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We reliably judge locations of static objects when we walk despite the retinal images of these objects moving with every step we take. Here, we showed our brains solve this optical illusion by adopting an allocentric spatial reference frame. We measured perceived target location after the observer walked a short distance from the home base. Supporting the allocentric coding scheme, we found the intrinsic bias, which acts as a spatial reference frame for perceiving location of a dimly lit target in the dark, remained grounded at the home base rather than traveled along with the observer. The path-integration mechanism responsible for this can utilize both active and passive (vestibular) translational motion signals, but only along the horizontal direction. This asymmetric path-integration finding in human visual space perception is reminiscent of the asymmetric spatial memory finding in desert ants, pointing to nature's wondrous and logically simple design for terrestrial creatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illustration highlights thermally resilient, phase-invertible, ultra-stable water-in-water (W/W) droplets by pH-modulated casein colloidal particles. It includes radar plots contrasting the robustness of W/W droplets stabilized by casein colloidal particles with those stabilized by other protein/polymer particles reported in literature (see also Table S1). [Display omitted] The essence of compartmentalization in cells is the inspiration behind the engineering of synthetic counterparts, which has emerged as a significant engineering theme. Here, we report the formation of ultra-stable water-in-water (W/W) emulsion droplets. These W/W droplets demonstrate previously unattained stability across a broad pH spectrum and exhibit resilience at temperatures up to 80℃, overcoming the challenge of insufficient robustness in dispersed droplets of aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS). The exceptional robustness is attributed to the strong anchoring of micelle-like casein colloidal particles at the PEO/DEX interface, which maintains stability under varying environmental conditions. The increased surface hydrophobicity of these particles at high temperatures contributes to the formation of thermally-stable droplets, enduring temperatures as high as 80℃. Furthermore, our study illustrates the adaptable affinity of micelle-like casein colloidal particles towards the PEO/DEX-rich phase, enabling the formation of stable DEX-in-PEO emulsions at lower pH levels, and PEO-in-DEX emulsions as the pH rises above the isoelectric point. The robust nature of these W/W emulsions unlocks new possibilities for exploring various biochemical reactions within synthetic subcellular modules and lays a solid foundation for the development of novel biomimetic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) tissue reservoirs remain the main obstacle against an HIV cure. Limited information exists regarding cannabis's effects on HIV-1 infections in vivo, and the impact of cannabis use on HIV-1 parenchymal tissue reservoirs is unexplored. Methods To investigate whether cannabis use alters HIV-1 tissue reservoirs, we systematically collected 21 postmortem brain and peripheral tissues from 20 men with subtype C HIV-1 and with suppressed viral load enrolled in Zambia, 10 of whom tested positive for cannabis use. The tissue distribution and copies of subtype C HIV-1 LTR , gag , env DNA and RNA, and the relative mRNA levels of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TGF-β1 were quantified using PCR-based approaches. Utilizing generalized linear mixed models we compared persons with HIV-1 and suppressed viral load, with and without cannabis use. Results The odds of tissues harboring HIV-1 DNA and the viral DNA copies in those tissues were significantly lower in persons using cannabis. Moreover, the transcription levels of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 in lymphoid tissues of persons using cannabis were also significantly lower. Conclusions Our findings suggested that cannabis use is associated with reduced sizes and inflammatory cytokine expression of subtype C HIV-1 reservoirs in men with suppressed viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The inflammatory factors and additional mediators contribute to systemic inflammation involved in cachexia. • Immune checkpoints exert a modulatory effect in the cachectic development through regulating adipocyte differentiation and systemic metabolic balance. • The multilayered insights including the immunometabolic axis, immune-gut axis and immune-nerve axis in cachexia are elaborated. Cancer-associated cachexia is a multi-organ disorder associated with progressive weight loss due to a variable combination of anorexia, systemic inflammation and excessive energy wasting. Considering the importance of immunoregulation in cachexia, it still lacks a complete understanding of the immunological mechanisms in cachectic progression. Our aim here is to describe the complex immunoregulatory system in cachexia. We summarize the effects and translational potential of the immune system on the development of cancer-associated cachexia and we attempt to conclude with thoughts on precise and integrated therapeutic strategies under the complex immunological context of cachexia. This review is focused on three main key concepts. First, we highlight the inflammatory factors and additional mediators that have been identified to modulate this syndrome. Second, we decipher the potential role of immune checkpoints in tissue wasting. Third, we discuss the multilayered insights in cachexia through the immunometabolic axis, immune-gut axis and immune-nerve axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic individuals often encounter various sleep-related challenges. Although the association between sleep duration and atrial fibrillation (AF) have been explored, the association of other sleep traits with the incidence of AF remains unclear. A comprehensive understanding of these traits is essential for a more accurate assessment of sleep conditions in patients with diabetes and the development of novel AF prevention strategies. Methods: This study involved 23,785 patients with diabetes without any pre-existing cardiovascular disease, drawn from the UK Biobank. Sleep behaviour traits examined encompassed sleep duration, chronotype, insomnia, snoring and daytime sleepiness. Sleep duration was categorised into three groups: low (≤ 5 h), proper (6–8 h) and long (≥ 9 h). We assessed associations using multivariate Cox proportional risk regression models. Furthermore, four poor sleep behaviours were constructed to evaluate their impact on the risk of new-onset AF. Results: Over a mean follow-up period of 166 months, 2221 (9.3%) new cases of AF were identified. Short (hazard ratio (HR), 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–1.50) and long sleep durations (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03–1.32) consistently exhibited an elevated risk of AF compared to optimal sleep duration. Early chronotype, infrequent insomnia and daytime sleepiness were associated with 11% (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.82–0.97), 15% (HR 0.85; 95% CI 0.77–0.95) and 12% (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.81–0.96) reduced risk of new-onset AF, respectively. However, no significant association was found between snoring and the incidence of AF (HR 0.99; 95% CI 0.91–1.07). Conclusions: In diabetic populations, sleep duration, chronotype, insomnia and daytime sleepiness are strongly associated with AF incidence. An optimal sleep duration of 6–8 h presents the lowest AF risk compared to short or long sleep duration. Additionally, poor sleep patterns present a greater risk of new-onset AF in women than in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To propose a novel model-free data-driven approach based on the voxel-wise mapping of DCE-MRI time-intensity-curve (TIC) profiles for quantifying and visualizing hemodynamic heterogeneity and to validate its potential clinical applications. Materials and methods: From December 2018 to July 2022, 259 patients with 325 pathologically confirmed breast lesions who underwent breast DCE-MRI were retrospectively enrolled. Based on the manually segmented breast lesions, the TIC of each voxel within the 3D whole lesion was classified into 19 subtypes based on wash-in rate (nonenhanced, slow, medium, and fast), wash-out enhancement (persistent, plateau, and decline), and wash-out stability (steady and unsteady), and the composition ratio of these 19 subtypes for each lesion was calculated as a new feature set (type-19). The three-type TIC classification, semiquantitative parameters, and type-19 features were used to build machine learning models for identifying lesion malignancy and classifying histologic grades, proliferation status, and molecular subtypes. Results: The type-19 feature-based model significantly outperformed models based on the three-type TIC method and semiquantitative parameters both in distinguishing lesion malignancy (respectively; AUC = 0.875 vs. 0.831, p = 0.01 and 0.875vs. 0.804, p = 0.03), predicting tumor proliferation status (AUC = 0.890 vs. 0.548, p = 0.006 and 0.890 vs. 0.596, p = 0.020), but not in predicting histologic grades (p = 0.820 and 0.970). Conclusion: In addition to conventional methods, the proposed computational approach provides a novel, model-free, data-driven approach to quantify and visualize hemodynamic heterogeneity. Clinical relevance statement: Voxel-wise intra-lesion mapping of TIC profiles allows for visualization of hemodynamic heterogeneity and its composition ratio for differentiation of malignant and benign breast lesions. Key Points: • Voxel-wise TIC profiles were mapped, and their composition ratio was compared between various breast lesions. • The model based on the composition ratio of voxel-wise TIC profiles significantly outperformed the three-type TIC classification model and the semiquantitative parameters model in lesion malignancy differentiation and tumor proliferation status prediction in breast lesions. • This novel, data-driven approach allows the intuitive visualization and quantification of the hemodynamic heterogeneity of breast lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a pathophysiological condition triggered by diabetes mellitus (DM), which can lead to heart failure (HF). One of the most important cellular processes associated with DCM is the death of cardiomyocytes. Gasdermin D (GSDMD) plays a key role in mediating pyroptosis, a type of programmed cell death closely associated with inflammasome activation. Recent studies have revealed that pyroptosis is induced during hyperglycemia, which is crucial to the development of DCM. Although the effects of pyroptosis on DCM have been discussed, the relationship between DCM and GSDMD is not fully clarified. Recent studies gave us the impetus for clarifying the meaning of GSDMD in DCM. The purpose of this review is to summarize new and emerging insights, mainly discussing the structures of GSDMD and the mechanism of pore formation, activation pathways, molecular mechanisms of GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis, and the therapeutic potential of GSDMD in DCM. The implications of this review will pave the way for a new therapeutic target in DCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoremediation of arsenic (As) by Pteris vittata (P. vittata) is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for restoring As-contaminated sites. However, the phytoextraction efficiency is low in some cases, such as clay soil, thus biochar was applied to enhance the efficiency of As extraction. The paper investigated the effect of biochar on soil characteristic, As mobility, and As uptake in P. vittata with a 90-day greenhouse experiment. Biochar derived from rice straw was added at rates of 0.5, 1.5, and 4% (w/w). The results showed that, under biochar amendment, soil pH raised from 5.24 to 6.03 and 4.91 to 5.85, soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased 11.1–46.1% and 2.8–11.2%, respectively, in rhizosphere and bulk soils. Biochar also increased soil catalase (CAT) activity significantly, especially for the rhizosphere soil. Besides, biochar increased the labile As in the soils and transfer coefficient from roots to aboveground, thereby enhancing As accumulation by P. vittata tissues. The accumulation of As in fronds of P. vittata was up to 350 mg kg−1 in 1.5% biochar, which was more than twice the control and far beyond other biochar treatments. The results indicate that biochar addition is favorable to improve phytoremediation of P. vittata in As-contaminated soil and 1.5% (w/w) biochar may be a reasonable application ratio, thus providing an effective solution to enhance the efficiency of As phytoextraction. Biochar increased soil catalase activity in the rhizosphere of P. vittata. Biochar increased the labile concentration of arsenic in soil and arsenic accumulation in P. vittata significantly. Combining biochar and P. vittata reduced arsenic in soil. Biochar amendment was favorable for phytoremediation of P. vittata in arsenic-contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave absorbers are increasingly being used to enhance shielding performance at higher frequencies. Great effort has been made to develop materials with superior reflection loss (RL), thin thickness, wide bandwidth, and low density to improve their performance in electromagnetic microwave absorption. In this work, the rare-earth intermetallics La2Fe4Co10B fine powders with planar magnetocrystalline anisotropy and high magnetization were prepared using the hydrogenation desorption (HD) technique. By heating the obtained magnetic powders in the air to slowly form an oxide layer on their surfaces, its complex permittivity can be tuned without changing its complex permeability, and its microwave absorption performance can be dramatically enhanced due to the improved impedance matching condition. For the La2Fe4Co10B/paraffin composite, the real part of the complex permittivity at 10 GHz can be reduced from 20.1 to 12.8, decreasing 36.3%. Before the oxidation, the RL of La2Fe4Co10B/paraffin composite is only −14.8 dB at 3.3 GHz under 3.4 mm thickness with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 0.9 GHz. However, after the 10-hour oxidation, the RL changes to −15.6 dB at 13.4 GHz under 1.4 mm thickness with an EAB of 6.2 GHz. As an efficient and lightweight absorber, La2Fe4Co10B/paraffin composite has potential application value in constructing a new microwave absorber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide‐bandgap perovskite solar cell is a crucial part of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, which offer an avenue for surpassing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) limit of single‐junction silicon solar cells. However, the actual efficiency of such tandem solar cells today is diminished by the nonradiative recombination losses in the wide‐bandgap perovskite subcells. Here, this work reports a grain regrowth and bifacial passivation (GRBP) strategy to reduce recombination losses at the grain boundaries and perovskite/charge transport layer interfaces simultaneously. This is achieved by a posttreatment of perovskite films with a mixture of methylammonium thiocyanate (MASCN) and phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI). The MASCN induces the regrowth of perovskite grains and simultaneously facilitates the penetration of PEAI into the hole‐transport‐layer (HTL)/perovskite bottom interface. Thereby, the bulk and interface nonradiative recombination losses are reduced and the open‐circuit voltage in solar cells is considerably increased. PCEs of 21.9% and 19.9% for the 1.65‐eV bandgap opaque and semitransparent perovskite solar cells, respectively, are obtained. The encapsulated semitransparent perovskite solar cells retain their initial efficiency following 500 h of operation under one‐sun illumination in ambient conditions. The perovskite/silicon 4‐terminal (4‐T) tandem cells are fabricated with impressive PCEs 29.8% and 28.5% for 0.049 cm2 and 1 cm2 devices, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve accurate and rapid measurement of the hydrophobicity class (HC) of composite insulators, an intelligent spray image recognition technique based on light‐weight convolutional neural networks (CNN) is proposed in this paper. A spray image data set contains clean, contaminated and aged insulators with various illuminations, shooting angles and distances, about 10 400 images of shed surface were collected by spray tests and data augmentation. Five classification models were established by different CNNs, including GoogLeNet, ResNet101, ShuffleNet 0.5×, ShuffleNet 0.25× and MobileNet V2, while the first four of them were pre‐trained by ImageNet dataset. These models were trained, validated and tested by spray image data set. Six indexes were designed to evaluate each model and the discriminative regions for classification were visualized by gradient weighted class activation mapping (Grad‐CAM) method. The results show that these models can effectively recognize spray images with HC1–HC7 and the light‐weight ShuffleNet 0.5× has the best performance, with the classification accuracy of 97.09% for 2022 test images. The Grad‐CAM visualizations indicate that the results have high reliability. This study can provide reference for on‐line detection and intelligent identification of hydrophobicity levels of composite insulators. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an efficient thermoelectric temperature control system based on an improved proportional integral differential (PID) algorithm in which energy feedback technology is used to enhance thermoelectric cooling. In the proposed power management system, two groups of batteries are efficiently and alternatingly charged and discharged such that the information of the circuit can be monitored in real time. The PID algorithm is improved by using the idea of a state machine to control the thermoelectric coolers (TEC) through an H-bridge circuit with pulsewidth modulation. Finally, the energy feedback circuit combined with improved synchronous switching technology is designed to recycle the energy to drive the sensor. By inputting current of 3.1 A, a wide range of temperature control from 1.437 to 60.187 °C was implemented. While targeting a temperature of 10 °C at an ambient temperature of 22 °C, the proposed temperature control system had a control time of 30.5 s, compared with 287 s when using the conventional method, with an accuracy of 0.1 °C, and an error of only ±0.35 °C. The results confirm that electric energy at a peak voltage of 1.2 V and current of 24 μA can be recovered. The proposed energy feedback system can thus improve the efficiency of energy utilization of TEC from a peripheral circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the mitral valve calcification and mitral structure detected by cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT) and establish a scoring model based on cardiac CT and clinical factors to predict early good mitral valve repair (EGMR) and guide surgical strategy in rheumatic mitral disease (RMD). Materials and methods: This is a retrospective bi-center cohort study. Based on cardiac CT, mitral valve calcification and mitral structure in RMD were quantified and evaluated. The primary outcome was EGMR. A logical regression algorithm was applied to the scoring model. Results: A total of 579 patients were enrolled in our study from January 1, 2019, to August 31, 2022. Of these, 443 had baseline cardiac CT scans of adequate quality. The calcification quality score, calcification and thinnest part of the anterior leaflet clean zone, and papillary muscle symmetry were the independent CT factors of EGMR. Coronary artery disease and pulmonary artery pressure were the independent clinical factors of EGMR. Based on the above six factors, a scoring model was established. Sensitivity = 95% and specificity = 95% were presented with a cutoff value of 0.85 and 0.30 respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic of external validation set was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73–0.93). Conclusions: Mitral valve repair is recommended when the scoring model value > 0.85 and mitral valve replacement is prior when the scoring model value < 0.30. This model could assist in guiding surgical strategies for RMD. Clinical relevance statement: The model established in this study can serve as a reference indicator for surgical repair in rheumatic mitral valve disease. Key Points: • Cardiac CT can reflect the mitral structure in detail, especially for valve calcification. • A model based on cardiac CT and clinical factors for predicting early good mitral valve repair was established. • The developed model can help cardiac surgeons formulate appropriate surgical strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have suggested that subtype B HIV-1 proviruses in the brain are associated with physiological changes and immune activation accompanied with microgliosis and astrogliosis, and indicated that both HIV-1 subtype variation and geographical location might influence the neuropathogenicity of HIV-1 in the brain. The natural course of neuropathogenesis of the most widespread subtype C HIV-1 has not been adequately investigated, especially for people living with HIV (PLWH) in sub-Saharan Africa. To characterize the natural neuropathology of subtype C HIV-1, postmortem frontal lobe and basal ganglia tissues were collected from nine ART-naïve individuals who died of late-stage AIDS with subtype C HIV-1 infection, and eight uninfected deceased individuals as controls. Histological staining was performed on all brain tissues to assess brain pathologies. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) against CD4, p24, Iba-1, GFAP, and CD8 in all brain tissues was conducted to evaluate potential viral production and immune activation. Histological results showed mild perivascular cuffs of lymphocytes only in a minority of the infected individuals. Viral capsid p24 protein was only detected in circulating immune cells of one infected individual, suggesting a lack of productive HIV-1 infection of the brain even at the late-stage of AIDS. Notably, similar levels of Iba-1 or GFAP between HIV + and HIV- brain tissues indicated a lack of microgliosis and astrogliosis, respectively. Similar levels of CD8 + cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) infiltration between HIV + and HIV- brain tissues indicated CTL were not likely to be involved within subtype C HIV-1 infected participants of this cohort. Results from this subtype C HIV-1 study suggest that there is a lack of productive infection and limited neuropathogenesis by subtype C HIV-1 even at late-stage disease, which is in contrast to what was reported for subtype B HIV-1 by other investigators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce overall patient radiation exposure in some clinical scenarios (since cancer patients need frequent follow-ups), noncontrast CT is not used in some institutions. However, although less desirable, noncontrast CT could provide additional important information. In this article, we propose a deep subtraction residual network based on adjacency content transfer to reconstruct noncontrast CT from contrast CT and maintain image quality comparable to that of a CT scan originally acquired without contrast. To address the slight structural dissimilarity of the paired CT images (noncontrast CT and contrast CT) due to involuntary physiological motion, we introduce a contrastive loss network derived from the adjacency content-transfer strategy. We evaluate the results of various similarity metrics (MSE, SSIM, NRMSE, PSNR, MAE) and the fitting curve (HU distribution) of the output mapping to estimate the reconstruction performance of the algorithm. To build the model, we randomly select a total of 15,405 CT paired images (noncontrast CT and contrast-enhanced CT) for training and 10,270 CT paired images for testing. The proposed algorithm preserves the robust structures from the contrast-enhanced CT scans and learns the noncontrast attenuation pattern from the noncontrast CT scans. During the evaluation, the deep subtraction residual network achieves higher MSE, MAE, NRMSE, and PSNR scores (by 30%) than those of the baseline models (BEGAN, CycleGAN, Pixel2Pixel) and better simulates the HU curve of noncontrast CT attenuation. After validation based on an analysis of the experimental results, we can report that the noncontrast CT images reconstructed by our proposed algorithm not only preserve the high-quality structures from the contrast-enhanced CT images, but also mimic the CT attenuation of the originally acquired noncontrast CT images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the Systemic Inflammatory Response Index (SIRI) and the Fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) has not been extensively investigated. The objective of this study was to determine the independent relationship between FAR and SIRI in people with osteoporotic fractures (OPF). A cross-sectional study was conducted using retrospective data from 3431 hospitalized OPF patients. The exposure variable in this study was the baseline FAR, while the outcome variable was the SIRI. Covariates, including age, gender, BMI, and other clinical and laboratory factors, were adjusted. Cross-correlation analysis and linear regression models were applied. The generalized additive model (GAM) investigated non-linear relationships. Adjusted analysis revealed an independent negative association between FAR and SIRI in OPF patients (β = − 0.114, p = 0.00064, 95% CI − 0.180, − 0.049). A substantial U-shaped association between FAR and SIRI was shown using GAM analysis (p < 0.001). FAR and SIRI indicated a negative association for FAR below 6.344% and a positive correlation for FAR over 6.344%. The results of our study revealed a U-shaped relationship between SIRI and FAR. The lowest conceivable FAR for a bone-loose inflammatory disease might be 6.344%, suggesting that this has particular significance for the medical diagnosis and therapy of persons with OPF. Consequently, the term "inflammatory trough" is proposed. These results offer fresh perspectives on controlling inflammation in individuals with OPF and preventing inflammatory osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus subtilis is one of the widely used probiotics, which has strong stability and can survive and reproduce in animal intestines. Bacillus subtilis has synergistic effects with other probiotics or prebiotics, which is widely used in microbial feed additives. Bacillus subtilis has more advantages in viability in gastrointestinal tract than lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacterium. Bacillus subtilis can regulate the intestinal flora of animals, improve growth performance, enhance immunity and intestinal health. Based on the physiological characteristics of Bacillus subtilis, the paper describes its application in animal production and its functions in regulating intestinal health, inhibiting oxidative stress and enhancing immunity, aiming at providing reference for the related application of Bacillus subtilis in animal production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence and spread of carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) is causing worldwide concern. Sequence type (ST) 86 K. pneumoniae, a major hvKP clone, is rarely resistant to carbapenem. In this study, we report the genomic features and virulence characteristics of a community-acquired bloodstream infection (CA-BSI)-causing CR-hvKP ST86 strain (KPN55602). This strain is resistant to carbapenem but sensitive to amikacin, gentamicin, tigecycline, and colistin. According to in vitro and in vivo virulence assessments, it was classified as hypervirulent. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that KPN55602 has a single 5.13 Mb chromosome and two plasmids. The chromosome of KPN55602 is phylogenetically similar to those of other sequenced ST86 strains. The incompatibility (Inc) group HI1B plasmid pK55602_1, harboring a set of virulence genes, was classified as a virulence plasmid. The IncX6 plasmid pK55602_2, carrying blaKPC-2, was transferable through conjugation and is highly homologous to all five sequenced blaKPC-bearing IncX6 plasmids. In conclusion, to our knowledge, this is the first report of a CA-BSI-causing CR-hvKP ST86 strain harboring an exogenous blaKPC-2-bearing IncX6 plasmid, supplementing existing knowledge on the CR-hvKP evolutionary scenario. The IncX6 plasmid may be an important vehicle for blaKPC, and its horizontal transfer may have led to CR-hvKP evolution in the community setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HVDC technologies are widely acknowledged as one of solutions for the interconnection of renewable energy resources with the main electric power grid. The application of the latest modular multi-level converter (MMC) makes power conversion much more efficient. Due to the relatively low impedance in a DC system, DC fault currents may rise to an extremely high level in a short period of time, which can be very dangerous for HVDC converters. To improve the sustainability and security of electricity transmission, protection solutions for HVDC systems are being developed. Nevertheless, they have various drawbacks on fault signal detection and timely clearance. This paper proposes a protection method that provides a fast and reliable solution addressing those drawbacks. A protection algorithm based on travelling wave simulation and analysis is proposed to detect abrupt transient signals. The algorithm shows high efficiency, reliability, selectivity and has low sampling frequency requirements. The proposed protection method has been validated through a cyber-physical simulation platform, developed using a real-time digital simulator (RTDS) and IEC 61850 communication links. The obtained results show that the proposed method has good potential for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, most two‐dimensional (2D) metal halide perovskites are of the Ruddlesden–Popper type and contain the thermally unstable methylammonium (MA) molecules, which leads to inferior photovoltaic performance and mild stability. Here we report a new type of MA‐free formamidinium (FA) based low‐dimensional perovskites, featuring a general formula of (PDA)(FA)n−1PbnI3n+1 with propane‐1,3‐diammonium (PDA) as the organic spacer cation. The perovskite films with well‐oriented crystal grains are attained under the assistance of the FACl additive, where the role of Cl is investigated through the grazing‐incidence X‐ray diffraction technique. The photovoltaic device based on the optimized (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 film demonstrates a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 13.8 %, the highest record for the FA‐based 2D perovskite solar cells. In addition, compared to (PDA)(MA)3Pb4I13, the MA‐containing analogue and a renowned stable 2D perovskite, both the (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 films and their derived devices exhibit exceedingly higher thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, most two‐dimensional (2D) metal halide perovskites are of the Ruddlesden–Popper type and contain the thermally unstable methylammonium (MA) molecules, which leads to inferior photovoltaic performance and mild stability. Here we report a new type of MA‐free formamidinium (FA) based low‐dimensional perovskites, featuring a general formula of (PDA)(FA)n−1PbnI3n+1 with propane‐1,3‐diammonium (PDA) as the organic spacer cation. The perovskite films with well‐oriented crystal grains are attained under the assistance of the FACl additive, where the role of Cl is investigated through the grazing‐incidence X‐ray diffraction technique. The photovoltaic device based on the optimized (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 film demonstrates a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 13.8 %, the highest record for the FA‐based 2D perovskite solar cells. In addition, compared to (PDA)(MA)3Pb4I13, the MA‐containing analogue and a renowned stable 2D perovskite, both the (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 films and their derived devices exhibit exceedingly higher thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development in communication technology, severe electromagnetic wave radiation pollution has been created, resulting in electromagnetic interference and health hazards. Thus, materials with excellent microwave absorbing properties have become an urgent need. Magnetic particles with core-shell structures are widely used as microwave absorbers due to their high magnetic loss, little eddy current effect, and tunable dielectric properties. Herein, carbonized Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), and Graphene Oxide (GO) are used to coat the Y2Fe16Si (YFeSi) magnetic powders to form YFeSi@MOF and YFeSi@GO core-shell structures. Their microwave absorption properties are studied. The reflection loss (RL) of YFeSi@MOF can reach -19.2dB@15.1GHz under 1.4 mm thickness with an effective bandwidth of 4.7 GHz, and the reflection loss of YFeSi@GO can reach -18.3dB@16.2GHz under 1.6 mm thickness with an effective bandwidth of 3.9 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methylammonium (MA)‐free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have drawn broad attention due to their excellent thermostability. However, the efficiency of these devices is inferior to most state‐of‐the‐art PSCs. Herein, the photovoltaic performance of the MA‐free PSCs is enhanced by constructing interfacial capping layers with a pair of alkylammonium halides, n‐propylammonium (PA) iodide and propane‐1,3‐diammonium (PDA) iodide. The structure and composition of the interfacial layers are comprehensively investigated and their correlation with the device performance is presented in terms of defect passivation efficacy, energy level alignment, and hydrophobicity for moisture resistance. The PSC devices based on the PAI and PDAI2 treated MA‐free perovskite films demonstrate better power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) and stabilities than the reference devices without the interfacial layers. Although the PAI‐treated devices exhibit the highest PCE of 21.1%, the PDAI2‐treated PSCs demonstrate the exceptional thermal and humidity stabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controllers learned from data are more practical and promising than the existing model-based ones and their capability can be enhanced if a priori information about the controlled plant is available. Under this viewpoint, a data-driven guaranteed cost control (GCC) design is investigated for linear systems with time-varying parameter uncertainties. Initially, the GCC design is shown to be equivalent to an $H_{\infty }$ state feedback control problem subject to a specific disturbance attenuation performance requirement. Then such an $H_{\infty }$ control problem is regarded as a zero-sum game and reduces to seek the stabilizing solution of a parameterized algebraic Riccati equation (ARE). Furthermore, to solve the ARE approximately, a modified simultaneous policy update algorithm (SPUA) and the corresponding data-driven variant based on off-policy reinforcement learning (RL) and experience replay technique is proposed. Finally, a numerical simulation for aircrafts with harsh uncertainties is illustrated to validate the merits of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to stress concentration and anisotropy, the actual shape of a borehole is oval instead of what is usually treated – circular. In this study, a collapse pressure model for an elliptical vertical wellbore is established. The influences of ellipticity and weak planes on the wellbore collapse pressure are analyzed. The results reveal that the collapse pressure increases with the wellbore ellipticity and decreases as the weak planes' strength increases. Additionally, the collapse pressure depends strongly on the attitude of the weak planes. The present study achieves a more accurate prediction of the wellbore collapse pressure in a layered formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: BRAF-activated noncoding RNA (BANCR) is aberrantly expressed in various tumor tissues and has been confirmed to function as a tumor suppressor or oncogene in many types of cancers. Considering the conflicting results and insufficient sampling, a meta-analysis was performed to explore the prognostic value of BANCR in various carcinomas.Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was conducted to collect relevant articles.Results: The pooled results showed a strong relationship between high BANCR expression and poor overall survival (OS) (HR (hazard ratio) =1.60, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-2.15, P = 0.002) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.27-1.85, P < 0.00001). In addition, high BANCR expression predicted advanced tumor stage (OR (odds ratio) =2.39, 95% CI: 1.26-4.53, P = 0.008), presence of lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.08-3.83, P = 0.03), positive distant metastasis (OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 1.92-4.96, P < 0.00001) and larger tumor sizes (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.09-2.46, P = 0.02). However, no associations were found for smoking status (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.65-1.56, P = 0.98), age (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.71-1.09, P = 0.236) and sex (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.72-1.16, P = 0.469). The sensitivity analysis of OS showed that the results of each publication were almost consistent with the combined results, and the merged results have high robustness and reliability.Conclusions: The results showed that elevated BANCR expression was associated with unfavorable prognosis for most cancer patients, and BANCR could serve as a promising therapeutic target and independent prognostic predictor in most of cancer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleus-targeting NPs based on RuO2 (RuO2NPs) were developed by controlling the size and the surface charge of nanoparticles (NPs). This study not only demonstrates a facile approach for the fabrication of ultrasmall CS-RuO2NPs with good biocompatibility and excellent photothermal properties but also their unique potential for the nucleus-targeted low-temperature PTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary artery disease (CAD), and stearoyl‐CoA desaturase (SCD) is associated with atherosclerosis. However, the associations between variants of SCD and CAD have not yet been decided. Methods: This study analyzed SCD rs41290540 single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 3′‐untranslated region for an association with a risk of CAD among the Chinese Han population. CAD patients and controls were genotyped for SNP rs41290540 in SCD by SNaPshot. The binding affinity of miR‐498 to rs41290540 was determined by a luciferase assay, and SCD expression was assessed using Western blot. Results: A total of 969 CAD patients and 1,095 control subjects were involved in this study. The SCD rs41290540CC genotype is associated with a decreased risk of CAD compared with the AA genotype. Furthermore, the CC genotype is associated with lower serum total cholesterol (TC). Western blot analysis demonstrated that miR‐498 suppressed the expression of SCD. A luciferase assay confirmed that rs41290540 A>C variation in the SCD 3′UTR inhibits miR‐498 binding. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the SCD rs41290540 may be associated with a decreased risk of CAD, lower serum TC, and decreased miR‐498 binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis is a common disease in women, which impairs the quality of life in patients. Recently, accumulating evidences reported that miRNAs play an essential role in diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. However, the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs has not been fully explored. The expression of miR-17-5p and VEGFA was detected using qRT-PCR. The protein level of VEGFA was measured via Western blot. Cell proliferation was determined by CCK-8 assay. Cell migration and invasion were measured via transwell assay. The relationship of miR-17-5p and VEGFA were verified via luciferase reporter assay. Then miR-17-5p was remarkably down-regulated in endometriosis tissues, serums and cells, and overexpression of miR-17-5p inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in endometriosis. Results showed that VEGFA was significantly up-regulated in endometriosis tissues and cells and acted as a target of miR-17-5p. Moreover, miR-17-5p negatively regulated VEGFA expression in endometriosis. Otherwise, up-regulation of VEGFA improved cell proliferative, migrated and invasive ability in ECSCs with transfection of miR-17-5p mimics group. Our data showed miR-17-5p inhibits cell proliferation, migration and invasion in endometriosis by directly repressing VEGFA expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The choking phenomenon is enhanced/suppressed by a heat/cold gas flow. • The choking phenomenon is weakly dependent on the absolute instability. • The nonexistence of steady-traveling wave solution is a good proxy for the choking phenomenon. This paper considers a thick liquid film of mean thickness h 0 coating the interior surface of a uniformly heated vertical tube of radius a under the influence of gravity ( h 0 is not far thinner than the radius a). An asymptotic model based on the long-wave assumption is derived. Linear stability analysis shows that the Rayleigh-Plateau instability can be inhibited when the core air phase is warmer than the liquid phase; while the Rayleigh-Plateau instability is enhanced when the air phase is colder than the liquid phase. Linear stability analysis also shows that the absolute instability can be enhanced by the Marangoni effect. Traveling wave study reveals that two different phenomena could exist in this system: choke phenomenon and saturated traveling waves. For small tube radius α ≲ 3.38 (α = a / h 0 is the dimensionless pipe radius), that the air phase always chokes. A cold air flow (the Marangoni number Ma > 0) promotes the height of traveling wave, which therefore enhances the choke phenomenon. The choke phenomenon can be suppressed by a warm air phase (Ma < 0). Numerical simulation shows that the traveling wave study predicts an upper bound of the critical tube radius, below which the air flow chokes. A self-similar analysis is carried out to investigate the dynamics of choke and the scaling (t c - t) 1 / 5 is obtained. The power exponent 1 / 5 is independent of Marangoni effect, but the choke time t c decreases as Ma increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved understanding of the rupture dynamics for liquid marbles is essential for their application in sensors, miniaturized reactions, biomedical scaffolds, the synthesis of functional materials, and others. This work suggests that a compressed liquid marble always ruptures at the edge of the contact area between the marble and a substrate. The rupture dynamics of a compressed marble is visualized with a particle-level resolution using a marble coated with monodispersed microparticles. High-speed photography indicates that the particle density decreases significantly from the center to the edge, and the sparse particle layer at the edge initiates rupturing. Such a particle density distribution is well depicted with our proposed model, which predicts the theoretical values that agree well with the experimental results. This study generalizes the understanding for the rupture dynamics of particle-stabilized droplets and is beneficial to any applications that involve the rupture or coalescence of liquid marbles as well as Pickering emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu2−xSe nanoparticles (Cu2−xSeNPs) were camouflaged with a red blood cell membrane (RBC) to create nanoparticles with improved biocompatibility, longer blood retention times, excellent absorption properties, superior photothermal conversion efficiency (67.2%) and singlet oxygen production capabilities for the synergistic photothermal and photodynamic therapy of cancer in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The instability is enhanced by the van der Waals attractions and Marangoni effect. • The Marangoni effect does not cause the breakup and the film thins as t −1 without van der Waals attractions. • The film thins as Δ t 1/5 due the van der Waals attractions, which ruptures in finite time. Abstract An ultra-thin liquid film flowing down a vertical uniformly heated cylinder under the influence of gravity is investigated. A thin liquid film model is derived, assuming that the film thickness h is much smaller than the fiber radius a. To predict the breakup of film, the van der Waals attraction, proportional to h - 3 , is taken into account. Linear stability analysis shows that the Rayleigh-Plateau instability is enhanced by the long-range attractions and Marangoni effect. The spatial-temporal stability analysis shows that the instability is absolute when A + M > 0.17 (A is a composite Hamaker number accounting for the strength of van der Waals attractions and M is the Marangoni number). A self-similarity analysis shows that the film thins as h ∼ (t r - t) 1 / 5 ( t r is the breakup time), which is supported by the numerical simulations of the thin film model. Although the scaling is independent on the Marangoni effect, nonlinear simulations demonstrate that the breakup time t r decreases as the Marangoni effect becomes stronger, demonstrating that the breakup process is accelerated by the Marangoni effect. Nonlinear simulation also shows that the thin heated or non-heated film mainly breaks up in the absolutely unstable regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tuberculosis is a global problem with an increasing impact on the public health. • Tuberculosis needs to be monitored or followed-up over time. X-ray based CT has become a standard examination, but radiation caused by CT is a concern. • Lung MRI with the motion correction provides a non-radiation alternative to the clinical standard CT. To evaluate the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with an advanced motion correction technique in characterizing lung tissue changes and lesions induced by pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Sixty-three subjects with computed tomography (CT) features of pulmonary TB underwent lung MRI. All subjects with pulmonary TB were confirmed by acid-fast bacillus (AFB) testing or the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. T2-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence MRI with the MultiVane motion correction technique was used to image the lungs. Routine lung CT images were obtained as reference. MRI and CT images were reviewed by multiple readers independently. The performance of MRI in depicting abnormalities induced by pulmonary TB and their morphological changes were evaluated and compared with the performance of CT. Lung MRI found pulmonary abnormalities in all 63 TB subjects, with satisfactory quality. With the implementation of MultiVane for T2-weighted TSE sequences to reduce the motion correction effect, MRI showed excellent agreement with CT in detecting abnormal imaging features of pulmonary TB (κ = 0.88, p < 0.001), such as tree-in-bud sign, ground-glass opacity, consolidation, mass, and cavitation. MRI was advantageous in identifying caseation and liquefactive necrosis based on inhomogeneous signal distribution within consolidations and also in identifying mild pleural effusion. The optimized lung MRI was comparable to CT in detecting non-calcified nodules (κ = 0.90), with overall sensitivity of 50.0%, 91.1%, and 100% for nodules of size <5 mm, 5–10 mm, and >10 mm, respectively. However, MRI was less effective in identifying lesions with calcification. The clinical implementation of an optimized MRI protocol with the MultiVane motion correction technique for imaging pulmonary TB is feasible. Lung MRI without ionizing radiation is a promising alternative to the clinical standard CT, especially for pregnant women, children, adolescents, and patients requiring short-term and repeated follow-up observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Robust System model of a mechanical DC circuit breaker with current injection circuit in RTDS environment. • Comparison with PSCAD model. • Refined modelling of energy absorber in RTDS. Abstract The main goal of the paper is the modeling of the mechanical circuit breaker (MCB) that can replicate the breaker characteristics in real time environment. The proposed MCB with active current injection is modelled for a system level, which provides adequate representation of the circuit breakers for system analysis studies. External current-voltage characteristics of the proposed MCB models replicate the ones of the devices in the real world. It is well known that the DC circuit breaker (DCCB) needs to interrupt DC faults very quickly in order to avoid converter damages. The total current interruption time consists of fault detection time, time needed for the DC protection to provide command to the DCCB, and DCCB arc clearing time. Thus, it is necessary to demonstrate the system performance of associated protective devices through real time simulation, before these devices can be implemented and commissioned in practice. This paper presents a detailed modeling of the mechanical DCCB in real time simulation environment based on RTDS. The performance of the model is verified by the simulations based on PSCAD and meaningful conclusions are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a state‐of‐the‐art commercial deep learning‐based computer‐aided diagnosis (DL‐CAD) system for detecting and characterizing pulmonary nodules. Methods: Pulmonary nodules in 346 healthy subjects (male: female = 221:125, mean age 51 years) from a lung cancer screening program conducted from March to November 2017 were screened using a DL‐CAD system and double reading independently, and their performance in nodule detection and characterization were evaluated. An expert panel combined the results of the DL‐CAD system and double reading as the reference standard. Results: The DL‐CAD system showed a higher detection rate than double reading, regardless of nodule size (86.2% vs. 79.2%; P < 0.001): nodules ≥ 5 mm (96.5% vs. 88.0%; P = 0.008); nodules < 5 mm (84.3% vs. 77.5%; P < 0.001). However, the false positive rate (per computed tomography scan) of the DL‐CAD system (1.53, 529/346) was considerably higher than that of double reading (0.13, 44/346; P < 0.001). Regarding nodule characterization, the sensitivity and specificity of the DL‐CAD system for distinguishing solid nodules > 5 mm (90.3% and 100.0%, respectively) and ground‐glass nodules (100.0% and 96.1%, respectively) were close to that of double reading, but dropped to 55.5% and 93%, respectively, when discriminating part solid nodules. Conclusion: Our DL‐CAD system detected significantly more nodules than double reading. In the future, false positive findings should be further reduced and characterization accuracy improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The paper proposes a data-driven algorithm to deal with the block-sparsity recovery problem. • A recurrent neural network with LSTM block is introduced to capture the intra-structure of signals. • The algorithm is no need for the prior knowledge of partition patterns. Abstract Several researches on block-sparsity recovery have been recently carried. Block-sparse signals with nonzero elements occurring in clusters arise naturally in many practical applications. However, the priori knowledge of block partitions is usually unavailable in reality, which increases the difficulty of recovery greatly. At the meantime, deep learning methods have been developed rapidly in last few years as a kind of data-driven methods. In this paper, we propose a novel approach based on recurrent neural networks for recovery of block-sparse signals with unknown cluster patterns. In our work, the recurrent neural network containing the long short-term memory is introduced to acquire the spatial correlations between nonzero elements of block-sparse signals. Extensive experiments both on synthetic data and real-world data show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX exhibits excellent water solubility and photothermal effect. • Cu 2 SeNPs can be use as a drug delivery system with dual temperature/pH response. • Upon NIR laser irradiation, Cu 2 SeNPs induces ROS generation significantly. • Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX can be used for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy. Abstract Functionalized-nanoparticles have been developed as novel therapeutic delivery platform for simultaneous drug loading and therapy over the past decade. Rationally-designed biocompatible nanosystem simultaneously with multistimuli-responsive property and synergistic therapeutic potential are highly desirable for modern biological applications. Herein, Cu 2 Se nanoparticles (Cu 2 SeNPs) with suitable size have been functionalized by bull serum albumin (BSA) through a simply, facile and controllable method. As a result, Cu 2 SeNPs modified by BSA (BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs) showed excellent biocompatibility and stability. The strong absorbance of BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs at near infrared region imparts them with high photothermal efficiency. Then loading doxorubicin (DOX, anticancer drug) on the surface of BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs, and consequently, a novel multifunctional nanosystem of BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX is designed. The BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs can achieve high DOX loading capacity (approximately 157 μg DOX per mg of Cu 2 Se). Furthermore, a rational and precise release of DOX from the BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX could be easily realized under the stimulates of the pH and temperature, which remarkably improved antitumor efficacy of combined chemotherapy and photothermal therapy triggered by 808 nm NIR laser. Thus, the BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX could serve as an ideal nanoplatform for cancer diagnosis and treatment in future. The results of cell experiments show that the BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX exhibited favorable selective cellular uptake cells. Under the NIR laser irradiation, BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX could induce the excessive expression of ROS, eventually leading to the death of U251 cells. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that the nanosystem of BSA-Cu 2 SeNPs-DOX showed excellent synergistic therapeutic effect and multistimuli-responsive drug vehicle, which will exert huge potential for future clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of drug-resistant superbugs has necessitated a pressing need for innovative antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have demonstrated broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, reduced susceptibility to resistance, and immunomodulatory effects, rendering them promising for combating drug-resistant microorganisms. This study employed computational simulation methods to screen and design AMPs specifically targeting ESKAPE pathogens. Particularly, AMPs were rationally designed to target the BamA and obtain novel antimicrobial peptide sequences. The designed AMPs were assessed for their antibacterial activities, mechanisms, and stability. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations demonstrated the interaction of both designed AMPs, 11pep and D-11pep, with the β1, β9, β15, and β16 chains of BamA, resulting in misfolding of outer membrane proteins and antibacterial effects. Subsequent antibacterial investigations confirmed the broad-spectrum activity of both 11pep and D-11pep, with D-11pep demonstrating higher potency against resistant Gram-negative bacteria. D-11pep exhibited MICs of 16, 8, and 32 μg/mL against carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, respectively, with a concomitant lower resistance induction. Mechanism of action studies confirmed that peptides could disrupt the bacterial outer membrane, aligning with the findings of molecular dynamics simulations. Additionally, D-11pep demonstrated superior stability and reduced toxicity in comparison to 11pep. The findings of this study underscore the efficacy of rational AMP design that targets BamA, along with the utilization of D-amino acid replacements as a strategy for developing AMPs against drug-resistant bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible photovoltaic devices have wide applications in many unique areas. However, the interparticle connection of photo-electrode in flexible photovoltaic devices still needs to be improved. Here, TiO 2 slurries have been prepared by a three-step process, which are employed to prepare the photo-anode for flexible CuInS 2 quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). 5 nm-sized TiO 2 nanoparticles and hydrochloric acid (HCl) have been introduced in 20 nm-sized TiO 2 based photo-electrodes under TiO 2 /HCl mass ratio of 3:1, which exhibits excellent photovoltaic performance and charge transfer property. Due to the interparticle connection enhancement by suitable content of 5 nm-sized TiO 2 nanoparticles, photo-anodes with the 20/5-TiO 2 nanoparticles mass ratio of 3:1 exhibits the better optical absorption property and photovoltaic performance of flexible QDSSCs. Moreover, there has maintained 98% photovoltaic conversion efficiency of flexible QDSSCs with the seriously curving condition, which can be considered the great foreground in future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonparametric Bayesian dictionary learning has shown a powerful potential in image restoration. However, it still lacks exploiting image structure to improve the performance. In this work, we propose a sparse Bayesian dictionary learning framework with structure prior called nonlocal structured beta process factor analysis (NLS-BPFA) which connects nonlocal self-similarity and sparse Bayesian dictionary learning. A nonlocal structured beta process is proposed to introduce the nonlocal self-similarity as a structure prior for image denoising and inpainting. Unlike most of the existing image denoising methods, our proposed method does not need to know noise variance in advance like an unsupervised learning. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) contributes to the Alzheimer's-like pathogenesis, but the relationship between CCH and the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains obscure. The aim is to elucidate the potential pathophysiological mechanism in the field of amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology induced by CCH. A rat model of CCH has been developed with permanent bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries (BCCAO). The cognitive function of rats was tested by the Morris water maze. The levels of Aβ (Aβ40 and Aβ42) and soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP: sAPPα and sAPPβ) were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), presenilin1 (PS1), nicastrin (NCT), anterior pharynx-defective 1alpha (Aph-1α) and presenilin enhancer 2 (Pen-2), sAPPα and sAPPβ were detected by Western blotting. Morris water maze test showed that CCH induced decline in learning and memory related to Aβ levels in the hippocampus. The levels of sAPPα, ADAM10 and ADAM17 in the hippocampus of CCH rats were higher than the control ones (P < 0.05); the levels of sAPPβ, BACE and BACE1 increased more than the control ones (P < 0.05). CCH intervention (1-week or 4-week) markedly increased the expression of PS1, Aph-1α and Pen-2 in the hippocampus of rats, but had no effect on NCT. CCH contributed to cognitive impairment and altered the amyloidogenic and non-amyloidogenic pathway of APP processing by boosting the activity of β-secretase/γ-secretase and α-secretase respectively. The non-amyloidogenic pathway can't overcome the damage role of the amyloidogenic pathway in the process of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion which promotes amyloid-beta pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin resistance often refers to a pathological condition in which cells fail to respond to the normal actions of insulin. Increasing literature has noted a critical role of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Insulin resistance plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke via enhancing advanced changes of atherosclerosis. A variety of literature indicates that insulin resistance enhances platelet adhesion, activation and aggregation which are conducive to the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Insulin resistance also induces hemodynamic disturbances and contributes to the onset of ischemic stroke. In addition, insulin resistance may augment the role of the modifiable risk factors in ischemic stroke and induce the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Preclinical and clinical studies have supported that improving insulin resistance may be an effective measure to prevent or delay ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the problem of spacecraft attitude actuator failure, an adaptive terminal sliding mode fault-tolerant controller (ATSMFTC) based on the differential manifold SO(3) modelling is designed in this paper. First, SO(3) is used to provide a global and unique description of the spacecraft attitude dynamic model. This modelling method not only avoids the problems of singularity and unwinding that exist in traditional modelling methods but also the SO(3) modelling has a simple formulation of the dynamic equations. Then a left attitude error descriptor function is constructed on SO(3) to design an ATSMFTC. This controller is capable of fast and accurate tracking of the time-varying desired attitude. At the same time, it can react quickly to maintain system stability in case of spacecraft attitude actuator failure. The controller designed based on the left attitude error description system of SO(3) has the features of small computational effort and simple design process. Finally, the numerical simulation of the attitude tracking error verifies the feasibility and high efficiency of the controller designed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparing to the low-level local features, transform invariant low-rank textures (TILT) can in some sense globally rectify a large class of low-rank textures in 2D images, and thus more accurate and robust. However, the existing algorithms based on the alternating direction method (ADM) and the linearized alternating direction method with adaptive penalty (LADMAP), suffer from the weak robustness and the local minima, especially with plenty of corruptions and occlusions. In this paper, instead of exploiting optimization methods, we propose to build a hierarchical Bayesian model to TILT and then a variational method is implemented for Bayesian inference. Instead of point estimation, the proposed Bayesian approach introduces the uncertainty of the parameters, which has been proven to have much less local minima. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data indicate that our new algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms especially for the case with corruptions and occlusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction To evaluate the glycometabolism and outcomes of gestational diabetes mellitus ( GDM) patients according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group ( IADPSG) criteria in China. Materials and Methods According to the results of a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, 1,683 pregnant women were divided into three groups: (i) an increment GDM group (patients meet the IADPSG criteria, but not the previous Chinese criteria); (ii) a stock GDM group (patients meet both criteria); and (iii) a normal glucose tolerance group. Their glycometabolism outcomes, prepregnancy and postpartum body mass index were compared, as were maternal-fetal outcomes. Results The IADPSG and previous Chinese criteria diagnosed 12.4% and 5.5% of women with GDM. Pairwise comparison showed significant differences in 1-h plasma glucose, 2-h plasma glucose, HbA1c values and area under curve of glucose among all groups ( P < 0.01). The fasting plasma glucose and postpartum body mass index of the stock group were significantly higher than those of the other two groups ( P < 0.01). The incidences of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy and cesarean section of the normal glucose tolerance group were significantly lower than those of the other two groups ( P < 0.001). No significant differences in patient age, prepregnancy body mass index, duration of pregnancy, prevalence of premature labor, premature rupture of membranes, neonatal jaundice, neonatal asphyxia or Ponderal Index were observed, but significant differences in macrosomia and neonatal hypoglycemia were observed ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The IADPSG criteria doubled the number of GDM patients. The cases of the increment patients were mild. The IADPSG criteria should be discussed fully before implementation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Task-specific rehabilitation has been shown to promote functional recovery after acute spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has been shown to promote neuroplasticity after SCI. Here, we investigated whether the combination of a single bolus of DHA with rehabilitation can enhance the effect of DHA or rehabilitation therapy in adult injured spinal cord. We found enhanced functional improvement with DHA in combination with rehabilitation compared with either treatment alone in a rat cervical lateral hemisection SCI model. This behavioral improvement correlated with a significant sprouting of uninjured corticospinal and serotonergic fibers. We also observed that the greatest increase in the synaptic vesicle protein, synaptophysin, and the synaptic active zone protein, Bassoon, occurred in animals that received both DHA and rehabilitation. In summary, the functional, anatomical, and synaptic plasticity induced by task-specific rehabilitation can be further enhanced by DHA treatment. This study shows the potential beneficial effects of DHA combined with rehabilitation for the treatment of patients with SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have designed a universal absorber structure for materials with high loss ability but mismatched impedance. The absorption performance can be significantly improved by inserting a lossless layer, such as air, between the metal backing and the absorption layer. The inserted layer works as the phase-tuning layer, improving the impedance-matching condition and enhancing the absorption layer's loss. By applying the structure to three different materials (Graphene, Ce 0.75 Sm 1.25 Fe 17 N 3-δ , and Mn), we prove the effectiveness of this structure. Notably, in the case of Ce 0.75 Sm 1.25 Fe 17 N 3-δ , we can get an absorber with an absorption layer as thin as a sheet of A4 paper (only 0.1 mm), with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.5 GHz and a strongest absorption peak of − 44 dB. This means a surface density of 0.031 g/cm2 can be achieved theoretically, much lighter than many reported absorbers constructed from metal composites, which is particularly beneficial for mass-sensitive applications. In addition, for the practical feasibility of preparation, the phase-tuning layer can also be composed of other lossless mediums such as paraffin, Teflon, and aerosol, which can achieve a similar effect to air. ● A universal double-layer structure has been designed to improve the performance of materials with high loss ability but mismatched impedance by inserting a lossless layer (such as air, paraffin, Teflon and aerosol) to tune the phase of microwaves. ● The effectiveness of this structure is demostrated on three different types of materials and their bandwidths are significantly improved with this structural modification (Graphene: 5.7 GHz → 7.4 GHz, Ce 0.75 Sm 1.25 Fe 17 N 3-δ : 0 → 8.5 GHz, Mn: 0 → 6.9 GHz). ● For Ce 0.75 Sm 1.25 Fe 17 N 3-δ , we can get an absorber with an absorbing layer as thin as a sheet of A4 paper (only 0.1 mm), with an EAB of 8.5 GHz and the strongest absorption peak of − 44 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]