factors that are considered in the dynamic evolution of voids in viscoplastic materials. We focus on the thermal effect; the temperature affects the thermal softening of the material strength and also the material viscosity. Viscous flow is the dominant growth mechanism under high stresses and rates based on the results of the calculations for dynamic void growth predictions. The factors are independently studied, and the correlations are systematically analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing in the United States, particularly among women. Approximately 60−70% of hypertension in adults may be directly attributed to obesity. In addition, maternal obesity is a major risk factor for hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The underlying mechanisms for the association between obesity and cardiovascular risk are multifactorial, but activation of the sympathetic nervous system is one significant contributing factor. This brief review summarizes the current knowledge on sex differences in sympathetic activity in obesity and its related hypertension, with a focus on studies in humans. Evidence suggests that abdominal visceral fat, rather than subcutaneous fat, is related to augmented sympathetic activity regardless of sex. Race/ethnicity may affect the relationship between obesity and sympathetic activity. Obesity‐related hypertension has an important neurogenic component, which is characterized by sympathetic overactivity. However, sex may influence the association between hypertension and sympathetic overactivity in obese people. Finally, both body weight and sympathetic overactivity seem to be involved in the development of gestational hypertensive disorders in women. Chronic hyperinsulinemia due to insulin resistance, high plasma levels of leptin, and/or obstructive sleep apnea may be responsible for sympathetic overactivity in obesity‐related hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface effect, inertia and thermal softening are important factors affecting the elasto-plastic evolution of voids. In this study, we theoretically examine the dynamic evolution of a nano-void in an elasto-plastic medium, particularly focusing on influences of surface energy, inertia and thermal softening. A two-stage strategy of analyzing surface effect is adopted, i.e. the first stage which is a quasi-static stage from a fictitious stress-free configuration to the actual initial configuration, and the second one which is the dynamic process of deformation under both surface stress and external dynamic loadings. The void will grow dynamically and quickly under high external loading, and the accelerations of material points in the neighborhood of the void are extremely high, resulting in a profound inertia effect. Under impact-like loading conditions, the plastic work done during the elasto-plastic growing process of the void is mainly transformed into heat, leading to thermal softening of material. Furthermore, heat transfer can be well neglected due to the transient characteristic of the problem studied. Tendencies related to all above influence factors are systematically analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver secretes proliferative factors participating compensatory hyperplasia of islets during obesity and insulin resistance. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate intercellular communication by delivering inner factors to recipient cells. This study explored the biological effects of hepatocellular EVs on islet β cells during obesity. Compared with standard chow diet (CD), hepatocellular EVs derived from high-fat diet (HFD) induced obese mice promoted proliferation of β cell line-MIN6 cells, but didn't influence their insulin secretion. Microarray analysis found 13 miRNAs with significantly differential expression in hepatocellular EVs between HFD with CD group. Meanwhile, RNA-sequencing detected 80 genes with significantly differential expression in MIN6 cells treated with HFD and CD hepatocellular EVs respectively. Six miRNAs and 11 potential target genes were pre-screened by synthesizing TargetScan prediction and RNA-sequencing results. After miRNA mimic transfection and testing the expressions of target genes and cell vitality, miR-7218-5p was verified to affect MIN6 cell proliferation through targeting CD74 gene. SiRNA transfection and dual luciferase reporter assay further confirmed the binding and regulation of miRNA-7218-5p on CD74. These findings suggest HFD induced obesity could change miRNA profiles in hepatocellular EVs, which modulate expression of multiple genes and proliferation of MIN6 cells and maybe mediate compensatory hyperplasia of islets. • High-fat diet changes miRNA profiles in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from hepatocytes. • Hepatocellular EVs can modulate genes expression and proliferation of β cell line. • miR-7218-5p in Hepatocellular EVs targets CD74 mediating proliferation of β cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Astronauts returning to earth usually demonstrate reduced orthostatic tolerance when assessed on a tilt table or quiet standing, but no studies have evaluated postflight orthostatic tolerance during activities of daily living, when it is most clinically relevant. Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) variability also is associated with orthostatic intolerance in certain patient populations and can capture clinically significant orthostatic hypotension during activities of daily living, especially when measured on a beat-to-beat basis. We evaluated the impact of prolonged spaceflight on orthostatic tolerance and BP profiles in astronauts.Methods: Ambulatory beat-to-beat BP was recorded using a portable device for multiple 24-hour time periods before, during, and after 6 months of spaceflight in 12 astronauts (4 women; age 48±5 [mean±SD] years). BP variability in the time domain was calculated as the SD. Systolic BP distribution during activities of daily living was characterized by skewness and kurtosis.Results: In contrast with results from previous studies that used tilt tables or stand tests, no astronaut experienced orthostatic intolerance/hypotension during activities of daily living before or after spaceflight. Also, 24-hour systolic BP decreased in space (120±10 mm Hg before spaceflight versus 106±9 mm Hg during spaceflight; P<0.01), but it returned to normal upon landing (122±13 mm Hg). Diastolic BP was unchanged during and after spaceflight. Systolic and diastolic BP variability remained the same before, during, and after spaceflight (both P>0.05). The skewness of systolic BP increased in space (0.74±0.51 versus 1.43±1.00; P=0.001), indicating that signal fluctuations became asymmetrical; however, it returned to preflight levels after landing (0.51±0.42). The kurtosis increased in space (5.01±7.67 versus 11.10±11.79; P=0.010), suggesting that fluctuations concentrated around the mean with a narrow distribution; however, it also returned to preflight levels (2.21±2.56) after return to earth.Conclusions: Given current countermeasures including in-flight exercise training and volume resuscitation on return, no astronauts experienced orthostatic hypotension or intolerance during routine (for landing day) activities in the initial 24 hours after landing following 6 months in space. Prolonged exposure to spaceflight had little impact on systolic BP variability and its distribution, although the latter showed a transient change in space (accompanied by mild relative hypotension), all of which returned to preflight values after return to earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the influence of the parameters for the accelerating Kerr-Newman black hole on the shadows and the constraints, extensively. We find that the rotating parameter a , the charge parameter e , and the inclination angle θ 0 affect the shadow qualitatively similar to that of Kerr-Newman black holes. The result shows that the size of the shadow will scale down with the accelerating factor A. Besides, the factor A also can affect the best viewing angles, which make the observations maximum deviate from θ 0 = π 2 , and the degree of the deviations are less than 1%. Then, we assume the M87* as an accelerating Kerr-Newman black hole with the mass M = 6.5 × 10 9 M ⊙ and the distance r 0 = 16.8 M p c. Combining the EHT observations, we find that neither the observations, circularity deviation Δ C or axial ratio D x can distinguish the accelerating black hole or not. However, the characteristic areal-radius of the shadow curve R a can give corresponding constraints on the parameters of the accelerating Kerr-Newman black hole. The result shows that the bigger accelerating factor A is, the stronger constraints on the rotating parameter a and charged parameter e. The maximum range of the accelerating factor is A r 0 ≤ 0.558 for a accelerating Schwarzschild case with (a / M = e / M = 0) , and for an extremely slow accelerating case (A r 0 ≤ 0.01) , the ranges of rotating parameter a and charged parameter e are a / M ∈ (0 , 1) and e / M ∈ (0 , 0.9). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) sulfide (PNIPAM-S-) brush-tethered and Pd nanoparticle (NP) loaded UiO-66 type NMOF, namely Pd@UiO-66-S-PNIPAM, based on a NMOF–polymer covalent composite approach. The obtained multifunctional composite material can be a highly efficient Pickering emulsifier to stabilize the toluene-in-water emulsion; furthermore, it promotes the biphasic chlorobenzene (CB) dechlorination at the toluene–water interface in excellent yields at room temperature. More importantly, the Pd@UiO-66-S-PNIPAM emulsifier is thermo-responsive and can trigger emulsification at room temperature (25 °C) and demulsification at an elevated temperature (45 °C) of the toluene droplets, which makes product–catalyst in situ separation and recycling feasible. This temperature switchable Pickering emulsion catalytic system can be reused at least five times without any loss of its catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant linear correlation between Ba and Eu contents has been observed in a set of mudrock formations in the lower Cambrian Hetang Formation in South China. Combined with petrographic features and reinvestigation of published data obtained from the same laboratory, the analytical interference of Ba can be excluded as a main factor of this correlation. Electron microprobe analyses (EMPA) have indicated that Ba-rich minerals (hyalophane and cymrite) precipitated from hydrothermal fluids account for the total Ba content. It is evident that significant contribution of both Ba and Eu from hydrothermal fluids is the cause of this linear relationship, while this coexistence is ultimately controlled by their similar chemical properties and abundances in rock sequences along the fluid path. This interpretation was supported by similar linear Ba-Eu correlations retrieved from barite-bearing chert in another area of the Yangtze platform during the same geological period. Therefore, linear Ba-Eu correlations may be more common than previously thought in this area, where hydrothermal activities were active during the specific time interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effects of different atmospheres ( nitrogen and air) and temperature ranges (300 ~ 500 °C, 300 ~ 700 °C and 300 ~ 900 °C ) on the composition and amount of pyrolysis products in paper-making reconstituted tobacco substrates, solid phase microextraction, adsorption-desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods were used for analysis. The results showed that under the nitrogen and air atmospheres, the pyrolysis products of substrates at the range of 300 ~ 700 °C and 300 ~ 900 °C obviously increased when compared with those at the range of 300 ~500 °C . A large number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins were produced in these two temperature ranges. Nicotine was only found in the pyrolysis products of substrates at the range of 300 ~ 500 °C. The contents of furfural and phytadiene were higher at these three temperature ranges. In the same temperature range,under the air atmosphere,the release amount of important cleavage products such as crotonaldehyde, 2-methyl-furan and furfural with relatively low molecular weight was higher than that under nitrogen atmosphere. The relative release of alcohols increased, and the presence of oxygen in air promoted the full combustion of substrates, thereby resulting in the reduction of total pyrolysis products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Recent research has demonstrated that cardiovascular deconditioning (i.e., cardiac atrophy and hypovolemia) contributes significantly to the Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and its functional disability. Therefore, physical reconditioning with exercise training and volume expansion via increased salt and fluid intake should be initiated early in the course of treatment for patients with POTS if possible. The use of horizontal exercise (e.g., rowing, swimming, recumbent bike, etc.) at the beginning is a critical strategy, allowing patients to exercise while avoiding the upright posture that elicits their POTS symptoms. As patients become increasingly fit, the duration and intensity of exercise should be progressively increased, and upright exercise can be gradually added as tolerated. Supervised training is preferable to maximize functional capacity. Other non-pharmacological interventions, which include: 1) chronic volume expansion via sleeping in the head-up position; 2) reduction in venous pooling during orthostasis by lower body compression garments extending at least to the xiphoid or with an abdominal binder; and 3) physical countermeasure maneuvers, such as squeezing a rubber ball, leg crossing, muscle pumping, squatting, negative-pressure breathing, etc., may also be effective in preventing orthostatic intolerance and managing acute clinical symptoms in POTS patients. However, randomized clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacies of these non-pharmacological treatments of POTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-tone frequency modulation spectroscopy (TTFMS) is widely used for gas trace detection with its low noise absorption signal. In this paper we propose and implement the TTFMS scheme for frequency offset locking a single diode laser to an atomic resonance line by using its dispersion signal. The TTFMS theory is first discussed under the assumption that the intermediate modulation frequency is comparable to the linewidth of the absorption feature, and the dependence of the TTFMS absorption and dispersion features on the intermediate modulation frequency and modulation index are investigated theoretically. Based on a fiber-coupled electro-optic modulator (EOM) with two-tone modulation, we experimentally demonstrated the performance of the frequency offset locking method. The result shows a short-term frequency stability of the frequency offset locked laser reached around 1.1 × 10 −11 , with an averaging time of 2 s. This method can find wide applications in fields requiring widely tunable frequency offset locking a single laser to the atomic resonance line, like precision spectroscopy and Raman optics for atom interferometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sodium-ion batteries are widely regarded as an alternative to lithium ion batteries, especially in large-scale energy storage applications. Developing a negative electrode material with high specific capacity and excellent cyclic stability is one of the most pressing problems for sodium-ion batteries. Herein, nitrogen and phosphorous dual-doped graphene aerogel (NPGA) is fabricated via a low temperature phosphidation of NH 2 -rich graphene aerogel precursor. Expanded interlayer spacing of 0.39 nm and high content of pyridinic-N are obtained in this architecture. These features lead to high sodium storage performance of NPGA, however, in a wide potential range. A large reversible capacity of 330 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, and good rate capability of 218 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 and 189 mAh g−1 at 3 A g−1 can be achieved in the potential range from 0.005 to 3.0 V (vs. Na/Na+). Moreover, it delivers ultra-stable capacities of 195 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles and 132 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 2000 cycles. It should be underlined that in practice only half of this capacity values could be utilized in Na-ion accumulators, i.e., the capacity supplied from 0.005 to 1.5 V (vs. Na/Na+). The attractive electrochemical performance should be ascribed to the remarkable capacitive contribution. This strategy would be readily applied to construct high-performance carbonaceous anodes for sodium-ion batteries and/or electrochemical capacitors. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For a high-current Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator, space charge will strongly affect the stability of beams, which brings challenges and difficulties to the beam dynamics design. For an in-depth study of this space charge effect, a project has been proposed by Peking University and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This project requires a 162.5 MHz RFQ to accelerate a 100-mA continuous-wave (CW) proton beam to 3 MeV. The beam dynamics design of this RFQ is based on the four-section procedure with improved radial focusing strength along the RFQ. We have investigated the relationship between limiting current and beam transmission to analyze the reasons for emittance growth and beam loss. We have also carried out an irradiation experiment based on this beam dynamics design to study the irradiation damage of the electrode surface, as this can be one main reason for reduced transmission or unstable operation that most existing high-current RFQs encounter after long-time operation. The results show that low-energy beam losses need to be kept as low as possible to prolong the life of the RFQ electrodes. The final simulated transmission efficiency reached 99.8%, as confirmed by the code toutatis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmental trace gases monitoring instrument (EMI) is a nadir-viewing wide-field imaging spectrometer, which aims to quantify the global distribution of tropospheric and stratospheric trace gases, and is planned to be launched on 9 May 2018. The selected wavelength bands for EMI are ultraviolet channels: UV1 (240-315 nm), UV2 (311-403 nm) and visible channels: VIS1 (401-550 nm), and VIS2 (545-710 nm). The spectral resolution is 0.3-0.5 nm, and the swath is approximately 114°wide to achieve a oneday global coverage. The preflight calibration of the EMI is discussed in this paper. A tunable laser and rotating platform are adopted for an EMI wavelength calibration of the entire field of view. The accuracy of the wavelength calibration is less than 0.05 nm. In addition, the solar calibration mode shows the same results compared with Earth observation mode. A thermal vacuum test is performed to investigate the influence of in-orbit thermal vacuum conditions on the EMI, and EMI spectral response changes with pressure, optical bench temperature, and charge-coupled device (CCD) detector temperature are obtained. For a radiometric calibration of UV1, a diffuser plate with a 1000 W xenon lamp, which produces sufficient UV output, is selected. An integrating sphere system with tungsten halogen lamp is selected for the UV2, VIS1, and VIS2. The accuracies of radiance calibration are 4.53% (UV1), 4.52% (UV2), 4.31% (VIS1), and 4.30%(VIS2). The goniometry correction factor and irradiance response coefficient of the EMI are also calibrated on the ground for an in-orbit calibration of the solar. A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) model of the EMI is introduced, and the EMI in-orbit SNR is estimated using the SNR and MODTRAN radiance models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The magnetic property and magnetocaloric effect of the rare-earth based metallic glasses R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 (R = Ho, Dy) ribbons were studies. • The typical spin glass behavior is observed in the metallic glasses R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 (R = Ho, Dy) ribbons. • The glass forming ability (GFA) of R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 (R = Ho, Dy) was evaluated by DSC traces. • The significant - Δ S M m a x and RC values make the metallic glasses R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 ribbons a promising hydrogen liquefaction magnetic refrigerant for applications. Metallic glass alloys are suitable systems for the development of magnetocaloric refrigerated materials due to the stable physical properties and the adjustable magnetic phase transition temperature. Here, the glass formation ability (GFA), magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 (R = Ho, Dy) amorphous ribbons prepared by the melt-spinning technique were investigated. The X-ray diffraction and DSC measurement indicated that the metallic glass alloys have a completely amorphous structure and excellent glass formation ability. The amorphous ribbons were demonstrated to undergo a second-order magnetic phase transition (ferromagnetic to paramagnetic) around T c ∼ 18 K for Ho 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 , ∼34 K for Dy 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 , respectively. The maximum magnetic entropy change (- Δ S M max) and the corresponding refrigerant capacity (RC) values are 12.7 J/kg K, 343 J/kg for Ho 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 , 9.1 J/kg K, 334 J/kg for Dy 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 under a field change Δ H = 5 T. The large - Δ S M max and high RC suggest that R 55 Co 30 Al 10 Si 5 (R = Ho, Dy) amorphous ribbons have potential applications in low temperature magnetic refrigeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]