Search

The amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) is the neurotoxic component in senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. Previously we have reported that Aβ toxicity is mediated by the induction of sonic hedgehog (SHH) to trigger cell cycle re-entry (CCR) and apoptosis in post-mitotic neurons. Basella alba is a vegetable whose polysaccharides carry immunomodulatory and anti-cancer actions, but their protective effects against neurodegeneration have never been reported. Herein, we tested whether polysaccharides derived from Basella alba (PPV-6) may inhibit Aβ toxicity and explored its underlying mechanisms. In differentiated rat cortical neurons, Aβ25-35 reduced cell viability, damaged neuronal structure, and compromised mitochondrial bioenergetic functions, all of which were recovered by PPV-6. Immunocytochemistry and western blotting revealed that Aβ25-35-mediated induction of cell cycle markers including cyclin D1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and histone H3 phosphorylated at Ser-10 (p-Histone H3) in differentiated neurons was all suppressed by PPV-6, along with mitigation of caspase-3 cleavage. Further studies revealed that PPV-6 inhibited Aβ25-35 induction of SHH; indeed, PPV-6 was capable of suppressing neuronal CCR and apoptosis triggered by the exogenous N-terminal fragment of sonic hedgehog (SHH-N). Our findings demonstrated that, in the fully differentiated neurons, PPV-6 exerts protective actions against Aβ neurotoxicity via the downregulation of SHH to suppress neuronal CCR and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the theory of extending structures by the unified product for perm algebras, and the factorization problem as well as the classifying complements problem in the setting of perm algebras. For a special extending structure, non-abelian extension, we study the inducibility of a pair of automorphisms associated with a non-abelian extension of perm algebras, and give the fundamental sequence of Wells in the context of perm algebras. For a special extending structure, bicrossed product, we introduce the concept of perm bialgebras, equivalently characterized by Manin triples of perm algebras and certain matched pairs of perm algebras. We introduce and study coboundary perm bialgebras, and our study leads to the " S -equation" in perm algebras, which is an analogue of the classical Yang-Baxter equation. A symmetric solution of S -equation gives a perm bialgebra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preeclampsia is a multisystem progressive condition and is one of the most serious complications of pregnancy. Owing to its unclear pathogenesis, there are no precise and effective therapeutic targets for preeclampsia, and the only available treatment strategy is to terminate the pregnancy and eliminate the clinical symptoms. In recent years, non-coding RNAs have become a hotspot in preeclampsia research and have shown promise as effective biomarkers for the early diagnosis of preeclampsia over conventional biochemical markers. PIWI-interacting RNAs, novel small non-coding RNA that interact with PIWI proteins, are involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level. However, the mechanisms underlying the role of PIWI-interacting RNAs in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia remain unclear. In this review, we discuss the findings of existing studies on PIWI-interacting RNA biogenesis, functions, and their possible roles in preeclampsia, providing novel insights into the potential application of PIWI-interacting RNAs in the early diagnosis and clinical treatment of preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a dual-loop discrete-time adaptive control (DDAC) method for three-phase PWM rectifiers, which considers inductance-parameter-mismatched and DC load disturbances. A discrete-time model of the three-phase PWM rectifier is established using the forward Euler discretization method, and a dual-loop discrete-time feedback linearization control (DDFLC) is given. Based on the DDFLC, the DDAC is designed. Firstly, an adaptive inductance disturbance observer (AIDO) based on the gradient descent method is proposed in the current control loop. The AIDO is used to estimate lump disturbances caused by mismatched inductance parameters and then compensate for these disturbances in the current controller, ensuring its strong robustness to inductance parameters. Secondly, a load parameter adaptive law (LPAL) based on the discrete-time Lyapunov theory is proposed for the voltage control loop. The LPAL estimates the DC load parameter in real time and subsequently adjusts it in the voltage controller, achieving DC load adaptability. Finally, simulation and experimental results show that the DDAC exhibits better steady and dynamic performances, less current harmonic content than the DDFLC and the dual-loop discrete-time PI control (DDPIC), and a stronger robustness to inductance parameters and DC load disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to comply with ultra‐low emission requirements and further reduce the concentration of SO2 emissions from coal‐fired power plants, a novel distributor has been proposed to enhance the uniformity of fluid distribution in the desulfurization tower. The distributor ensures that the inlet flue gas comes into even contact with the slurry droplets ejected from the nozzle, thereby improving the removal efficiency of SO2. The research focuses on a circular desulfurization tower using ammonia‐based desulfurization. To study the enhancement of non‐empty tower desulfurization efficiency, a CFD‐DPM model based on the Euler–Lagrange method has been established. The accuracy of the model has been verified through comparison with experimental or validated data, ensuring its reliability in predicting the performance of the proposed distributor in enhancing desulfurization efficiency in the circular desulfurization tower. The simulation results demonstrate that the addition of the new inflow gas distributor leads to a significantly thinner flue gas escape zone in the circular desulfurization tower. The flue gas flow velocity at the wall side of the tower, above the distributor, increases by only about 1 m/s with the rise of the horizontal cross section, and there is hardly any flue gas escape zone observed. The addition of the distributor increases the pressure drop in the local area, while optimizing the flow field in other areas and reducing the turbulent dissipation energy, which in turn reduces the full tower pressure drop from 701 to 474 Pa. Additionally, the flue gas at the outlet of the distributor is uniformly dispersed, with gas velocity distribution unevenness values of 0.558, 0.587, and 0.601, respectively, which are 15.9%, 14.0%, and 14.0% lower than the unevenness value of the empty tower spraying, at a depth of 1 m below each spray layer. These improvements in gas flow distribution and pressure drop contribute to better control of ammonia escape and aerosol phenomenon, while also enhancing the desulfurization efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The de‐embedding calibration method has been proposed to achieve high‐precision calibration for a single port electric field or magnetic field probe, which can effectively eliminate the calibration ripple. However, the method's effectiveness for a four‐port calibration system has not been verified yet. In this paper, a four‐port de‐embedding calibration method with a differential magnetic field probe is proposed, and its effectiveness is proved. Two symmetric grounded coplanar waveguide transmission lines are applied in the proposed method to solve the ABCD‐matrix of the embedded part of the calibrator. The de‐embedded S‐parameter model of the four‐port calibration system for differential magnetic field probe can be obtained. The calibration results indicate that the proposed method can also reduce the calibration ripple and compensate for the attenuation caused by the calibrator. Compared with the traditional calibration method using a microstrip line calibrator, the ripples of the proposed method can be reduced by 34%. The analysis results of the frequency interval of the ripple (FIR) in different methods show that the de‐embedding method can reduce the FIRs (except around 1.2 GHz) caused by the reflection of the calibrator and retain the FIR (about 1.2 GHz) caused by the reflection of the probe itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to describe the burden of health care utilisation and early education outcomes of children with and without rare diseases. Using the Born in Bradford birth cohort and its linked routine health care and education data, we looked at cumulative primary care episodes, hospital admissions and medication prescriptions. We assessed education outcomes using Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and the National Curriculum Tests-Key Stage 1 results. Among analytical sample of 13,858, 1711 or 12.3% children were identified with a rare disease by an average age of 14 years. Children with rare diseases were twice more likely to be admitted to hospital compared to children without. Average length of stay was around 5 days in those with rare diseases group compared to less than 1 day in those without. The average number of primary care episodes was 45.4 in children with rare diseases and 28.2 visits in those without. These children were over three times more likely to be on multiple medications. Children with rare diseases had 30% higher risk of being below academic expectations at Foundation Year and, depending on subject, between 50 and 60% higher risks at KS1 tests. Conclusions: Children with rare diseases are significantly more likely to have increased primary care episodes and to have more regular medications. They are likely to have more hospital admissions with a longer stay also. Educationally, they are at higher risk of failing to achieve expected standards in early-year settings. What is Known: • Existing studies of rare diseases have used cross sectional data to describe secondary care data. Previous research has not explored the impact of rare diseases on academic outcomes in children. What is New: • Using Born in Bradford birth cohort and its linked primary and secondary care data, this study provides the most comprehensive estimate of prevalence of rare diseases in any study to date. Children with rare diseases were not only significantly more likely to have contact with primary care and to be admitted to hospitals; they were also more like to be on more regular medications and had higher risk of not achieving expected standards in early-year education outcomes. • Our study is unusual in being able to access linked health and education data and reinforces the importance of adopting a whole system approach to children's health and wellbeing that recognises the close links between health and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review summarizes the self-assembly of block molecules forming unconventional two-dimensional (2D) periodic nanopatterns. Especially, we emphasize the structural evolution from simple columnar phases to complex 2D tiling morphologies in soft materials including block copolymers, liquid crystals, giant molecules, etc. Then, the state-of-the-art nanofabrication technologies for making sophisticated nanostructures with specific functions via combining both bottom-up assembly and top-down lithography-based methods are discussed, highlighting the use of directed self-assembly processes. Finally, we provide our perspective on this area. By further increasing the complexity of block molecules and the designability of lithography, low-dimensional ordered morphologies will be particularly promising for further application in nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of high-resolution contrast-enhanced MRI (hrMRI) with three-dimensional (3D) fast spin echo (FSE) sequence by comparison with conventional contrast-enhanced MRI (cMRI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (dMRI) with 2D FSE sequence for identifying pituitary microadenomas. Methods: This single-institutional retrospective study included 69 consecutive patients with Cushing's syndrome who underwent preoperative pituitary MRI, including cMRI, dMRI, and hrMRI, between January 2016 to December 2020. Reference standards were established by using all available imaging, clinical, surgical, and pathological resources. The diagnostic performance of cMRI, dMRI, and hrMRI for identifying pituitary microadenomas was independently evaluated by two experienced neuroradiologists. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUCs) were compared between protocols for each reader by using the DeLong test to assess the diagnostic performance for identifying pituitary microadenomas. The inter-observer agreement was assessed by using the κ analysis. Results: The diagnostic performance of hrMRI (AUC, 0.95–0.97) was higher than cMRI (AUC, 0.74–0.75; p ≤.002) and dMRI (AUC, 0.59–0.68; p ≤.001) for identifying pituitary microadenomas. The sensitivity and specificity of hrMRI were 90–93% and 100%, respectively. There were 78% (18/23) to 82% (14/17) of the patients, who were misdiagnosed on cMRI and dMRI and correctly diagnosed on hrMRI. The inter-observer agreement for identifying pituitary microadenomas was moderate on cMRI (κ = 0.50), moderate on dMRI (κ = 0.57), and almost perfect on hrMRI (κ = 0.91), respectively. Conclusions: The hrMRI showed higher diagnostic performance than cMRI and dMRI for identifying pituitary microadenomas in patients with Cushing's syndrome. Key Points: • The diagnostic performance of hrMRI was higher than cMRI and dMRI for identifying pituitary microadenomas in Cushing's syndrome. • About 80% of patients, who were misdiagnosed on cMRI and dMRI, were correctly diagnosed on hrMRI. • The inter-observer agreement for identifying pituitary microadenomas was almost perfect on hrMRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the deformation theory of associative conformal algebras and conformal bimodules. Using the O -operator on bimodules over associative conformal algebras, we introduce the notion of O N -structure on bimodules over associative conformal algebras and consider the relationship between it and the compatibility of O -operators, the PN-structure, the Ω N -structure and the P Ω -structure on associative conformal algebra. We show that a solution of the strong Maurer-Cartan equation of an associative conformal twilled algebra gives rise to an O N -structure, and an O N -structure satisfying certain conditions gives a solution of the strong Maurer-Cartan equation of an associative conformal twilled algebra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV, especially genotype A2dB1) mainly affects broilers in China. It causes an infection characterized by the atrophy of the bursa, a decrease in the level of lymphocytes, proliferation of fibrous tissue around the follicle, and severe atrophy of the follicle in the bursa. Poultry vaccinated with live IBDV vaccines do not have the challenge present with bursa atrophy, which is misdiagnosed for nVarIBDV because of the lack of other gross clinical symptoms. The present study sought to explore the potential and reliability of the real-time TaqMan analysis method for the detection and discrimination of the nVarIBDV genotype from that of the non-nVarIBDV, especially in live vaccine strains. This method will help monitor vaccinated poultry to control and manage infection with the nVarIBDV IBDVs. The nucleotide polymorphism in the 5′-UTR region and the vp5/vp2 overlapping region of the segment A sequences of IBDV were used to establish a one-step real-time TaqMan reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method in this study. The results showed that the method accurately distinguished the nVarIBDV and non-nVarIBDV strains (especially live vaccine strains), and there were no cross-reactions with the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), avian influenza virus (AIV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), fowlpox virus (FPV), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (M. gallisepticum), Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae), and IBDV-negative field samples. The method showed a linear dynamic range between 102 and 107 DNA copies/reaction, with an average R2 of 0.99 and an efficiency of 93% for nVarIBDV and an average R2 of 1.00 and an efficiency of 94% for non-nVarIBDV. The method was also used for the detection of 84 clinical bursae of chickens vaccinated with the live vaccine. The results showed that this method accurately distinguished the nVarIBDV and non-nVarIBDV strains (vaccine strains), compared with a strategy based on the sequence analysis of HVRs at the vp2 gene or the reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for the vp5 gene. These findings showed that this one-step real-time TaqMan RT-PCR method provides a rapid, sensitive, specific, and simple approach for detection of infections caused by nVarIBDV and is a useful clinical diagnostic tool for identifying and distinguishing nVarIBDV from non-nVarIBDV, especially live vaccine strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let A q = k ⟨ x , y ⟩ / (x 2 , x y + q y x , y 2) over a field k. We give a clear characterization of the Batalin-Vilkovisky algebraic structure on Hochschild cohomology of A q for any q ≠ 0 , and the Gerstenhaber algebraic structure on Hochschild cohomology of A q for q = 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: 5′‐3′ exoribonucleases (XRNs) play crucial roles in the control of RNA processing, quality, and quantity in eukaryotes. Although genome‐wide profiling of RNA decay fragments is now feasible, how XRNs shape the plant mRNA degradome remains elusive. Here, we profiled and analyzed the RNA degradomes of Arabidopsis wild‐type and mutant plants with defects in XRN activity. Deficiency of nuclear XRN3 or cytoplasmic XRN4 activity but not nuclear XRN2 activity greatly altered Arabidopsis mRNA decay profiles. Short excised linear introns and cleaved pre‐mRNA fragments downstream of polyadenylation sites were polyadenylated and stabilized in the xrn3 mutant, demonstrating the unique function of XRN3 in the removal of cleavage remnants from pre‐mRNA processing. Further analysis of stabilized XRN3 substrates confirmed that pre‐mRNA 3′ end cleavage frequently occurs after adenosine. The most abundant decay intermediates in wild‐type plants include not only the primary substrates of XRN4 but also the products of XRN4‐mediated cytoplasmic decay. An increase in decay intermediates with 5′ ends upstream of a consensus motif in the xrn4 mutant suggests that there is an endonucleolytic cleavage mechanism targeting the 3′ untranslated regions of many Arabidopsis mRNAs. However, analysis of decay fragments in the xrn4 mutant indicated that, except for microRNA‐directed slicing, endonucleolytic cleavage events in the coding sequence rarely result in major decay intermediates. Together, these findings reveal the major substrates and products of nuclear and cytoplasmic XRNs along Arabidopsis transcripts and provide a basis for precise interpretation of RNA degradome data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scarce evidence about the surgeon learning curve of acute type A aortic dissection surgery and whether the optimal procedure number exists when training a cardiovascular surgeon. A total of 704 patients with acute type A aortic dissection surgery performed by 17 junior surgeons who can identify their first career surgery from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2018, are included. The surgeon experience volume is defined as the cumulative number of acute type A aortic dissection surgery of the surgeon since January 1, 2005. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The possibility of non-linearity and cutoffs for surgeon experience volume level was explored using a restricted cubic spline model. The results revealed that more surgeon experience volume is significantly correlated to a lower in-hospital mortality rate (r = − 0.58, P = 0.010). The RCS model shows for an operator who reaches 25 cumulative volumes of acute type A aortic dissection surgery, the average in-hospital mortality rate of the patients can be below 10%. Furthermore, the longer duration from the 1st to 25th operations of the surgeon is significantly correlated to a higher average in-hospital mortality rate of the patients (r = 0.61, p = 0.045). Acute type A aortic dissection surgery has a prominent learning curve in terms of improving clinical outcomes. The findings suggest fostering high-volume surgeons at high-volume hospitals can achieve optimal clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a physical viewpoint, any external stimuli including noise disturbance can inject energy into the media, and the electric response is regulated by the equivalent electric stimulus. For example, mode transition in electric activities in neurons occurs and kinds of spatial patterns are formed during the wave propagation. In this paper, a feasible criterion is suggested to explain and control the growth of electric synapse and memristive synapse between Hindmarsh-Rose neurons in the presence of noise. It is claimed that synaptic coupling can be enhanced adaptively due to energy diversity, and the coupling intensity is increased to a saturation value until two neurons reach certain energy balance. Two identical neurons can reach perfect synchronization when electric synapse coupling is further increased. This scheme is also considered in a chain neural network and uniform noise is applied on all neurons. However, reaching synchronization becomes difficult for neurons in presenting spiking, bursting, and chaotic and periodic patterns, even when the local energy balance is corrupted to continue further growth of the coupling intensity. In the presence of noise, energy diversity becomes uncertain because of spatial diversity in excitability, and development of regular patterns is blocked. The similar scheme is used to control the growth of memristive synapse for neurons, and the synchronization stability and pattern formation are controlled by the energy diversity among neurons effectively. These results provide possible guidance for knowing the biophysical mechanism for synapse growth and energy flow can be applied to control the synchronous patterns between neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building silt storage dams is an important measure to control soil erosion. Sensitivity analysis of the parameters in a deep learning model is the premise of extracting high-precision silt storage dams from high-resolution remote sensing (RS) images. In this study, watershed features of Hulu River and Lanni River in the Loess Plateau, China, are extracted using a geographic information system and digital elevation model. The detection of silt storage dams using the U-Net model considered three high-resolution RS image datasets to evaluate the effect of different input sizes, batch sizes, and sample sizes on accuracies of silt storage dams. The results show that a large input size, batch size, and sample size can improve the accuracy of silt storage dams extracted by U-Net. U-Net with Dataset 3, input size of 576 × 576, and batch size of 4 achieved an overall accuracy of 96.26%, F1 score of 70.61%, mean intersection over union of 75.33%, training time of 485 ms/step, minimum noises and shadow, and clear outlines of silt storage dams. This study provides theoretical and practical decision-making for the planning, construction, and maintenance of silt storage dams, as well as ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iron-overloaded patients are recognized as presenting an increased risk of osteoporosis. However, studies on the correlation between osteoporosis and organ iron overload are controversial or scarce. The aim of this study is to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) in correlation with hepatic and pancreatic iron overload. Methods: Forty-one patients diagnosed with hemoglobinopathies, were studied. BMDs of the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and total hip (TH) were analyzed by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. LS bone quality was derived from each spine DXA examination using the TBS analysis. Hepatic and pancreatic iron overload were obtained with a multi-echo gradient echo T2* technique. Results: Abnormal microarchitecture and abnormal bone mass were observed in 19/41 (46.3%) and 9/41 (22.0%) patients, respectively. For 26 males, BMD, T-score and Z-score of LS were significantly lower among subjects with moderate-severe hepatic iron-overload than their counterparts, as it is between no- and pancreatic iron-overload groups. For 15 females, patients with moderate-severe hepatic iron-overload had significantly lower BMD and T-score of FN and TH, and patients with pancreatic iron-overload had significantly lower BMD, T-score of FN, and lower BMD, T-score and Z-score of TH than their counterparts. Moreover, pancreatic T2*-value was positively correlated with BMD and T-score at all analyzed sites and Z-score at TH. Conclusion: These data showed lower bone mass in patients with organ iron overload, particularly for LS in males, FN and TH in females. TBS may well represent a complementary tool for the evaluation of bone quality and the risk of fracture in iron-overloaded patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fast phase separation kinetics and small feature size, the self‐assembly of giant molecules has attracted lots of attention. However, there is not much study on multicomponent giant surfactants. In this work, through a modular synthetic strategy, different polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)‐based molecular nanoparticles are installed with diverse functionalities (hydrophobic octavinyl POSS (VPOSS), hydrophilic dihydroxyl‐functionalized POSS (DPOSS), and omniphobic perfluoroalkyl‐chain‐functionalized POSS (FPOSS)) on the ends of one polystyrene (PS) chain to build up a series of triblock bola‐form giant surfactants denoted as XPOSS–PSn–FPOSS (X represents V or D). The target molecules are prepared by a combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), esterification, as well as Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and thiol–ene "click" reactions. These macromolecules are thoroughly characterized by combined technologies including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) analyses. It is revealed by small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that VPOSS–PSn–FPOSS adopts a two‐phase separation scenario where VPOSS and POSS are segregated in one phase. DPOSS–PSn–FPOSS with a third hydrophilic DPOSS shows a three‐phase separation scenario, where highly ordered phase structures are difficult to develop owing to the competition of mutual phase separation processes and may be trapped in kinetically metastable states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The type II toxin-antitoxin (T-A) HicAB system is abundant in several bacteria and archaea, such as Escherichia coli, Burkholderia Pseudomallei, Yersinia pestis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. This system engages in stress response, virulence, and bacterial persistence. This study showed that the biofilm-forming ability of the hicAB deletion mutant was significantly decreased to moderate ability compared to the extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) parent strain and the complemented strain, which are strong biofilm producers. Congo red assay showed that the hicAB mutant maintained the ability to form curli fimbriae. Using RNA-seq and comparative real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we observed the difference in gene expression between the hicAB mutant and the parent strain, which was associated with biofilm formation. Our data indicate that the HicAB type II T-A system has a key role in biofilm formation by ExPEC, which may be associated with outer membrane protein (OMP) gene expression. Collectively, our results indicate that the hicAB type II T-A system is involved in ExPEC biofilm formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pt‐based electrocatalysts exhibit high performance toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) since they can boost sluggish kinetics of water dissociation. To develop efficient Pt catalysts in nonacidic media, Pt electrocatalysts with a Rh core and a shell of a few Pt atomic layers (Rh@PtnL, n = 1, 2, 2.6) are designed. Ultrathin Pt atomic layers on a Rh core modulate electronic structures of Rh@PtnL electrocatalysts, generating a combined effect of ligand, compressive strain, and electron transfer. The Rh@PtnL electrocatalysts thus offer significantly higher HER activity in alkaline and neutral media than the RhPt alloy, Rh/C, and commercial Pt/C catalysts. The overpotential of a Rh@Pt2L electrocatalyst is only 5 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH. The density functional theory calculations confirm that the excellent HER activity of this Rh@Pt2L electrocatalyst in nonacidic media is attributed to an enhanced hydrogen desorption and a decreased energetic barrier during the hydrogen generating process. These Rh@PtnL electrocatalysts shed the light on the design of advanced catalysts to efficiently produce green hydrogen in nonacidic media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In everyday life, superior lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), with fast charging ability, have become valuable assets. The LIB performance of an anode composite copper cobalt tin sulphide (Cu2CoSnS4; CCTS) electrode, which was fabricated using a simple and easy hydrothermal method, was investigated. The electrochemical charge storage performance of the CCTS anode demonstrated sustainability, high-rate capability and efficiency. The CCTS anode exhibited a first discharge capacity of 914.5 mA h g−1 and an average specific capacity of 198.7 mA h g−1 in consecutive cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g−1. It had a capacity retention of ∼62.0% and a coulombic efficiency of more than 83% after over 100 cycles, demonstrating its excellent cycling performance and reversibility. It can be an alternative anode to other established electrode materials for real battery applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let A be a tame Hecke algebra of type A . We construct two comparison maps between the minimal projective bimodule resolution and the reduced bar resolution of A by the contracting homotopy, and then we determine the Gerstenhaber algebraic structure and Batalin–Vilkovisky algebraic structure on Hochschild cohomology of A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ti2AlC/TiAl composite with a homogenous architecture was fabricated via spark plasma sintering (SPS) using Ti/Al/GNSs composite powders, after ultrasonic mechanical stirring, as raw materials. The phases, microstructure, compressive properties and Vickers hardness of the composite were methodically characterized. We observed the transformation of graphene nanosheets from multi-layer to few-layer by the ultrasonic dispersion and the uniform distribution of few-layer graphene nanosheets in composite powders by ultrasonic mechanical stirring. The composite is mainly composed of rod-shaped Ti2AlC particles and a TiAl matrix, and the formation of rod-shaped morphology with the long axis along the (0001) plane is due to the fact that the growth rate of Ti2AlC parallel to the (0001) plane is much higher than the growth rate along the [0001] direction. The compressive stress and strain of the as-prepared Ti2AlC/TiAl composite reach 1451.2 MPa and 19.7%, respectively, which are better than some Ti2AlC/TiAl composites using graphite as the carbon source, and the Vickers hardness remains between 400~500 HV. The fracture morphologies show the deformation and fracture features of Ti2AlC particles, i.e., lamellae kinking and laminated tearing, which could increase the toughness of TiAl alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Pt‐WOx‐based catalysts, researchers pay much attention to study the influence of Pt‐WOx interaction on glycerol hydrogenolysis, ignoring the interaction between WOx and support. Herein, four Pt/W/SiZr‐T catalysts with different surface hydroxyl groups on support are prepared and characterized. The results show that bibridged (OHII) and tribridged hydroxyl groups (OHIII) on SiZr‐T supports could react with WOx species through forming Zr−O−W bands and retard the agglomeration of WOx species. The highly dispersed WOx species and Zr−O−W bands are the origination of inherent and in‐situ generated Brønsted acid, which are beneficial for 1,3‐propanediol synthesis. As a result, Pt/W/SiZr‐70 exhibits outstanding performance due to abundant OHII and OHIII on SiZr‐70. The initial space time yield of 1,3‐propanediol on Pt/W/SiZr‐70 reaches 2.280 g1,3‐PDO ⋅ gcat−1 ⋅ h−1, the highest among reported results. This r esearch reveals the role of WOx‐support interaction on glycerol hydrogenolysis and provides a new direction to design Pt‐WOx‐based catalysts for selective hydrogenation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The selection of tissue culture–derived somaclonal variants of Giant Cavendish banana (Musa spp., Cavendish sub-group AAA) by the Taiwan Banana Research Institute (TBRI) has resulted in several cultivars resistant to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4), a destructive fungus threatening global banana production. However, the mutations in these somaclonal variants have not yet been determined. We performed an RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of three TBRI Foc TR4–resistant cultivars: 'Tai-Chiao No. 5' (TC5), 'Tai-Chiao No. 7' (TC7), and 'Formosana' (FM), as well as their susceptible progenitor 'Pei-Chiao' (PC), to investigate the sequence variations among them and develop cultivar-specific markers. Results: A group of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) specific to one cultivar were identified from the analysis of RNA-seq data and validated using Sanger sequencing from genomic DNA. Several SNVs were further converted into cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers or derived CAPS markers that could identify the three Foc TR4–resistant cultivars among 6 local and 5 international Cavendish cultivars. Compared with PC, the three resistant cultivars showed a loss or alteration of heterozygosity in some chromosomal regions, which appears to be a consequence of single-copy chromosomal deletions. Notably, TC7 and FM shared a common deletion region on chromosome 5; however, different TC7 tissues displayed varying degrees of allele ratios in this region, suggesting the presence of chimerism in TC7. Conclusions: This work demonstrates that reliable SNV markers of tissue culture–derived and propagated banana cultivars with a triploid genome can be developed through RNA-seq data analysis. Moreover, the analysis of sequence heterozygosity can uncover chromosomal deletions and chimerism in banana somaclonal variants. The markers obtained from this study will assist with the identification of TBRI Cavendish somaclonal variants for the quality control of tissue culture propagation, and the protection of breeders' rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the Internet of Things, user privacy leads to the lack of information security and the obscuration of traditional privacy concepts. Therefore, how to ensure information security and protect user privacy is a key issue that enterprises must solve in the process of using the Internet of Things technology. At present, the research on corporate employees' protection of user privacy in the context of the Internet of Things is mostly focused on the technical level, while the legal and management levels are relatively lacking. Based on the definition of the corporate concept in the context of the Internet of Things, this paper uses management and psychology as the research perspective, and based on theory of persuasion, adjustment orientation theory, and reinforcement theory, it discusses the attitudes of corporate employees to protect user privacy in the context of the Internet of Things and behaviour mechanism, constructing a new theoretical model. This experiment uses 0.001 as the step size to change the corresponding threshold size. The interval range is [0.001, 10], and there are a total of 10,000 points in the interval, which is equivalent to 100 million sensor attack tests. According to the above method, 10,000 points of the ROC curve can be obtained by using 10,000 thresholds, and the corresponding ROC curve can be drawn in the coordinate graph, which can intuitively reflect the performance of the VRADS vehicle anomaly real-time detection system. The challenge of data information protection is analyzed, trying to clarify the ideas for the protection of personal data and information in the Internet of Things environment and even lead to employees' rebellious psychology. This article proves that the pertinence and effectiveness of the persuasive content have a positive impact on employees' attitudes towards privacy protection, and it has been further deepened in the context of the Internet of Things. The balance point is to leave enough room for the long-term sustainable development of the Internet of Things industry on the basis of protecting the personal rights and interests of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fluorescent probe of Zn-CP(S) was subtly constructed with the help of SDS. • The Zn-CP(S) could simultaneously recognise to Hg2+, Cr 2 O 7 2− and nitroaromatic explosives. • The Zn-CP presented a highly adsorption removal against the dye of MO. In this work, a novel Zn(II) coordination polymer (denoted as Zn-CP) was constructed by the mixed ligands of 6-(3′,4′-Dicarboxy phenoxy)isophthalic acid (H 4 L) and 4,4′-bis(imidazolyl)biphenyl (bib) under solvothermal method. And based on the Zn-CP, the surfactant agent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was further introduced into the structure, thus obtaining the Zn-CP(S) which possessed the same phase but a smaller size compared with the Zn-CP. Interestingly, the Zn-CP(S) presented a significantly ameliorated fluorescent intensity, about 4.36 times higher than that of the Zn-CP prepared in the absence of SDS. Taking advantage of the improved fluorescence trait of the Zn-CP(S), a fluorescence recognition towards hazardous matters was further carried out. The results showed that Zn-CP(S) could simultaneously recognized for Hg2+, Cr 2 O 7 2− and a broad range of hazard nitroaromatic explosives with the satisfactory limits of detection (LODs). In addition, Zn-CP could also be used as a recyclable adsorbent to remove methyl orange (MO) in aqueous medium. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of Zn-CP for MO was 61.01 mg/g, and the adsorption mechanism could be attributed to the weak inter-molecular interaction involved π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding between Zn-CP and the MO molecule. Therefore, the bifunctional material has potential application prospects in fluorescence recognition and adsorption. In this work, the Zn-MOF(S) was subtly constructed by employing the mixed ligands of 6-(3′,4′-Dicarboxy phenoxy)isophthalic acid (H 4 L) and 4,4′-bis(imidazolyl)biphenyl (bib) in presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The introduction of SDS ameliorated its fluorescence trait and thus realizing the high-performance fluorescence recognition towards Hg2+, Cr 2 O 7 2− and a broad range of hazard nitroaromatic explosives. Moreover, in the absence of SDS, the as-obtained Zn-MOF presented a highly adsorption removal against the dye contaminant of MO with the removal rate of 92.34%. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• White matter (WM) microstructures are altered in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) • Fractional anisotropy of prefrontal WM tracts is reduced in RA patients. • WM abnormalities in RA patients are significantly associated with pain scores. • Prefrontal cortex is a potential target for neuromodulation in RA treatment. Structural and functional brain imaging studies have reported abnormalities of gray matter morphology and functional activities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, it is largely unknown whether patients with RA show alterations of white matter microstructural organization. To automatically identify alteration of white matter microstructure in patients with RA and further examine how this alteration associates with clinical characteristics. This single-institutional prospective study included 66 participants (33 patients with RA [52 ± 9 years, 29 women] and 33 sex/age-matched healthy controls [53 ± 12 years, 27 women]), who underwent diffusion MRI scan from January 2021 to December 2021. The white matter microstructure was assessed using fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity. Voxelwise analyses were conducted on white matter skeleton using an automated, observer-independent tract-based spatial statistics analysis. The relationship between white matter microstructural alterations and clinical and neuropsychological variables was evaluated using correlation analysis. Compared with healthy controls, patients with RA exhibited lower fractional anisotropy in several major white matter tracts (threshold-free cluster enhancement at P < 0.05 for multiple comparison correction, permutation test), involving the forceps minor, bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, bilateral anterior thalamic radiation, and bilateral uncinate fasciculus. Lower fractional anisotropy values in the patients with RA were significantly associated with pain-related assessments, including tender joint count (r = -0.43, P = 0.015), Clinical Disease Activity Index score (r = -0.36, P = 0.049), pain severity rated through visual analogue scale (r = -0.45, P = 0.012), and Simplified Disease Activity Index score (r = -0.36, P = 0.045). No significant group difference was found in mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity. We report the first anatomical evidence for aberrant microstructure organization of several major white matter tracts and its associations with pain processing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV, genotype A2dB1), characterized by bursal atrophy of fabricius and decreased lymphocytes, has been emerging on a large scale in Asia (including China) since late 2018. nVarIBDV is a new threat to the poultry industry, yet the currently licensed commercial vaccines, including the live viral vector vaccine, IBDV immune complex vaccine or VP2 subunit vaccine, are ineffective against nVarIBDV infection. In this study, specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens and broilers divided into 3 groups were vaccinated with the live viral vector vaccine, the VP2 subunit vaccine or the IBDV immune complex vaccine at 1 day-old, respectively. The SPF chickens received a secondary vaccination with the live B87 strain vaccine at 11-day-old. The bursa/body weight ratio, histopathology lesion of the bursa, and the differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA) by qRT-PCR confirmed that the live viral vector vaccine or immune complex vaccine plus live B87 strain booster could provide at least 80% protection against the FJ2019-01 strain of nVarIBDV in SPF chickens. The broilers also received a secondary vaccination using a live W2512 G-61 strain vaccine at 14-day-old, and analyses showed that the VP2 subunit vaccine or immune complex vaccine plus the live W2512 G-61 strain booster also provided more than 80% protection against the FJ2019-01 strain of nVarIBDV. Unfortunately, the live viral vector vaccine plus live W2512 G-61 strain booster provided poor to moderate protection against FJ2019-01 in broilers. These findings suggest that combining commercial vaccines with rational booster immunization can effectively protect chickens against an nVarIBDV challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phosphine‐mediated reaction for the construction of spirocyclopenta[c]chromene‐indolinones is reported via a Rauhut‐Currier (RC)‐type/acyl transfer/Wittig sequence. This methodology attributes the chemoselective phosphine addition to the alkynoate which generates the phosphorus zwitterion via RC‐type reaction, and that further undergoes O‐acylation to form the seven‐membered betaine intermediate with acyl chloride in the presence of base. Extensive investigations reveal that the exceptional δ‐acylation occurs through the C−O bond cleavage upon the seven‐membered betaine, and the subsequent Wittig reaction preferentially result in the aforementioned spiro compounds. Furthermore, our protocol could also be applicable to different alkynoates to provide a series of spirocyclopenta[c]chromenones bearing privileged skeletons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a high-precision incremental capacitive angle encoder based on microfabrication technology. Compared to traditional printed circuit board technology, the encoder manufactured by microfabrication technology has higher processing accuracy and better temperature characteristics. Further, the microfabrication technology makes the encoder obtain larger sensitive capacitances and achieve more electrical cycle divisions within a smaller volume. To overcome the effect of the parasitic parameters led by microfabrication technology, electric models were established and analyzed, and the solution was proposed. First, to reduce the parasitic capacitance coupling to the ground, the process materials and fabrication steps are improved and optimized. Then, a differential structure on excitation voltage wires is adopted to minimize the nonlinear error on the measurement results. In addition, the collection electrode interconnection model is optimized to reduce parasitic parameters on the collection and enhance the signal to noise ratio. Both analytical calculation and finite-element analysis results verified the feasibility of the improvement and optimization. Finally, the optimized prototype is fabricated and measured, and the result shows that the prototype can achieve 0.0002° measurement resolution and 0.0012° measurement accuracy within a 58 mm diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning with streaming data has attracted much attention during the past few years. Though most studies consider data stream with fixed features, in real practice the features may be evolvable. For example, features of data gathered by limited-lifespan sensors will change when these sensors are substituted by new ones. In this article, we propose a novel learning paradigm: Feature Evolvable Streaming Learning where old features would vanish and new features would occur. Rather than relying on only the current features, we attempt to recover the vanished features and exploit it to improve performance. Specifically, we learn a mapping from the overlapping period to recover old features and then we learn two models from the recovered features and the current features, respectively. To benefit from the recovered features, we develop two ensemble methods. In the first method, we combine the predictions from two models and theoretically show that with the assistance of old features, the performance on new features can be improved and we provide a tighter bound when the loss function is exponentially concave. In the second approach, we dynamically select the best single prediction and establish a better performance guarantee when the best model switches. Experiments on both synthetic and real data validate the effectiveness of our proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate HR‐HPV viral load in the cervical lesion assessment and its diagnostic value on the triage of ASCUS. The three‐step protocol for cervical cancer screening was carried out in 5171 patients from June 2017 to August 2019, and 1620 histopathological results were obtained. The positive rate of HR‐HPV and TCT increased with the aggravation of pathological grades of cervical lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of HR‐HPV (DH3) to detect CIN II+ were 91.91% and 84.46%, respectively. In comparison, the corresponding results of the cytology test were 80.51% and 83.12%. HPV16/18 viral load was positively correlated with the grade of cervical lesions (p < 0.001, r = 0.321). The diagnostic efficiency of AUC by applying HPV16/18 viral load was 0.682 for the diagnosis of CIN II+. The optimal HPV16/18 viral load for predicting CIN II+ was 6.80 RLU/CO (relative light units/cut‐off), with corresponding sensitivity of 48.6%, specificity of 79.7%, and Youden index of 0.283. In the ASCUS population, viral loads were statistically different in HPV16/18 and the other 12 HR‐HPV when compared cervicitis group with CIN I group and CIN II+ group (all p < 0.05). Statistical differences were detected concerning HPV16/18 viral load, contact bleeding status, and smoking status when compared cervicitis group with CIN I group and CIN II+ group (p < 0.05), with a corresponding odds ratio of 1.004, 1.533, and 5.513, respectively. Our findings suggest that HR‐HPV viral load can be regarded as a useful tool to predict the grade of cervical lesions for ASCUS triage. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03178136. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate remaining useful life (RUL) estimation is crucial for the normal and safe operations of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Traditionally, every cycle's maximum discharging capacity should be measured and then serve as a model input to predict iteratively the degradation trajectory. Unfortunately, full discharge stages are not always present in practice. Herein, this study presents a hybrid approach consisting of signal decomposition and deep learning to overcome the above limitations. Firstly, for the collected discharging fragments, the convolutional neural networks model predicts every cycle's maximum discharging capacity which combines to form a predicted capacity degradation curve before the start point of RUL prediction. Then, via empirical mode decomposition, this curve's global degradation trend is extracted and serves as the subsequent model input. Finally, the entire degradation trajectory and RUL value could be inferred based on the well-trained gated recurrent unit-fully connected model. The superior prediction performance of the proposed method is verified on two open battery datasets. All the estimation errors can be maintained within 7.0% based on the discharging fragment of the ∼ 20% capacity ratio ranges from 40% to 60% of the degradation data. This result illustrates the promising accuracy and robustness of the developed LIBs RUL estimation method, especially for not full discharge process in practice. [Display omitted] • A hybrid approach of RUL prediction based on discharging fragments is presented. • Discharging fragments are utilized to improve the universality of this approach. • Signal processing method could avoid the disruption of capacity regeneration. • The model exhibits high robustness and accuracy for RUL prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The laser stripe width is calculated based on BPNN and divided into different width intervals. The Gaussian kernel is calculated according to the light stripe width and the Hessian matrix is constructed. The Hessian matrix method is used to roughly extract the center coordinates of the light stripe. • Based on the continuity of the light stripe, the center coordinates of the light stripe are weighted and corrected to realize the smooth optimization of the center coordinates of the light stripe. The line laser measurement technology based on triangulation is widely used in the field of complex surface topography measurement. The key technology of line laser measurement is laser stripe center extraction. For high reflective surfaces, due to the low surface roughness, some areas of the laser stripe image are overexposed, resulting in uneven stripe width distribution, asymmetric light intensity distribution of the stripe cross section, and difficulty in extracting the center of the stripe. In this paper, Laser stripe center extraction method based on Hessian matrix method improved by stripe width is proposed. Firstly, the laser stripe image is preprocessed, the influence of noise in the image is alleviated by image filtering and adaptive threshold segmentation, and the region of interest of the image is extracted to reduce the amount of subsequent calculation. The laser stripe width is calculated based on BPNN and divided into different width intervals. The Gaussian kernel is calculated according to the light stripe width and the Hessian matrix is constructed. The Hessian matrix method is used to roughly extract the center coordinates of the light stripe. Based on the continuity of the light stripe, the center coordinates of the light stripe are weighted and corrected to realize the smooth optimization of the center coordinates of the light stripe. The experimental results show that the proposed light stripe center extraction method is superior to the traditional method under different surface roughness and exposure time conditions, which can effectively improve the measurement accuracy of the sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Commercial lithium–ion batteries (LIBs) are insufficient to bridge the energy density gap between demand and supply in advanced heavy and portable electronic devices because of graphite anodes (poor theoretical capacity: 372 mAh g−1). Ternary chalcogenide metal‐sulfides are promising as alternative anode materials in high power and energy densities but suffer from capacity fading with poor long‐term cycling stability due to the dissolution of polysulfide species created during the lithium‐ion insertion/de‐insertion process. Here, we report the hydrothermal synthesis of graphene integrated CuCo2S4 microparticles as a high‐capacity and sustainable anode material for LIBs. We solve the concentration gradient of lithium polysulfide at the interface of electrode/electrolyte via integrating graphene into the active metal sulfide anode material. The mechanically flexible and highly conductive nature of graphene helps relieve undesirable elongation and shrinkage during battery cycling, suppressing active material dissolution and enhancing electron/ion transport through the electrochemical double‐layer (EDL). Our one step approach demonstrates towards the practical application of advanced metal sulfide anodes for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the edge metric dimension problem (EMDP). We establish a potential function and give a corresponding greedy algorithm with approximation ratio 1 + ln ⁡ n + ln ⁡ (log 2 ⁡ n) , where n is the number of vertices in the graph G. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, first-trimester intrauterine hematoma (IUH) has become increasingly common in twin pregnancy. The majority of studies on IUH have excluded twin pregnancies, and others did not differentiate between singleton and twin pregnancies. The impact of IUH on twin pregnancy is unclear. Therefore, the primary objective of our study was to examine associations between first-trimester IUH and pregnancy outcomes in twin pregnancies.Methods: The data of 1020 twin pregnancies in women who received a routine examination from January 2014 to December 2018 were reviewed. We compared baseline data and pregnancy outcomes between those with and without IUH. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounding factors.Results: A total of 209 patients (21.3%) developed IUH in the first trimester. First-trimester IUH was significantly associated with increased odds of miscarriage (adjusted odds ratio 14.27, 95% CI 8.25-24.70) and vanishing twin syndrome (adjusted odds ratio 3.26, 95% CI 1.11-4.61). However, there were no differences in the rates of stillbirth, preeclampsia, preterm labor (< 34 weeks), low birth weight, postpartum hemorrhage or fetal distress between the two groups. Maternal age, previous preterm birth, chorionicity in twins and the gestational week at first ultrasound did not differ between the two groups. The women with IUH had high rates of previous miscarriage (46.73% vs 38.37%, p = 0.01), assisted conception (48.56% vs 32.60%, p < 0.001) and accompanied vaginal bleeding (67.46% vs 13.43%, p < 0.001). According to the logistic regression analyses, these characteristics were not associated with pregnancy loss or vanishing twin syndrome. No IUH characteristics, including volume, largest diameter, or the presence of vaginal bleeding, were associated with pregnancy loss or vanishing twin syndrome before 20 weeks of gestation (P > 0.05).Conclusion: In women with twin pregnancy, the presence of IUH in the first trimester was associated with the loss of one or both fetuses before 20 weeks of gestation. However, previous miscarriage, the conception method, the IUH size and the presence of vaginal bleeding were not independently associated with miscarriage or vanishing twin syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have unique optical and electrical properties with promising applications in next‐generation semiconductor technologies, including displays, lighting, solar cells, photodetectors, and image sensors. Advanced analytical tools to probe the optical, morphological, structural, compositional, and electrical properties of QDs and their ensemble solid films are of paramount importance for the understanding of their device performance. In this review, comprehensive studies on the state‐of‐the‐art metrology approaches used in QD research are introduced, with particular focus on time‐resolved (TR) and spatially resolved (SR) spectroscopy and microscopy. Through discussing these analysis techniques in different QD system, such as various compositions, sizes, and shell structures, the critical roles of these TR‐spectroscopic and SR‐microscopic techniques are highlighted, which provide the structural, morphological, compositional, optical, and electrical information to precisely design QDs and QD solid films. The employment of TR and SR analysis in integrated QD device systems is also discussed, which can offer detailed microstructural information for achieving high performance in specific applications. In the end, the current limitations of these analytical tools are discussed, and the future development of the possibility of interdisciplinary research in both QD fundamental and applied fields is prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colloidal metal chalcogenide quantum dots (QDs) have excellent quantum efficiency in light–matter interactions and good device stability. However, QDs have been brought to the forefront as viable building blocks in bottom‐up assembling semiconductor devices, the development of QD solar cell (QDSC) is still confronting considerable challenges compared to other QD technologies due to their low performance under natural sunlight, as a consequence of untapped potential from their quantized density‐of‐state and inorganic natures. This report is designed to address this long‐standing challenge by accessing the feasibility of using QDSC for indoor and concentration PV (CPV) applications. This work finds that above bandgap photon energy irradiation of QD solids can generate high densities of excitons via multi‐photon absorption (MPA), and these excitons are not limited to diffuse by Auger recombination up to 1.5 × 1019 cm−3 densities. Based on these findings, a 19.5% (2000 lux indoor light) and an 11.6% efficiency (1.5 Suns) have been facilely realized from ordinary QDSCs (9.55% under 1 Sun). To further illustrate the potential of the MPA in QDSCs, 21.29% efficiency polymer lens CPVs (4.08 Suns) and viable sensor networks powered by indoor QDSCs matrix have been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a low-cost and full 360° measurement range inclinometer based on fluidic motion. The inclinometer is fabricated using printed circuit board manufacturing techniques. The principle is via measuring two channels of capacitance changes between three plates, which are partially filled with nonconductive liquid to obtain two amplitude modulation quadrature signals as the resolver. In this inclinometer, the electrode subdivision is changed from the traditional radial direction to a circumferential direction by a triple-eccentric-ring sensing element to achieve full-range measurement capability from 0° to 360°. In addition, the application of a differential detection scheme leads to the dc capacitance C0 being eliminated in the measurement, resulting a high voltage-to-capacitance ratio in a low voltage source requirement. Both analytical calculation and finite-element analysis verified the feasibility of the principle. Furthermore, nonlinear error simulation is conducted and the main effected reason is figured out. Finally, a prototype is fabricated and assembled. Experimental results show that sensor can measure the tilt angle in a range of 360°, with an accuracy of 0.1° and a resolution better than 0.01°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunotherapy aiming to harness the exquisite power of the immune system has emerged as a crucial part of clinical cancer management. However, only a subset of cancer patients responds to current immunotherapy because of low immunogenicity of the tumor cells and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Herein, host–guest prodrug nanovectors are reported for active tumor targeting and combating immune tolerance in tumors. The prodrug nanovectors are designed by integrating hyaluronic acid (HA) and reduction‐labile heterodimer of Pheophorbide A (PPa) and NLG919 into the supramolecular nanocomplexes, where PPa and NLG919 act as a photosensitizer and potent inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase 1 (IDO‐1), respectively. Meanwhile, HA is employed to achieve active tumor targeting by recognizing CD44 overexpressed on the surface of tumor cell membranes. Near infrared (NIR) laser irradiation triggers the release of reactive oxygen species to provoke antitumor immunogenicity and intratumoral infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Meanwhile, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITM) is reversed by NLG919‐mediated IDO‐1 inhibition. Combination of photodynamic immunotherapy and IDO‐1 blockade efficiently eradicates CT26 colorectal tumors in the immunocompetent mice. The host–guest nanoplatform capable of eliciting effective antitumor immunity by inactivating inhibitory immune response can be applied to other immune modulators for improved cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let F denote an algebraically closed field, and let V denote a vector space over F with finite positive dimension. By a Leonard pair on V we mean an ordered pair of linear transformations A , A ∗ on V such that, for each of A , A ∗ , there exists a basis for V with respect to which the matrix representing that linear transformation is diagonal and the matrix representing the other linear transformation is irreducible tridiagonal. Assume that the dimension of V is at least 4. In this paper, we consider a class of Leonard pairs said to be of classical type that consists of four families: Racah type, Hahn type, dual-Hahn type and Krawtchouk type. Let A , A ∗ be a classical Leonard pair on V. By using Askey-Wilson relations of Leonard pairs and representation theory of universal enveloping algebra U (s l 2) , we show that A , A ∗ is of either Racah type or Krawtchouk type if and only if there exists a basis for V with respect to which the matrices representing A , A ∗ are respectively lower bidiagonal with subdiagonal entries all 1 and irreducible tridiagonal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured acoustic transmissions through subwavelength hole arrays fabricated on brass plates at normal and oblique incidence. It is found experimentally that the transmission phenomena for the hole array in thin plate case are analogous to the previously observed enhanced transmission of electromagnetic waves [Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998)]. While for the hole array in thick plate case, the transmission peaks of acoustic wave occur well below Wood’s anomalies, and the spectrum characteristics reveal a Fabry–Pérot-like resonance. An effective fluid approach is conceived and it can well describe the transmission properties of the hole array in thick plates within a range of incidence angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Observed the stripe domains in melt-spun HoMn 6 Sn 6-x Ga x ribbons. • Studied the effects of the second phase and Ga-doping on the magnetic domains. • Ga replacing different Sn crystal sites affects the orientation of grains. • Increasing Ga-doping content decreases the spin reorientation and Curie temperatures. • Doping Ga shortens the range between spin reorientation and Curie temperatures. Topological magnetic skyrmions are expected to become a new generation of information carrier units, and exploring new magnetic skyrmion host materials and their magnetic domain structures is critical. This paper prepared HoMn 6 Sn 6-x Ga x ribbons by melt-spinning and annealing and studied the effects of the second phase and doping Ga on the structure and magnetic domain of the ribbons. The results show that doped Ga only replaces the Sn sites in the HoMn 6 Sn 6 phase, and the maximum substitution rate of Ga in the HoMn 6 Sn 6 phase is close to 1/6. The unequal substitution of crystal positions causes the lattice to bear considerable compressive stress and negative strain. With an increase in doped Ga content, the lattice constant and cell volume of the HoMn 6 Sn 6-x Ga x phase gradually decrease, and the substitution positions also change from mainly occupying Sn(2c) sites to occupying Sn(2e) and Sn(2d) sites simultaneously. Doping Ga enhances the preferential orientation in the grains, Ga occupying Sn(2d) sites enhances 〈0 0 9〉 orientation, and occupying Sn(2e) sites contributes to the enhancement in 〈2 0 4〉 orientation. Whether doped with Ga or not, the ribbons have stable stripe domains with HoMn 6 Sn 6 structure. Increasing Ga content from x = 0.3 to x = 1.6 decreases the spin reorientation temperature, Curie temperatures, and the difference between the two temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials with Invar effect, i.e. zero thermal expansion (ZTE), have important applications in precision manufacturing. Here we report the emergence of Invar effect with excellent mechanical property by modulating electronic structure in LaFe 11.6-x Co x Si 1.4 , a family known for magnetocaloric effect. The observed linear thermal expansion coefficient (α l ∼ 1.5 × 10−8 K−1, 5–250 K, by XRD; α l ∼ 2.7 × 10−7 K−1, 109–250 K, by dilatometer) is superior to most other ZTE materials including the famous Invar alloy Fe 0.65 Ni 0.35. By taking advantage of distinct resolution ability of neutrons and X-rays to Fe/Co adjacent elements, the site occupancy of Co atoms was determined by joint refinements of neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the basis, ab initio calculations were performed on the atomically resolved electronic band structure. The incorporation of Co atoms alters the electron transfer properties by increasing 3d bonding electrons at Co sub-lattice, as a result, spontaneous magnetostriction is inhibited and Invar effect prevails in the ferromagnetic region of LaFe 10.6 Co 1.0 Si 1.4. The electron local function (ELF) evidences the enhanced bonding strength and origin of excellent mechanical properties. The measured compressive strength can be up to ∼340 MPa, which endows the LaFe 10.6 Co 1.0 Si 1.4 good machining ability. Further, the mode-mode coupling coefficient b calculated from density of states (DOS) explains the evolution of phase transition order with Co doping, which gives LaFe 10.6 Co 1.0 Si 1.4 a significant advantage in its effective cooling capacity under low magnetic fields. The present study provides a solid foundation for exploiting multifunctional application of La(Fe,Si) 13 alloys with Co incorporation from the perspective of electronic structure modulation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]