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The in situ metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of Al2O3 dielectrics on β-Ga2O3 and β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films is investigated as a function of crystal orientations and Al compositions of β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films. The interface and film qualities of Al2O3 dielectrics are evaluated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging, which indicate the growth of high-quality amorphous Al2O3 dielectrics with abrupt interfaces on (010), (100), and ( 2 ¯ 01) oriented β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films. The surface stoichiometries of Al2O3 deposited on all orientations of β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 are found to be well maintained with a bandgap energy of 6.91 eV as evaluated by high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which is consistent with the atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 dielectrics. The evolution of band offsets at both in situ MOCVD and ex situ ALD deposited Al2O3/β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 is determined as a function of Al composition, indicating the influence of the deposition method, orientation, and Al composition of β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films on resulting band alignments. Type II band alignments are determined at the MOCVD grown Al2O3/β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 interfaces for the (010) and (100) orientations, whereas type I band alignments with relatively low conduction band offsets are observed along the ( 2 ¯ 01) orientation. The results from this study on MOCVD growth and band offsets of amorphous Al2O3 deposited on differently oriented β-Ga2O3 and β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films will potentially contribute to the design and fabrication of future high-performance β-Ga2O3 and β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 based transistors using MOCVD in situ deposited Al2O3 as a gate dielectric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the surface performance of engineering components, a Ni60-Ti-B4C hard coating was prepared in-situ on the surface of Q235 using laser cladding method based on Ni60-Ti-B4C powder. The effect of process parameters (laser power and scanning speed) on the microstructure, dilution rate, microhardness and wear resistance of the coatings was investigated in detail. The highest microhardness and lower dilution rate coatings were obtained by process optimization. A laser power of 1000 W and scanning speed of 6 mm/s were found to be the optimum parameters. The optimized Ni60-Ti-B4C coating mainly consists of in-situ rod-like TiB2 and block-like TiC of different sizes with TiB2-TiC eutectic structure and small amounts of FeNi, Ni3Cr and NiSi phases. The optimized Ni60-Ti-B4C coating has a dilution rate of 27.1% and a wear loss of 2.1 mg. The microhardness is 1278 HV0.3, which is about 7 times of the microhardness of Q235 steel substrate, and 2.5 times the microhardness of laser cladding coated Ni60 coating. The abrasion of the Ni60-Ti-B4C coating is mainly adhesive abrasion. This study can provide a reference value for the use of surface technology to improve the overall performance of metal parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Our objective was to examine short-term responses of A.sinensis agronomic, soil productivity to agricultural management (i.e. amino acid (AAs) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) as alone or co-applicationed exogenous nitrogen (N) after cover planting). Methods: A field experiment was established with four fertilization treatments, including NFB (Y1), NFB and AAs (Y2), AAs (Y3), and sterile water (CK). The plant yield, biomass, N and C content, photosynthesis and the soil chemical properties, microbial community and metabolite spectrum were evaluated. Results: Y2 improved the crop biomass by 32–66% than CK, Y1 and Y3. It also decreased soil C/N by 24.29% than CK. 16S rRNA and ITS genes revealed that Y2 markedly enhanced the growth of copiotrophic taxa (Alloprevotella, Bactriodies and Alistipes) while inhibiting the growth of oligotrophic taxa (Sphingomonas and Ellin6055), among the dominant bacteria. Y2 reduced the growth of pathogenic taxa (Thanatephorus and Fusarium) that are encouraged by AAs. Further, AAs and NFB addition directly affected the diversity of bacteria and fungi and indirectly affected fungal diversity by altering soil total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N. Additionally, soil metabolomics analysis revealed that Y3 elevated the concentration of chemical compounds that impede microbial growth, while decreasing fructose, N-Acetylglutamic acid, and arginine involved in C and N metabolism. Y2 augmented the content of disease-resistant compounds and lysine in N metabolism. Conclusion: Inoculating AAs with NFB (Bacillus amyloliquefaciae and Pseudomonas fluorescence) is a strategy with immense benefits as a biofertilizer for sustainable A.sinensis production, which also renders soil ecological services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growths of monoclinic (AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films up to 99% Al contents are demonstrated via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using trimethylgallium (TMGa) as the Ga precursor. The utilization of TMGa, rather than triethylgallium, enables a significant improvement of the growth rates (>2.5 μm h−1) of β‐(AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films on (010), (100), and (2¯01) β‐Ga2O3 substrates. By systematically tuning the precursor molar flow rates, growth of coherently strained phase pure β‐(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films is demonstrated by comprehensive material characterizations via high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic‐resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging. Monoclinic (AlxGa1−x)2O3 films with Al contents up to 99, 29, and 16% are achieved on (100), (010), and (2¯01) β‐Ga2O3 substrates, respectively. Beyond 29% of Al incorporation, the (010) (AlxGa1−x)2O3 films exhibit β‐ to γ‐phase segregation. β‐(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films grown on (2¯01) β‐Ga2O3 show local segregation of Al along (100) plane. Record‐high Al incorporations up to 99% in monoclinic (AlxGa1−x)2O3 grown on (100) Ga2O3 are confirmed from XRD, STEM, electron nanodiffraction, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. These results indicate great promises of MOCVD development of β‐(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films and heterostructures with high Al content and growth rates using TMGa for next‐generation high‐power and high‐frequency electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of p-type doping has impeded the development of vertical gallium oxide (Ga2O3) devices. Current blocking layers (CBLs) using implanted deep acceptors have been used to demonstrate vertical devices. This paper presents a pioneering demonstration of in situ Mg-doped β-Ga2O3 CBLs grown using metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. The Mg-doping density during growth was calibrated by quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Electrical test structures were designed with in situ Mg doped layers with various targeted Mg doping concentrations. The effectiveness of the CBL is characterized by using temperature-dependent current–voltage measurements using n-Mg-doped-n structures, providing crucial insight into the underlying mechanisms. Pulsed measurements show similar blocking characteristics as DC. To further validate the experimental results, a TCAD simulation is performed, and the electrically active effective doping is found to be dependent on the Mg-doping density, offering an alternate perspective on the optimization of CBL performance. Breakdown measurements show a peak 4 MV/cm field strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Letter, the role of background carbon in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) β-Ga2O3 growth using trimethylgallium (TMGa) as the Ga precursor was investigated. The quantitative C and H incorporations in MOCVD β-Ga2O3 thin films grown at different growth rates and temperatures were measured via quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The SIMS results revealed both [C] and [H] increase as the TMGa molar flow rate/growth rate increases or growth temperature decreases. The intentional Si incorporation in MOCVD β-Ga2O3 thin films decreases as the growth rate increases or the growth temperature decreases. For films grown at relatively fast growth rates (GRs) (TMGa > 58 μmol/min, GR > 2.8 μm/h) or relatively low temperature (<950 °C), the [C] increases faster than that of the [H]. The experimental results from this study demonstrate the previously predicted theory—H can effectively passivate the compensation effect of C in n-type β-Ga2O3. The extracted net doping concentration from quantitative SIMS {[Si]-([C]-[H])} agrees well with the free carrier concentration measured from Hall measurement. The revealing of the role of C compensation in MOCVD β-Ga2O3 and the effect of H incorporation will provide guidance on designing material synthesis for targeted device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raw multi-source data include multi-channel multi-spectral images as well as single-channel panchromatic images. Raw multispectral images are rich in spectral detail but low in resolution, whereas raw panchromatic images have high resolution but lack spectral information. Pansharpening is the process of using raw panchromatic and multispectral images to obtain highly accurate remote sensing images. Compared with traditional fusion methods, deep learning-based pansharpening methods perform better. Therefore, this study uses an unsupervised fusion algorithm based on an improved generative adversarial network (GAN) and names it the multi-scale detail injection generative adversarial network (MSDI-GAN). This algorithm uses a network structure with two discriminators and a generator, and the spatial and spectral information of the original multi-source data is retained separately. Each convolutional layer of the generator is used to extract multi-scale feature information of the original data, and injects them into the corresponding discriminator layers of the spatial and spectral discriminator. This method can deepen the exchange of gradient information between the generator and discriminators, optimize the actual network training process and accelerate network convergence. Extensive experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of our algorithm, and to compare with other algorithms. Based on a qualitative visual effects evaluation of the experimental results and a comparison of quantitative evaluation indicators, it is demonstrated that our method achieves superior results in the pansharpening of remote sensing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Synovial sarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma of temporarily unknown histologic origin with the ability for biphasic differentiation, occurring mostly in the vicinity of large joints of the extremities. Synovial sarcoma that originates in the liver is extremely rare. Only 7 cases have been reported in the domestic and international literature. Case presentation: We report an 11-year-old female patient who underwent partial hepatectomy for a liver mass. Microscopically, she was diagnosed with hepatic biphasic synovial sarcoma. Cytogenetic examination revealed the fusion gene SS18-SSX1 (+), which confirmed the diagnosis. Conclusion: Synovial sarcoma of the liver is a rare malignancy that is difficult to diagnose. Confirmation of diagnosis is based on histopathological assessment combined with immunohistochemical staining and, if necessary, cytogenetic aids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithium-ion battery (LIB) has the advantages of high energy density, low self-discharge rate, long cycle life, fast charging rate and low maintenance costs. It is one of the most widely used chemical energy storage devices at present. However, the safety of LIB is the main factor that restricts its commercial scalable application, specifically in hazardous environments such as underground coal mines. When a LIB is operating under mechanical and electrical abuse such as extrusion, impact, overcharge and overheating, it will trigger thermal runaway and subsequently cause fire or even an explosion. According to the relevant requirements in IEC60079, the explosion-proof protection of LIB can be adapted to the working environment of high dust and explosive gas environments such as in the mining face of coal production. This paper presents an overview of the LIB-relevant technology, thermal runaway, safety and applications in the general mining industry with implications to establish a theoretical and technical basis for the application of high-capacity LIBs in the industry. These then promote intelligent, safe and efficient production not only for the coal mine industry but also for non-coal applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greenhouse effect and plastic pollution caused by the accumulation of plastics have led to a global concern for environmental protection, as well as the development and application of biodegradable materials. Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) is a biodegradable polymer with the function of "carbon sequestration", which has the potential to mitigate the greenhouse effect and the plastic crisis. It has the advantages of good ductility, oxygen barrier and biocompatibility. However, the mechanical and thermal properties of PPC are poor, especially the low thermal degradation temperature, which limits its industrial use. In order to overcome this problem, PPC can be modified using environmentally friendly materials, which can also reduce the cost of PPC-based products to a certain extent and enhance their competitiveness in terms of improving their mechanical and thermal properties. In this paper, we present different perspectives on the synthesis, properties, degradation, modification and post-modification applications of PPC. The modification part mainly introduces the influence of inorganic materials, natural polymer materials and degradable polymers on the performance of PPC. It is hoped that this work will serve as a reference for the early promotion of PPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroactive bacteria in microbial communities contribute to electrode-driven dechlorination by Dehalococcoides (Dhc). To pre-argument Dhc to bioelectrochemical system to construct the functional consortia is a promising strategy for achieving the complete dechlorination. However, the stability of the long-term dechlorination performance is poorly understood. And the role of electroactive bacteria during the electron transfer (ET) between Dhc and the electrode has not been studied in co-culture tests within a bioelectrochemical system. To address this gap, we performed the long-term operation with a Dehalococcoides -augmented bioelectrochemical system and enriched functional microorganisms that contribute to ET from the electrode to Dhc by constructing a stable bioelectrochemical dechlorination system. Subsequently, we cultivated Desulfosporosinus meridiei (Dm), a predicted functional species, in co-culture with Dhc when −0.3 V (relative to a standard hydrogen electrode) is applied. Our results showed that Dhc/Dm co-cultures improved the maximum ethylene production rate by approximately fourfold compared with the Dhc monoculture. In addition, Desulfosporosinus facilitated ET between the electrode and Dhc by enhancing H 2 production. These findings provide a theoretical framework for comprehending how electroactive bacteria contribute to bioelectrochemical dehalogenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High crystalline quality thick β-Ga2O3 drift layers are essential for multi-kV vertical power devices. Low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) is suitable for achieving high growth rates. This paper presents a systematic study of the Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on four different Si-doped homoepitaxial β-Ga2O3 thin films grown on Sn-doped (010) and (001) β-Ga2O3 substrates by LPCVD with a fast growth rate varying from 13 to 21 μm/h. A higher temperature growth results in the highest reported growth rate to date. Room temperature current density–voltage data for different Schottky diodes are presented, and diode characteristics, such as ideality factor, barrier height, specific on-resistance, and breakdown voltage are studied. Temperature dependence (25–250 °C) of the ideality factor, barrier height, and specific on-resistance is also analyzed from the J–V–T characteristics of the fabricated Schottky diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A T-S fuzzy model identification method based on physical membership function is proposed for maneuvering target tracking. T-S fuzzy model is a good tool for fitting complex and nonlinear systems conducted by separating inputs–outputs spaces of systems and identifying corresponding parameters. Usually membership degrees play important roles in fusing local fuzzy models for reflecting nonlinear property of T-S fuzzy model, however, usual membership degrees are obtained by Gaussian function, which not only lacks interpretability and meanings but also is complex to be used. In this paper, a physical membership function with interpretability and physical meanings is proposed. To identify T-S fuzzy model based on the proposed method, first, a hyper-planed FSC algorithm as the separating method is utilized. Then UKF is used to identify consequent parameters. Finally, the proposed physical membership function is used to fuse local models and estimate final states. We apply the proposed T-S fuzzy model algorithms to maneuvering target tracking, and comparisons with several classical methods on both simulated data and real data demonstrate effectiveness and advantages of the proposed methods in tracking accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-phase gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is an emerging ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor with a bandgap energy of ∼ 4.8 eV and a predicted high critical electric field strength of ∼8 MV/cm, enabling promising applications in next generation high power electronics and deep ultraviolet optoelectronics. The advantages of Ga2O3 also stem from its availability of single crystal bulk native substrates synthesized from melt, and its well-controllable n-type doping from both bulk growth and thin film epitaxy. Among several thin film growth methods, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has been demonstrated as an enabling technology for developing high-quality epitaxy of Ga2O3 thin films, (AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys, and heterostructures along various crystal orientations and with different phases. This tutorial summarizes the recent progresses in the epitaxial growth of β-Ga2O3 thin films via different growth methods, with a focus on the growth of Ga2O3 and its compositional alloys by MOCVD. The challenges for the epitaxial development of β-Ga2O3 are discussed, along with the opportunities of future works to enhance the state-of-the-art device performance based on this emerging UWBG semiconductor material system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver cancer is one of the major malignancies with the worst prognosis among all solid tumor types. It is therefore ponderable to explore prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for liver cancer. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit B (EIF3B) is closely linked to the transcription initiation of cancer-associated genes. In the present study, EIF3B was indicated to be a potential prognostic biomarker of liver cancer. The mRNA expression level of EIF3B in liver cancer was assessed by analyzing the Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. χ2 and Fisher's exact tests were used to assess the association of EIF3B expression with clinical parameters. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used for evaluating the diagnostic value of EIF3B. Overall and relapse-free survival were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves to determine the association between EIF3B expression and survival. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to identify the factors affecting overall/relapse-free survival. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to identify signaling pathways associated with EIF3B in liver cancer. It was revealed that EIF3B was highly expressed in liver cancer tissues and it had a promising diagnostic ability. Furthermore, the survival analysis indicated that patients with high EIF3B expression generally had shorter overall as well as relapse-free survival. Univariate and multivariate Cox analysis suggested that high EIF3B mRNA expression may serve as an independent biomarker for the prognostication of patients with liver cancer. GSEA suggested that MYC-V1 (HALLMARK_MYC_TARGETS_V1 geneset; P=0.009), MYC-V2 (HALLMARK_MYC_TARGETS_V2 geneset; P=0.004) and DNA repair pathways (HALLMARK_DNA_REPAIR geneset; P<0.001) were differentially enriched in high EIF3B expression and low EIF3B expression groups. In conclusion, high EIF3B expression was indicated to be an independent prognostic biomarker for patients with liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved impressive progress in multi‐focus image fusion (MFF). However, it always fails to capture sufficient discrimination features due to the local receptive field limitations of the convolutional operator, restricting most current CNN‐based methods' performance. To address this issue, by leveraging self‐attention (SA) mechanism, the authors propose Siamese SA network (SSAN) for MFF. Specifically, two kinds of SA modules, position SA (PSA) and channel SA (CSA) are utilised to model the long‐range dependencies across focused and defocused regions in the multi‐focus image, alleviating the local receptive field limitations of convolution operators in CNN. To search a better feature representation of the input image for MFF, the captured features obtained by PSA and CSA are further merged through a learnable 1 × 1 convolution operator. The whole pipeline is in a Siamese network fashion to reduce the complexity. After training, the authors SSAN can accomplish well the fusion task with no post‐processing. Experiments demonstrate that their approach outperforms other current state‐of‐the‐art methods, not only in subjective visual perception but also in the quantitative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical fuzzy systems have been an increasingly prevalent research topic, however, most of them are with fixed structures. This could reduce the flexibility of the method in applications and make it difficult to build an elastic multilayer structure for different input information. Hesitant fuzzy set (HFS) consists of rich and flexible hesitant fuzzy elements, which have been widely developed and applied in recent years, and related basic concepts and theories have been constantly developed and improved. By using the flexible expressing capabilities of HFS, we constructively construct a new serial-based hierarchical fuzzy system with flexible and adaptive rules in each layer, named after hesitant hierarchical T–S fuzzy system (HHFS). In the general HHFS, lengths of HFS elements play an important role generating constructions of each layer and consequent parameters of rules are adjusted by fuzzily weighted recursive least square method. It is the first time to build a multilayer fuzzy system using HFS. To adapt HHFS into the application of maneuvering target tracking, another newly adapted one, time-sequential hesitant fuzzy set (TSHFS) is utilized. The function of the conventional HFS is still generating structures of subsystems, and the TSHFS is utilized to optimize parameters of consequent parts with the new proposed approach for fluctuated hesitant information under TSHFS environment. In HHFS, the rules of subsystems are adaptively changeable according to different inputs, namely subsystems of each layer are with variant structures. Compared with state-of-the-art algorithms, the effectiveness and advantage of HHFS are exhibited in various experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu2AgBiI6 films were prepared by a one-step spin coating method, and flexible memristors with an Ag/PMMA/Cu2AgBiI6/ITO structure were constructed. The devices showed a bipolar resistive switching behavior with low switching voltage, which is beneficial for reducing energy consumption. Furthermore, this study found that the device exhibits an endurance of about 900 cycles, a higher ON/OFF ratio of over 103, a long retention time (∼104 s), and high stabilities against mechanical stress. Remarkably, the present flexible memristor displayed extraordinary flexibility and stability, with no significant change for the resistive switching behavior even at various bending angles or after undergoing 900 bending cycles. This study establishes that the lead-free halide perovskite Cu2AgBiI6 can be used for the resistive random-access memory of flexible electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Comparison of inoculation and leachate circulation methods on solid-state digestion. • No difference in methane yield between complete mix and slurry application inoculation. • Leachate circulation with immersion showed higher CH 4 yield than percolation. • CH 4 yield was depended on immersion period, and 24 h showed the highest yield. Abstract Heterogeneous distribution of substrate and microorganisms and low mass transfer limit methane production dramatically in solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD). To overcome this challenge, this study determined the optimal inoculation strategy (complete premix/slurry application) for reusing solid digestate as inoculum and the optimal leachate circulation method (percolation/immersion) using batch digestion. Initially, percolation and immersion (1 h per 3 days) were compared and the result shows that immersing rice straw into leachate was superior to leachate percolation in methane production. Effect of the immersion period (24, 48 and 72 h) in each circulation cycle on methane production was then evaluated for each inoculation strategy. Methane production increased until the immersion period up to 24 h and then decreased, while the average cumulative methane yield with an immersion period of 24 h was (180 mL/g volatile solids). Slurry application with an immersion period 24 h is recommended as the optimum operating condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solid-state anaerobic digestion was conducted with turning waste in the atmosphere. • No significant improvement in methane yield by turning waste during digestion. • Mixing every day affected methanogenesis and resulted in acetate accumulation. • Mixing every day increased oxidation-reduction potential and CO 2 content. • No mixing during digestion was recommended based on net energy analysis. Mixing is an important operation in solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) to improve the mass transfer of the solid phase. This study proposed simple turning by loader in common garage-type digester without commonly used mixer or percolation system (simplified SS-AD). In simplified-SS-AD, turning is conducted in open condition. Thus, oxidation of anaerobic sludge during turning would influence digestion performance. Therefore, in this study, the effect of turning wastes by mixing during digestion on a simplified SS-AD fed with rice straw and pig urine was investigated. Four different mixing frequency levels—no mixing (M0) and mixing once a day (M-1/1), once every 3 days (M-1/3) and once a week (M-1/7)—were conducted. Methane yields of M0, M-1/3 and M-1/7 were comparable with each other. Methane yield and lag period of M-1/1 were approximately 61% and 155% of M0 (351.2 mL/g VS and 4.7 days), respectively. Furthermore, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of acetate accumulated in the digestate of M-1/1 was comparable to the difference in the COD of methane production between M-1/1 and the other treatments. Mixing every day also resulted in a higher oxidation-reduction potential and carbon dioxide content. These findings suggest that methanogenesis was inhibited in M-1/1 by frequent mixing in the atmosphere. Net energy analysis of SS-AD plant operation showed that M0 can obtain the highest net energy gain, whereas net energy production of M-1/7 was reduced by rewarming after mixing. Therefore, no mixing is the most effective approach for the proposed simplified process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehalococcoides is a functional microorganism that completely dechlorinates trichloroethene (TCE). Augmentation with pure Dehalococcoides is important for reducing environmental disturbances that accompany bioaugmentation. However, the applicability of Dehalococcoides -bioaugmentation to contaminated soils is unclear. In this study, seven low-carbon energy sources (methanol, formate, acetate, ethanol, lactate, citrate, and benzoate) were used as electron donors for Dehalococcides to evaluate its applicability in remediating TCE-contaminated soils. Soil microcosms supplemented with ethanol, formate, or lactate showed relatively high dechlorination activity within 111–180 days. The functional gene profiles predicted by PICRUSt2 from 16 S rRNA gene sequences were similar in the proportions of dehydrogenases, which initiate electron donor oxidation, in all soils and did not seem to reflect Dehalococcoides -bioaugmentation applicability. Soils with higher organic matter content (>3.2%; dry weight base) and protein concentration (>1.6 µg/mL) supported complete dechlorination. These results suggest that organic matter and nutrient availability mainly affect successful TCE dechlorination in Dehalococcoides -augmented soils. The study offers significant experimental support for comprehending the suitability of low-carbon energy sources in successful bioaugmentation, aiming to mitigate environmental disturbances associated with the process. [Display omitted] • Ethanol, formate, and lactate are low-carbon energy sources for effective dechlorination. • Formate supplementation achieved the fastest and most complete dechlorination within 111–180 days. • Soils with higher organic matter content and protein concentration supported complete dechlorination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In decision making problems, the hesitance of the decision maker to the same decision object is reflected not only in the length of multiple possible memberships under, but also in the time dimension. The newly proposed time-sequential hesitant fuzzy set (TSHFS) can show the hesitance in decision making information from the view of time dimension, and in which the concept of hesitance of hesitant fuzzy sets is improved from a constructive perspective. However, it is difficult to further explore the application prospects of TSHFS in decision making as the current measurement methods, such as entropy, cross-entropy, and correlation coefficient, could not be leveraged directly in the TSHFS environment. For that entropy, cross-entropy, and correlation coefficient are important metric components of fuzzy sets and in related scenarios, we propose corresponding methods for TSHFS in this work. Meanwhile, to make full use of the importance of attribute information in the decision matrix and make the decision results have better discrimination ability, hesitant fuzzy diffusion decision model is proposed. The proposed entropy measures are constructed on trigonometric functions, the new cross-entropy measure and correlation coefficients are derived from classical counterparts, which enrich ways to deal with problems under the TSHFS environment, especially referring to decision making. In hesitant fuzzy diffusion decision model, the prior ordered value is defined as the final decision result to measure relationships among alternatives. The effectiveness and advantages of proposed entropy measures, cross-entropy measure, correlation coefficients, and the proposed decision model are demonstrated through the application of decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of the feedstock-to-inoculum (F/I) ratio on performance of the solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of pig urine and rice straw inoculated with a solid digestate, and clarified the microbial community succession. A 44-day biochemical methane potential test at F/I ratios of 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 at 55 °C and a 35-day large-scale batch test at F/I ratios of 0.5 and 3 at 55 °C were conducted to investigate the effects of F/I ratio on anaerobic digestibility and analyze microbial community succession, respectively. The highest cumulative methane yield was 353.7 m 3 /t VS in the large-scale batch test. Volatile fatty acids did not accumulate at any F/I ratios. The volatile solids reduction rate was highest at a F/I ratio of 0.5. Microbial community structures were similar between F/I ratios of 3 and 0.5, despite differences in digestion performance, suggesting that stable operation can be achieved at these ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the structural and electrical properties of metalorganic chemical vapor deposited Si-doped β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films grown on (010) β-Ga2O3 substrates are investigated as a function of Al composition. The room temperature Hall mobility of 101 cm2/V s and low temperature peak mobility (T = 65 K) of 1157 cm2/V s at carrier concentrations of 6.56 × 1017 and 2.30 × 1017 cm−3 are measured from 6% Al composition samples, respectively. The quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) characterization reveals a strong dependence of Si and other unintentional impurities, such as C, H, and Cl concentrations in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 thin films, with different Al compositions. Higher Al compositions in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 result in lower net carrier concentrations due to the reduction of Si incorporation efficiency and the increase of C and H impurity levels that act as compensating acceptors in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films. Lowering the growth chamber pressure reduces Si concentrations in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films due to the increase of Al compositions as evidenced by comprehensive SIMS and Hall characterizations. Due to the increase of lattice mismatch between the epifilm and substrate, higher Al compositions lead to cracking in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films grown on β-Ga2O3 substrates. The (100) cleavage plane is identified as a major cracking plane limiting the growth of high-quality Si-doped (010) β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 films beyond the critical thicknesses, which leads to highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous behaviors in terms of conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in many isolation studies have revealed that pure Dehalococcoides grow stably, although the large‐scale pure cultivation of Dehalococcoides has yet to be established. In this study, 7 L‐culturing of Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain NIT01 was first performed using vessels made of glass and stainless alloy SUS304. All batches cultured in the glass vessel successfully dechlorinated >95% of 1 mM trichloroethene (TCE) to ethene (ETH), whereas only 5 out of 13 batches cultured in the SUS304 vessel did the same. The difference in dechlorination efficiency suggested the possible inhibition of dechlorination by SUS304. Also, the strain NIT01 showed long delays in dechlorination with pieces of SUS316, steel, and a repeatedly used SUS304, but not with titanium. The repeatedly used SUS304 cracked and increased the Fe2+ concentration to ≥76 μM. Dechlorination by this strain was also inhibited with ≥1000 μM Fe2+ and ≥23 μM Cr3+ but not with ≤100 μM Ni2+, suggesting that Cr3+ eluted from solid stainless alloys inhibited the dechlorination. Culturing in a titanium vessel instead of a stainless alloy showed the complete dechlorination of 1 mM TCE within 12–28 days with a growth yield of 2.7 × 107 cells/μmol‐released Cl−, even after repeating use of the vessels six times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shadow prices, or marginal abatement cost, of pollutants is a useful measure of environmental performance. Unlike much of the previous studies focusing on only one kind of pollutants, this paper applies the (multiplier) by-production approach to measure the shadow prices of carbon emission, sulfur emission, and dust. The case of regional economies in China is considered. As the foreign direct investment may have an impact on the environmental performance, a spatial Durbin model is utilized to identify the impact of foreign direct investment on the shadow prices of pollutants. The results show that the shadow prices of all three pollutants have been increasing over time which indicates the environmental performance of China has been improving. Moreover, the spatial regression results imply that both foreign direct investment and technology export volume positively impact the shadow price of pollutant emissions across the provinces of China. [Display omitted] • Shadow prices of three pollutants are calculated. • We explore the factors affecting shadow prices of bads in China. • FDI has a positive effect on environmental performance. • The environmental performance of China was improving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • To improve the photoelectric performance of 2D PtSe 2 , vertical PtSe 2 /HfS 2 van der Waals heterostructures were constructed and the rules of their electronic property changes under strain were investigated systematically. • PtSe 2 /HfS 2 van der Waals heterostructures exhibit type-II band alignment and a smaller bandgap (E (PtSe2) − E (PtSe2/HfS2) = 1.19 eV), which is beneficial for the separation of carriers and application in infrared photodetectors. • The stacking configurations do not change the type of band alignment, and the bandgap of different stackings are similar, which proves that the electronic properties of the heterojunctions are stable. • The heterostructure exhibits quasi-direct bandgap (0.14 eV) under the condition of 11% reverse strain applied in the X and Y directions, respectively. It is suitable for preparing photoelectric devices working in the middle and far infrared regime. 2D PtSe 2 Semiconductors are promising for the development of next-generation infrared photodetectors. However, the performance of 2D PtSe 2 photodetectors is largely limited by their small detection range (due to large bandgap) and poor light absorption (due to indirect bandgap). To overcome these limitations, vertical PtSe 2 /HfS 2 van der Waals heterostructures were constructed and the rule of their electronic property changes under strain was investigated systematically. The heterostructures exhibit type-II band alignment and a smaller bandgap (E (PtSe2) − E (PtSe2/HfS2) = 1.19 eV), which is beneficial for the separation of carriers and the application in infrared photodetectors. Moreover, the stacking configurations do not change the type of band alignment, and the bandgap of different stackings are similar, which proves that the electronic properties of the heterojunction are stable. Among the six stackings, AA stacking is the most stable structure, which can be modified to adapt to different working conditions under strain. It exhibits a quasi-direct bandgap (0.14 eV) under the condition of 11% reverse strain applied in × and Y directions respectively, which is suitable for preparing photoelectric devices working in the middle and far infrared regime. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the application of PtSe 2 /HfS 2 heterojunction in next-generation infrared photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive carbons can boost anaerobic microbial metabolism by assisting extracellular electron transfer (EET), and their chemistry affects microbial metabolism. Graphene oxide (GO), a chemically oxidized sheet of graphite, has been used in various bioelectrochemical systems, although its mechanism is rarely understood. This study revealed specific metabolic responses to reduced GO (rGO) in an electrogenic strain R4 of Citrifermentans bremense , recently renamed from " Geobacter bremensis ," in comparison to that with graphite felt (GF). Specifically, the change in growth from planktonic cells to biofilm with an enlarged outer membrane. The mRNA profile supported the fact that rGO upregulated the 14 genes related to the exopolysaccharides (EPS) secretion and biofilm formation, which is more than that in GF (4 genes). While GF upregulated the 35 genes involved in cell motility, which is more than that in rGO (8 genes). The heme protein profile suggested that both carbons induced similar EET pathways involving OmcA/MtrC and OmcS; however, GO specifically induced PilQ. These findings show that the chemistry of conductive carbon differentiates metabolism, especially affecting cellular morphology or living form, rather than electron transfer metabolism. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catastrophic consequences of cascading thermal runaway events on lithium-ion battery (LIB) packs have been well recognised and studied. In underground coal mining occupations, the design enclosure for LIB packs is generally constructed to be explosion-proof (IEC60079.1 Standard). This, however, in contrast to various investigations that have been performed and conducted to illustrate the inappropriate application of such protection techniques if detailed and thorough analyses of the thermal runaway mechanism and the thermodynamic characterization of the vented gas are well understood. In this article, a thorough experimental and finite element analysis is conducted to illustrate the paramount design parameters and factors that need to be considered for safe operation of large LIB packs, particularly for hazardous environments, in both traction and stationary applications. The outcomes of this investigation provide the deep insight that can evaluate the influential factors when it comes to the design of the battery enclosure and also potentially establishes new guidelines for assessing the integrity of any large-scale battery pack design and construction for various practical applications, specifically for underground coal mining applications. • An encapsulated method is proposed for largescale Li-ion battery thermal runaway protection. • A series of nail penetration experiment are conducted for thermal abuse analysis. • Data-intensive modeling is designed for single and 10 cell pack thermal abuse simulation. • Encapsulation method can effectively dissipate heat and prevent cascaded thermal runaway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioelectrochemical dechlorination using organohalide-respiring bacteria (ORBs) is a promising technique for remediating contaminated groundwater. Generally, a longer enrichment period is required for selecting the ORB consortia to achieve bioelectrochemical dechlorination. However, the full dechloriantion is difficult to be achieved due to the absence of functional species (e.g. Dehalococcoides) in previously used enrich cultures. To overcome these challenges, bioelectrochemical dechlorination using a culture enriched with the pre-augmented Dehalococcoides was performed for the first time in this study. A two-chamber bioelectrochemical system (BES) inoculated with a pure Dehalococcoides culture and paddy soil with an applied voltage of −0.3 V (versus a standard hydrogen electrode) as the sole electron donor was used to achieve dechlorination. The ethene formation rate was 10–100 times higher than that in previous studies, indicating that inoculating the system with a pure Dehalococcoides culture and soil microorganisms gave effective full dechlorination performance. Microbial community analysis and bioelectrochemical analysis indicated that Desulfosporosinus species may have facilitated dechlorination through syntrophic interactions with Dehalococcoides. The results indicated that adding Dehalococcoides cells before operating a bioelectrochemical system is an effective way of achieving full dechlorination. • Comparable nontoxic ethene product was generated in the bioelectrochemical system as H2-fed culture. • Desulfosporosinus and Dehalococcoides s yntrophic interactions caused effective dechlorination. • Secreted redox mediators enhanced electron transfer to Dehalococcoides. • Adding paddy soil and Dehalococcoides strongly affected the cathode current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Extracellular vesicles of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei PC-H1 (LpEVs) can enter colon cancer cells. • LpEVs can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells. • LpEVs induced apoptosis of colon cancer cells through the PDK1/AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathway. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignant tumor in the world. Previous research has shown that Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strains and its cultures have anti-colon cancer effects, but the study of L. paracasei -derived extracellular vesicles (LpEVs) as intercellular communication molecule against colon cancer has not been previously reported. Our research showed LpEVs were taken in by colorectal cancer cells. Subsequently, LpEVs inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and promote apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells. LpEVs inhibited the growth of CRC xenograft in nude mice and promoted tumor apoptosis in vivo. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes were involved in the regulation of apoptosis. LpEVs significantly inhibited the phosphorylation level of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) and AKT in colorectal cancer cells and reduced the expression of Bcl-2 protein. In conclusion, extracellular vesicles of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei PC-H1 can inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer cells in vivo and vitro and induce apoptosis through PDK1/AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathway. This research not only provides a new mechanism for the anti-tumor effects of probiotics, but also opens up new opportunity for the treatment of colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the nano-modified multimodal and conventional Cr3C2-NiCr coatings were fabricated by laser cladding (LC) on a CuCrZr alloy substrate with a stainless steel transition layer. The study investigated the microstructural evolution of the coatings during the LC process. The effect of the stainless steel transition layer between the substrate and coatings on microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance was discussed. Many aggregates formed by the aggregation of micron or large-size submicron particles contain many cavities, which are filled by small-size or nano-ceramic particles during the laser cladding process to improve the density of the coatings and properties. Different from other LC coatings, only micro-melting occurred in the bonding zone between the coatings and transition layer, but no apparent melting phenomenon appeared, which may be due to the high content of Cr3C2 ceramic phase and low content of NiCr adhesive phase in the coatings. The Cr3C2-NiCr coatings, transition layer, and copper (Cu) substrate are seamlessly integrated and compatible, ensuring effective interface formation without any discernible cracks. The nanostructure multimodal Cr3C2-NiCr coating showed significantly higher average microhardness values of 1357 HV0.3 than conventional Cr3C2-NiCr, 1184 HV0.3. Furthermore, careful parameter selection led to outstanding wear-resistant nano-modified multimodal Cr3C2-NiCr, paving the way for future industrial applications.Graphical abstract: Both the nano-modified multimodal and conventional Cr3C2-NiCr coatings were fabricated by laser cladding (LC) on a CuCrZr alloy substrate with a stainless steel transition layer. The study investigated the microstructural evolution of the coatings during the LC process. The effect of the stainless steel transition layer between the substrate and coatings on microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance was discussed. Many aggregates formed by the aggregation of micron or large-size submicron particles contain many cavities, which are filled by small-size or nano-ceramic particles during the laser cladding process to improve the density of the coatings and properties. Different from other LC coatings, only micro-melting occurred in the bonding zone between the coatings and transition layer, but no apparent melting phenomenon appeared, which may be due to the high content of Cr3C2 ceramic phase and low content of NiCr adhesive phase in the coatings. The Cr3C2-NiCr coatings, transition layer, and copper (Cu) substrate are seamlessly integrated and compatible, ensuring effective interface formation without any discernible cracks. The nanostructure multimodal Cr3C2-NiCr coating showed significantly higher average microhardness values of 1357 HV0.3 than conventional Cr3C2-NiCr, 1184 HV0.3. Furthermore, careful parameter selection led to outstanding wear-resistant nano-modified multimodal Cr3C2-NiCr, paving the way for future industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Letter reports a highly scaled 90 nm gate length β-Ga2O3 (Ga2O3) T-gate MOSFET with a power gain cutoff frequency (fMAX) of 55 GHz. The 60 nm thin epitaxial Ga2O3 channel layer was grown by molecular beam epitaxy, while the highly doped (n++) source/drain regions were regrown using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Maximum on current (IDS,MAX) of 160 mA/mm and trans-conductance (gm) around 36 mS/mm were measured at VDS = 10 V for LSD = 1.5 μ m device. Transconductance and on current are limited by high channel sheet resistance (Rsheet). Gate/drain breakdown voltage of 125 V was measured for LGD = 1.2 μ m. We extracted 27 GHz current gain cutoff frequency (fT) and 55 GHz fMAX for 20 V drain bias for unpassivated devices. While no current collapse was seen initially for both drain and gate lag measurements for 500 ns pulse, moderate current collapse was observed after DC, RF measurements caused by electrical stressing. We calculated a high fT. VBR product of 3.375 THz V, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art GaN HEMTs. This figure of merit suggests that Ga2O3 could be a potential candidate for X-band application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were accumulated in reactors with low inoculum. • Methane generation and VFAs degradation were promoted with biochar addition. • Carbon dioxide utilization was promoted by either inoculum or biochar addition. • Methane yields from soured reactors increased with inoculum or biochar addition. A high concentration of accumulated volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is one of the most important factors resulting in reactor failure during solid-state anaerobic digestion. In this study, the feedstock-to-inoculum (F/I) ratio (0.5, 2, 3, 4 and 6) and the recovery method after failure (biochar addition or inoculum addition) were investigated in batch solid-state anaerobic digestion fed with rice straw and pig urine. An F/I ratio of 3 was the threshold for stable operation, while the reactors failed at F/I ratios of 4 and 6 because of high accumulated VFAs concentrations (above 30 g HAc/kg). Biochar addition (10% or 20% (wet weight) of the mixture) was as effective as inoculum addition (by adjusting the F/I ratio to 2 or 3) in promoting VFAs degradation in failed reactors within a short period (<1 day). The buffering capacity of biochar was important in promoting VFAs degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusions are one of the important factors affecting the cleanliness of molten steel. The current optimization of inclusion removal methods mainly focuses on promoting inclusions to float to the slag–steel interface so that the inclusions can be absorbed and removed by the refining slag. However, the research on the floating removal of inclusions cannot be carried out directly in the ladle, so methods such as mathematical models and physical models were developed. This article uses silicone oil to simulate the slag layer; polypropylene particles; and aluminum oxide particles to simulate inclusions to establish a water model experiment. By changing the viscosity of silicone oil and the diameter of particles, the factors affecting the movement of inclusions at the slag–steel interface were explored. Based on the water model, a mathematical model of the floating behavior of inclusions at the slag–steel interface was constructed, and parameters such as particle diameter and interfacial tension in the water model experiment were studied by the mathematical model for calculation. Both the mathematical model and the water model experimental results show that after the viscosity of silicone oil increases from 0.048 Pa·s to 0.096 Pa·s, the dimensionless displacement and terminal velocity of the particles decreases. When the diameter of the same particle increases, the dimensionless displacement and terminal velocity increases. The dimensionless displacement of polypropylene particles of the same diameter is larger than that of aluminum oxide particles, and the terminal velocity is smaller than that of aluminum oxide particles. This is attributed to the better overall three-phase wettability of polypropylene particle. When the liquid level increases, the dimensionless displacement and terminal velocity of particles under the same conditions show only slight differences (less than 10%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle detection is an important component of intelligent transportation systems and autonomous driving. However, in real-world vehicle detection scenarios, the presence of many complex and high uncertainty factors, such as illumination differences, motion blur, occlusion, weather, etc., makes accurate and real-time vehicle detection still challenging. In order to reduce the influence of these uncertainties in real scenarios and improve the accuracy and real-time performance of vehicle detection, this paper proposes a type-1 fuzzy attention (T1FA), in which fuzzy entropy is introduced to re-weight the feature map in order to reduce the uncertainty of the feature map and facilitates the detector's focus on the target center as a way to effectively improve the accuracy of vehicle detection. Furthermore, to detect vehicles with different sizes more effectively, mixed depth convolution in MetaFormer (MDFormer) is employed as a token mixer to capture multi-scale perceptual fields. And a novel YOLO detector based on fuzzy attention (YOLO-FA) is proposed. Experimental results show that T1FA can boost 3.2% AP50 on challenging vehicle detection dataset UA-DETRAC, which is better than other commonly used attention mechanisms, especially in scenarios of rain and nighttime with higher uncertainty by 4.2% and 8.1% AP50, respectively. Finally, without pretraining on extra data, YOLO-FA achieves 70.0% AP50 and 50.3% AP on UA-DETRAC, which achieves better balance between accuracy and speed compared with state-of-the-art detectors. The remarkable improvement of T1FA in different detectors and datasets also shows the considerable generalization of T1FA. • A type-1 fuzzy attention (T1FA) mechanism-based YOLO (YOLO-FA) detector is proposed. • Mixed depthwise convolution is employed as a token mixer in MetaFormer. • T1FA can boost 3.2% AP50 in UA-DETRAC by reducing the uncertainty. • YOLO-FA trained from scratch achieves 70.0% AP50 and 50.3% AP on UADETRACA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wavy horizontal sections are typically encountered in horizontal gas wells, which will result in gas accumulation on top of the wavy horizontal sections. This gas accumulation can be a problem and may trigger gas kick or blowout accident while tripping and pulling this gas into the vertical section. In this paper, a numerical model for gas accumulation and gas migration in the wavy horizontal sections of the horizontal gas well is developed; meanwhile, the gas accumulation and gas migration process is numerically investigated. The results show that the gas exhausting time in the wavy horizontal section increases with the increase of the wellbore curvature and the critical drilling fluid flow velocity for gas exhausting increases with the increase of the wellbore curvature. When the drilling fluid flow velocity is higher than the critical drilling fluid flow velocity for gas exhausting, no gas accumulation will occur. With all other parameter values set constant, the number of the wavy horizontal sections has a great effect on the gas-liquid flow pattern while it has little effect on the efficiency of the gas exhausting. This work provides drilling engineers with a practical tool for designing the drilling fluid flow velocity to avoid gas kick or blowout accident in horizontal gas well drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hip joint capsule is an essential component of hip joint function and stability, and its thickness is closely associated with certain medical conditions, surgical outcomes, and rehabilitation treatments. Currently, in clinical practice, hip joint capsule thickness is predominantly measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with limited utilization of ultrasound examinations for this purpose. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients who visited our Sports Medicine Department between February 2017 and March 2023 and underwent both hip joint MRI and ultrasound imaging on the same side. All patients had undergone preoperative hip joint MRI and ultrasound examinations, with the time gap between the two examinations not exceeding three months. Measurements of hip joint capsule thickness were taken on both MRI and ultrasound images for the same patients to analyze their consistency. Additionally, we measured the alpha angle, lateral center-edge angle, acetabular anteversion angle, and femoral anteversion angle of the patients' hip joints and analyzed their correlation with hip joint capsule thickness measure by ultrasound. Results: A total of 307 patients were included in this study, with hip joint capsule thickness measured by MRI and ultrasound being 5.0 ± 1.2 mm and 5.0 ± 1.5 mm, respectively. The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrates good agreement or consistency. The paired t-test resulted in a p-value of 0.708, indicating no significant statistical difference between the two methods. The correlation analysis between acetabular anteversion angle and ultrasound-measured capsule thickness yielded a p-value of 0.043, indicating acetabular anteversion angle and capsular thickness may have negative correlation. Conclusions: The measurements of joint capsule thickness obtained through ultrasound and MRI showed good consistency, suggesting that ultrasound can be used in clinical practice as a replacement for MRI in measuring hip joint capsule thickness. There was a significant correlation between acetabular anteversion angle and hip joint capsule thickness, indicating potential for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the influence of micron‐sized diatomite dosage on the physical, mechanical, rheological, and creep properties of poplar wood/polypropylene (PW/PP) composites to enhance their toughness and practicality. The diatomite‐PW/PP composites were prepared using the melt extrusion method, replacing different proportions of PW with diatomite, and subsequently evaluated for their properties. The results indicate that adding diatomite enhances the density while reducing the brightness and water absorption of the composites. Scanning electron microscopy, analysis reveals a uniform distribution of diatomite in the range of 5–10 wt%, which effectively serves as a filler and reinforcing agent, consequently improving the toughness of the composite system. Specifically, the impact strength, tensile strength, and elongation at break are enhanced by 25.9%, 9.5%, and 35.7%, respectively. Furthermore, creep rheological analysis demonstrates improved processability and creep resistance in the composite system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry anaerobic digestion is a promising technology for the recycling of agricultural waste to produce energy and fertilizer. Adding water to the substrate enables better handling and avoid inhibition caused by high total solid (TS) content in the reactor; however, it also increases leachate and operational costs. To assess the extent to which the amount of water added can be reduced, it was examined how the TS content in the reactor influenced the production of biogas. A semi-batch dry thermophilic anaerobic digester was fed with substrate (rice straw and pig manure) at a constant organic loading rate, and varied the TS contents (27%, 32%, 37%, and 42%) of the substrate by adding different amounts of water (representing 0–36% of the total substrate). During incubation, the TS content in the reactor gradually increased from 18% to 31%. Biogas production was stable and high (564 ± 13–580 ± 36 N m 3 t −1 VS), and there was no accumulation of volatile fatty acids when the TS content of the reactor was between 18% and 27%. However, the rate decreased sharply and propionate and acetate were also produced when the TS content of the reactor exceeded 28%. By applying a simple TS balance model, it was found that stable biogas production could be achieved at a substrate TS content of 32%, at which reactor TS content reached 23% at steady-state condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Letter reports a high performance β -Ga2O3 thin channel MOSFET with T gate and degenerately doped (n++) source/drain contacts regrown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Highly scaled T-gate with a gate length of 160–200 nm was fabricated to achieve enhanced RF performance and passivated with 200 nm silicon nitride. Peak drain current (ID,MAX) of 285 mA/mm and peak transconductance (gm) of 52 mS/mm were measured at 10 V drain bias with 23.5 Ω mm on resistance (RON). Metal/n++ contact resistance of 0.078 Ω mm was extracted from transfer length measurements. RON is possibly dominated by interface resistance between channel and highly doped n++ regrown layer. A gate-to-drain breakdown voltage of 192 V is measured for LGD = 355 nm resulting in average breakdown field (EAVG) of 5.4 MV/cm. This EAVG is the highest reported among all sub-micron gate length lateral FETs. Current gain cut off frequency (fT) of 11 GHz and record power gain cut off frequency (fMAX) of approximately 48 GHz were extracted from small signal measurements. fT is limited by DC-RF dispersion due to interface traps which needs further investigation. The fT·VBR product is 2.112 THz V for 192 V breakdown voltage. Device surpasses the switching figure of merit of Silicon and competitive with mature wide bandgap devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various substrates have been used to stimulate habitat microbes in chloroethene-contaminated groundwater, however, the specific efficiency and minimum growth of microbes have rarely been studied. This study investigated the effects of seven substrates on trichloroethene (TCE) dechlorination by augmentation of groundwater with Dehalococcoides mccartyi NIT01 and its contribution to the microbial community. Three out of eight test groups completed dechlorination of 1 mM TCE-to-ethene in varying durations; groundwater supplemented with formate (FOR) required 78 days, whereas the microcosms with lactate (LAC) and citrate (CIT) required approximately twice as long (143 days). The calculated efficiency of how much produced H 2 was used in dechlorination indicated a higher efficiency in FOR (36%) compared with LAC (1.9%) or CIT (2.9%). FOR showed lower microbial growth (3.4 × 105 copies/mL) than LAC (1.5 × 106) or CIT (4.4 × 106), and maintained a higher Shannon diversity index (5.65) than LAC (4.97) and CIT (4.30). The rapid and higher H 2 transfer efficiency with lower bacterial growth by using formate was attributed to the slightly positive Gibbs free energy identified in H 2 production requiring a H 2 -utilizer, lower carbon in the molecule, and adaptation to metabolic potential of the original groundwater microbiome. Formate is, therefore, a promising electron donor for rapid Dehalococcoides- augmented remediation with minimum bacterial growth. Sequential transferring of the FOR culture successfully maintained TCE-to-ethene dechlorination activity and enriched the members of genera Dehalococcoides (33%), Methanosphaerula (23%), Rectinema (13%), and Desulfitobacterium (5.6%). This suggests that formate is transferred to H 2 and acetate, and provided to Dehalococcoide s. [Display omitted] • Seven e− donors were assayed in Dehalococcoides -augmented groundwater. • Formate showed most rapid dechlorination of trichloroethylene to ethene. • The H 2 transferring efficiency to Dehalococcoides was estimated to 30%. • Formate could be transferred to H 2 and acetate for Dehalococcoides. • One of the bacteria producing H2 from formate was Rectinema sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Quality-of-Service (QoS)-aware routing is one of the crucial challenges in Software Defined Network (SDN). The QoS performances, e.g. latency, packet loss ratio and throughput, must be optimized to improve the performance of network. Traditional static routing algorithms based on Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) could not adapt to traffic fluctuation, which may cause severe network congestion and service degradation. Central intelligence of SDN controller and recent breakthroughs of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) pose a promising solution to tackle this challenge. Thus, we propose an on-policy DRL mechanism, namely the PPO-based (Proximal Policy Optimization) QoS-aware Routing Optimization Mechanism (PQROM), to achieve a general and re-customizable routing optimization. PQROM can dynamically update the routing calculation by adjusting the reward function according to different optimization objectives, and it is independent of any specific network pattern. Additionally, as a black-box one-step optimization, PQROM is qualified for both continuous and discrete action space with high-dimensional input and output. The OMNeT ++ simulation experiment results show that PQROM not only has good convergence, but also has better stability compared with OSPF, less training time and simpler hyper-parameters adjustment than Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) and less hardware consumption than Asynchronous Advantage Actor-Critic (A3C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) can destroy sphincter of Oddi (SO) structure and function. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of endoscopic endoclip papilloplasty (EEPP) in restoring SO function after EST. Methods: Seven 26‐week‐old domestic pigs were divided into control and EEPP groups. Necropsy and haematoxylin‐eosin staining plus anti‐α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) staining of papilla and sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM) were conducted in animals at three independent time points. Results: EST and EEPP were safely performed in all 7 pigs without serious adverse events. For primary outcome, compared to the controls, EEPP generated smaller dilation and less inflammation. Fibrous repair of the papilla was observed at 24 weeks after EEPP. For secondary outcome, in the control group, SO basal pressure (17.25 ± 18.14 to 5.50 ± 0.71 mmHg), SO contraction amplitude (46.00 ± 19.20 to 34.50 ± 48.79 mmHg), peak (4.50 ± 4.04 to 1.50 ± 2.12) and frequency (3.05 ± 3.29 to 1.41 ± 2.19/min) were reduced after EST. Further reductions to almost 0 of these SOM parameters were observed 3 weeks later, including common bile duct pressure and SO contraction period. In contrast, in the EEPP group, these manometric data were recovered to pre‐EST levels, including CBD pressure (11.5 ± 7.31 vs 11 ± 2.16 mmHg), SO pressure (17.50 ± 17.75 vs 18.20 ± 21.39 mmHg) and SO contraction amplitude (53.67 ± 21.54 vs 60.00 ± 36.08 mmHg). However, no significant differences were observed between control and EEPP groups by Student t test. Conclusions: In this porcine study, EEPP accelerated and improved papillary healing after EST, further preserved SO function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hip joint capsule is an essential component of hip joint function and stability, and its thickness is closely associated with certain medical conditions, surgical outcomes, and rehabilitation treatments. Currently, in clinical practice, hip joint capsule thickness is predominantly measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with limited utilization of ultrasound examinations for this purpose. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients who visited our Sports Medicine Department between February 2017 and March 2023 and underwent both hip joint MRI and ultrasound imaging on the same side. All patients had undergone preoperative hip joint MRI and ultrasound examinations, with the time gap between the two examinations not exceeding three months. Measurements of hip joint capsule thickness were taken on both MRI and ultrasound images for the same patients to analyze their consistency. Additionally, we measured the alpha angle, lateral center-edge angle, acetabular anteversion angle, and femoral anteversion angle of the patients' hip joints and analyzed their correlation with hip joint capsule thickness measure by ultrasound. Results: A total of 307 patients were included in this study, with hip joint capsule thickness measured by MRI and ultrasound being 5.0 ± 1.2 mm and 5.0 ± 1.5 mm, respectively. The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrates good agreement or consistency. The paired t-test resulted in a p-value of 0.708, indicating no significant statistical difference between the two methods. The correlation analysis between acetabular anteversion angle and ultrasound-measured capsule thickness yielded a p-value of 0.043, indicating acetabular anteversion angle and capsular thickness may have negative correlation. Conclusions: The measurements of joint capsule thickness obtained through ultrasound and MRI showed good consistency, suggesting that ultrasound can be used in clinical practice as a replacement for MRI in measuring hip joint capsule thickness. There was a significant correlation between acetabular anteversion angle and hip joint capsule thickness, indicating potential for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A zoning method based on ecological indicators and economic indicators is applied. • Ecological and economic situations are highly correlated with topographic conditions. • The coupling coordination degree(CCD) between ecology and economy is calculated. • Economic development is highly positively correlated with CCD. • Targeted regional sustainable development strategies are put forward. The coordinated development of ecology and economy is one of the key issues of sustainable development. A full understanding of the relationship between ecology and economy is necessary for the coordinated development of the two. This paper takes Sichuan Province as the research area and county-level administrative districts as the research unit. Based on the medium value of the ecological quality index and economic growth index of each unit, Sichuan Province is divided into dual pressure zones (DPZ), economic backward zones (EBZ), ecological crisis zones (ECZ), and coordinated development zones (CDZ) and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of each unit is studied. The results show that: (1) On the whole, the eastern part of Sichuan Province has a better level of economic development, and the southern part of the western region has a higher ecological quality. The ecological quality and economic growth pattern are highly correlated with topographical conditions. (2) The distribution characteristics of the four types of partitions are significantly different. The EBZ are more distributed in the western and southern of Sichuan Province, the ECZ are more distributed in the eastern, the DPZ and CDZ are relatively more sporadic. More than 90% of the partition changed zones are distributed in the eastern area. (3) The CCD of more than 95% units belongs to moderate coordination and high coordination. The overall CCD of the four types of zones has shown an upward trend from 2010 to 2015. Based on the results, Sichuan Province should follow the path of clear waters and green mountains are as good as mountains of gold and silver, and targeted sustainable development suggestions for DPZ, EBZ, ECZ, and CDZ are put forward. This paper provides guidance for formulating regional sustainable development strategies, especially in areas with unbalanced development due to congenital topographical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Discard Sprite and Fanta drinks were reused to construct hierarchical ZnO@SC and ZnO@FC composites. • ZnO nanoparticles are encapsulated in interconnected carbon nanosheet skeletons. • Both ZnO@SC and ZnO@FC exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance. Both the exploitation of high-performance anode materials for lithium-ions batteries (LIBs) and the recycle of discard carbonated drinks are urgent problems that need to be solved. Herein, we constructed hierarchical ZnO@SC and ZnO@FC using discard Sprite and Fanta drinks as solvent undergoing ordinal solvothermal reaction and annealing. Interconnected carbon skeletons can greatly accelerate the electroconductibility of composites and effectively prevent ZnO nanoparticle from agglomerating. Meanwhile, nanoscale design benefits to assuage the pulverization of ZnO composites caused by repetitive shrinkage/expansion during repeated charge/discharge process. When served as anode for LIBs, both ZnO@SC and ZnO@FC exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. ZnO@FC maintains high discharge capacity of 1157 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 and 742 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles even at 1.0 A g−1, showing the most remarkable lithium-storage performance among as-prepared ZnO@C composites. This work opens up a new opportunity for the recycle of discarded carbonated drinks and the application of ZnO@C anode in LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]