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Green and intelligent manufacturing has become the key direction of industrial production development. In-situ measuring and sintering simulation technologies play a key role in the modification of ceramic materials and the optimization of the sintering process. These two techniques can significantly alleviate the problems of wasted energy and resources in the ceramics production process, thus promoting the green development of the ceramics industry. Although both techniques have been widely used in the field of ceramic sintering, there is a lack of a comprehensive review of their applications. To better promote the application of these two technologies, this paper provides the first overview of the progress of the application of ceramic sintering in-situ measuring technology and systematically reviews the current research status of ceramic sintering simulation technology. Then it looks forward to the application prospect of these two technologies, synthesizes these two technologies, constructs the framework of digital twin ceramic sintering system for the first time, and analyzes the important role of these two technologies in the digital twin ceramic sintering system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted. A retraction notice can be found at https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-219433. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) on the tribological properties of WC-Ni under seawater lubrication. The experimental findings revealed an anomalous behavior, contrary to the existing literature, indicating that the LSP treatment actually deteriorated the tribological properties of WC-Ni. The mechanism and solutions for anomalous behavior were also examined, and the results indicated that the enhancement of material properties through LSP treatment cannot counterbalance the detrimental effects of increased surface roughness. For improved processes, the sample treated with LSP + Polish exhibits the highest residual compressive stress and the lowest surface roughness, thereby yielding the best comprehensive performance. Therefore, the experimental results demonstrate that LSP + Polish treatment can improve material performance and hydrodynamic effect, leading to reductions in friction and wear. [Display omitted] • An anomalous behavior indicating that the LSP treatment deteriorated the tribological properties of WC-Ni. • The enhancement of material properties through LSP cannot counterbalance the detrimental effects of increased roughness. • The sample treated with LSP and polish exhibits the best tribological performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the prognostic significance of different molecular typing methods and immune status based on RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in hormone receptor (HR)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative (HR + /HER2-) early-stage breast cancer and develop a modified immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based surrogate for intrinsic subtype analysis.Methods: The gene expression profiles of samples from 87 HR + /HER2- early-stage breast cancer patients were evaluated using the RNA-seq of Oncotype Dx recurrence score (RS), PAM50 risk of recurrence (ROR), and immune score. Intrinsic tumor subtypes were determined using both PAM50- and IHC-based detection of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Ki-67, epidermal growth factor receptor, and cytokeratins 14 and 5/6. Prognostic variables were analyzed through Cox regression analysis of disease-free survival (DFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS).Results: Survival analysis showed that ROR better predicted recurrence and distant metastasis compared to RS (for DFS: ROR, P = 0.000; RS, P = 0.027; for DMFS, ROR, P = 0.047; RS, P = 0.621). Patients with HR + /HER2- early-stage breast cancer was classified into the luminal A, luminal B, HER2-enriched, and basal-like subtypes by PAM50. Basal-like subgroups showed the shortest DFS and DMFS. A modified IHC-based surrogate for intrinsic subtype analysis improved the concordance with PAM50 from 66.7% to 73.6%, particularly for basal-like subtype identification. High level of TILs and high expression of immune genes predicted poor prognosis. Multi-factor Cox analysis showed that IHC-based basal-like markers were the only independent factors affecting DMFS.Conclusions: Prognosis is better evaluated by PAM50 ROR in early-stage HR + /HER2- breast cancer and significantly differs among intrinsic subtypes. The modified IHC-based subtype can improve the basal-like subtype identification of PAM50. High immunity status and IHC-based basal-like markers are negative prognostic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research in multi-source transfer learning often overlooks the differences among source domain samples and fails to effectively utilize unknown target domain information. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a multi-source domain self-supervised enhanced transfer fault diagnosis method with source sample refinement strategy. Firstly, a joint training mechanism is introduced to train all source predictors, leveraging knowledge from all source domains. Subsequently, a source sample refinement strategy is devised, utilizing a category classifier in conjunction with predefined thresholds to filter out source samples highly similar to the target samples, thereby obtaining weights for each source domain. Then, a multi-level distribution matching mechanism is designed to reduce the distribution discrepancy between refined source samples and target samples, followed by the development of a self-supervised training mechanism to further enhance the cross-domain performance of source predictors. Finally, integrating the weights from each source domain, the trained source predictors are combined to derive the target predictor, yielding the final diagnostic results. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can achieve better target alignment by leveraging fault information from the unknown target domain, effectively addressing cross-domain diagnosis challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The fermentation-induced emulsion gel was prepared by ultrasound. • Ultrasound improved the hardness and water holding capacity of the emulsion gel. • Ultrasound improved the rheological property of the emulsion gel. • Ultrasound improved the encapsulation efficiency and bioaccessibility of quercetin. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ultrasonic treatment at different powers on the physicochemical properties, microstructure and quercetin delivery capacity of fermentation-induced soy protein isolate emulsion gel (FSEG). The FSEG was prepared by subjecting soy protein isolate (SPI) emulsion to ultrasonic treatment at various powers (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 W), followed by lactic acid bacteria fermentation. Compared with the control group (0 W), the FSEG treated with ultrasound had higher hardness, water holding capacity (WHC) and rheological parameters. Particularly, at an ultrasonic power of 300 W, the FSEG had the highest hardness (101.69 ± 4.67 g) and WHC (75.20 ± 1.07%) (p < 0.05). Analysis of frequency sweep and strain scanning revealed that the storage modulus (G') and yield strains of FSEG increased after 300 W ultrasonic treatment. Additionally, the recovery rate after creep recovery test significantly increased from 18.70 ± 0.49% (0 W) to 58.05 ± 0.54% (300 W) (p < 0.05). Ultrasound treatment also resulted in an increased β-sheet content and the formation of a more compact micro-network structure. This led to a more uniform distribution of oil droplets and reduced mobility of water within the gel. Moreover, ultrasonic treatment significantly enhanced the encapsulation efficiency of quercetin in FSEG from 81.25 ± 0.62 % (0 W) to 90.04 ± 1.54% (300 W). The bioaccessibility of quercetin also increased significantly from 28.90 ± 0.40% (0 W) to 42.58 ± 1.60% (300 W) (p < 0.05). This study enriches the induction method of soy protein emulsion gels and provides some references for the preparation of fermented emulsion gels loaded with active substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Ni-based single crystal superalloys are widely applied in the fabrication of blades and vanes in aero-engine industry due to the excellent high temperature properties. In this study, a novel high entropy filler without Si and B was proposed. The melting point of the newly developed Ni-Co-Cr-Al-Nb-Ti filler was 1155ºC and fast epitaxial brazing DD6 single crystal superalloy was realized under the brazing condition of 1200ºC for 30 min. Furthermore, the influence of aging heat treatment on the interface microstructure and joint strength was investigated. The as-brazed joint interface mainly consisted of γ, γ', γ"-(Ni,Co,Cr) 3 Nb and NiAl phase. After aging treatment, element distribution became more uniform and the size of intermetallic phase was refined. The γ+γ' phase in brazing seam exhibits same [001] orientation with DD6 substrate. The orientation relationship between γ and γ" was also analyzed. The joint tensile strength tested at 980ºC was 559 MPa. • Novel Ni-Co-Cr-Al-Nb-Ti high entropy filler is developed and fast epitaxial brazing of DD6 superalloy is investigated. • The γ+γ' phase in brazing seam exhibits same [001] orientation with DD6 substrate. • The DD6 single crystal superalloy joints present the average tensile strength of 559 MPa at 980˚C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the convergence of the following type of series T N f (n) = ∑ j = N 1 N 2 v j (e a j + 1 Δ d f (n) - e a j Δ d f (n)) , n ∈ Z , where { e t Δ d } t > 0 is the heat semigroup of the discrete Laplacian Δ d , N = (N 1 , N 2) ∈ Z 2 with N 1 < N 2 , { v j } j ∈ Z is a bounded real sequence and { a j } j ∈ Z is an increasing real sequence. Our analysis will consist in the boundedness on ℓ p (Z , ω) of the operators T N and its maximal operator T ∗ f (n) = sup N T N f (n) , where 1 ≤ p < ∞ and ω is a discrete Muckenhoupt weight. Moreover, we also get the alternative behavior of the maximal operator T ∗ on ℓ ∞ (Z) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissimilar brazing of Ti 2 AlNb-based alloy and Ni-based wrought superalloy (GH536) was studied using NiCrFeSiB filler metal. The Ti 2 AlNb/GH536 joints were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The formation mechanism of interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti 2 AlNb/GH536 joints were studied. The results indicated that Ti 2 Ni(Al,Nb), AlNi 2 Ti and TiB 2 reaction layers were formed in the joint adjacent to Ti 2 AlNb base metal. These layers resulted in high micro-hardness and the weak link of the joint. γ solid solution was formed through isothermal solidification and β 1 -Ni 3 Si phase precipitated in the γ solid solution during cooling process. Ni 3 B, β 1 -Ni 3 Si and CrB phases appeared in the centre of the joint. Blocky and needle-like borides formed within the diffusion affected zone of GH536 base alloy. The maximum tensile strength of Ti 2 AlNb/GH536 joints reached 425 ​MPa ​at room temperature and the strength value of 373 ​MPa was maintained at 923 ​K. [Display omitted] • Dissimilar joining of Ti 2 AlNb and Ni-based superalloy was successfully conducted using NiCrFeSiB filler metal. • The formation of phases Ti 2 Ni (fcc), AlNi 2 Ti (bcc) and TiB 2 (hcp) were confirmed through TEM within the joint. • Formation mechanisms of γ solid solution, β 1 -Ni 3 Si, Ni 3 B and CrB phases are discussed. • A model of joint microstructural evolution was established. • The joint tensile strength at room temperature reached 425 ​MPa and the strength value of 373 ​MPa was maintained at 923 ​K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at achieving fine and directionally-solidified microstructure of Nb–Si based alloy, Nb, Si and Ti powder particles were utilized as the raw materials, and laser melting deposition (LMD) experiments were conducted with 1500 ​W and 2000 W laser power, respectively. The microstructure characteristic, micro-hardness, and indentation fracture toughness were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (XEDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the two kinds of as-deposited Nb–17Si–23Ti alloy samples were mainly composed of Nb SS , (Nb, Ti) 3 Si and Ti-rich Nb SS , and the microstructure presents rapid directionally-solidified characteristic, in which the <100> crystallographic direction of Nb SS and <110> crystallographic direction of (Nb, Ti) 3 Si tend to be parallel to the LMD building direction. With the laser power increasing from 1500 ​W to 2000 W, the microstructure became more oriented and homogeneous. For the sample at 2000 W, the dendrite spacing was only about 1–2 ​μm, and Nb SS and (Nb, Ti) 3 Si couples grow alternately and they are parallel to the building direction strictly. In the meantime the micro-hardness and indentation fracture toughness reached 1075 HV and 20.3 ​MPa·m1/2, respectively, indicating significant improvement by the directional growth of fine Nb SS and (Nb, Ti) 3 Si phases, and the dimple fracture mode of the Nb SS dendrites. [Display omitted] • Not only directionally solidified but also refined microstructure was realized in laser melting deposited Nb–Si–Ti alloys. • For the DS microstructure, the <100> of Nb SS and <110> of (Nb, Ti) 3 Si tend to be parallel to the LMD building direction. • The fracture toughness of the as-deposited sample is up to 20.3 ​MPa·m1/2. • The LMD processing condition resulted in the transformation of fracture mode from cleavage to dimple for Nb SS phases. • The phenomenon of crack propagation in (Nb, Ti) 3 Si and crack stopping at Nb SS dendrite was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joining of Ti 2 AlNb alloy to TiAl intermetallics was conducted by the newly-developed Ti–Ni–Nb–Zr brazing filler alloy. The microstructure evolution of the joints was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The macro-micro mechanical properties were studied by shear test and nano-indentation test. Typical interfacial microstructures across the brazing seam were Ti 2 AlNb substrate, α 2 -Ti 3 Al+β-Ti, γ-TiAl+Ti 2 Ni+TiNi+α 2 -Ti 3 Al, α 2 -Ti 3 Al+β-Ti, TiAl substrate. The Ti 2 Ni phase were firstly dissolved in the joints brazed at 1000 °C for 10 min and then precipitated after a prolonged holding time of 15 min. The nano-indentation test revealed that Ti 2 Ni phase exhibited the highest hardness of 12.60 GPa. The joints brazed at 1000 °C/15 min presented the maximum shear strength of 271 MPa. The dissolution and precipitation behavior of Ti 2 Ni phase was also discussed. Image 1 • The Ti–Ni–Nb–Zr filler alloy was newly developed and the brazing temperature was decreased to 1000 °C. • The dissolution and precipitation phenomenon of Ti 2 Ni phase was explained by dynamic equilibrium reaction. • The joints brazed at 1000 °C/15 min presented the maximum shear strength of 271 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) primarily derived from the base of the tongue, is rare. Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are important aetiological risk factors for tumours of the head and neck. This study describes the clinicopathological features of NHL in the tongue base and the status of HPV and EBV in these cases. Methods: Seven cases were identified from the Pathological Registry Database at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). The study utilized immunochemistry, in situ hybridization (ISH), and gene rearrangement to confirm the disease and and performed a clinical follow up for each case. Results: All 7 lymphomas were localized at the base of the tongue. Six of the cases exhibited tongue base masses with smooth surface membranes. One case presented as multiple deep ulcers. The most common histologic subtype was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which occurred in five cases. The other two cases were mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and peripheral T cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL, NOS). One of the DLBCL cases was positive for HPV DNA and diffusely expressed P16 protein. During the follow up period, the MCL patient and an elderly DLBCL patient died. The remaining five patients were alive through the end of follow up. Conclusions: Most lymphomas of the tongue base manifest as an endogenous mass without membranous change. The most common subtype of NHLs of the tongue base is DLBCL, and the occurrence at this site may have a good prognosis. With proper therapy, even late stage tongue base lymphomas can be suppressed and remain in remission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine PD1/PDL1 expression status in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) at both protein and mRNA levels, and to analyze the relationship between their expression and clinical parameters of the TNBC patients. Immunohistochemistry and RNAscope were used to semi quantitively evaluate PD1/PDL1 protein and mRNA expression in 195 TNBC cases on tissue microarrays. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TILs) abundance was assessed using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Both tumor cells and TILs expressed PDL1. PDL1 protein and mRNA positivity was 6.7% and 74.4% respectively in tumor cells, and 31.3% and 50.9% respectively in TILs. PDL1 protein and mRNA expressions had no significant association with patient prognosis. PD1 protein was only detected in TILs (70.3% positivity). PD1 protein expression was significantly related to PDL1 expression, higher TIL abundance, Ki-67 index, basal-like subtypes, and distant metastasis. Furthermore, it was significantly associated with longer disease free survival (P<0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.004). There was no significant association between PD1 mRNA expression and clinicopathological characteristics. PD1/PDL1 protein and mRNA expressions were inconsistent (kappa = 0.705 and 0.061, respectively). PD1 protein expression in TILs, but not PDL1 in tumor cells, was a favorable prognostic factor in TNBC. PD1/PDL1 mRNA and protein expressions were inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through-silicon-via (TSV) connection is a promising technology to provide more effective and faster data processing in integrated-circuit (IC) devices. In this study, via-filling processes with the direct ultrasonic agitation, the effects of additives (accelerator, suppressor and leveler) and different current densities are investigated. Microvias with a diameter of 20 μ m and a depth of 65 μ m is used in the electrodeposition process. The dynamic evolution of the via-filling process activated by ultrasonic under different current densities is obtained by scanning electron microscopy. It is found that the application of ultrasonic agitation can change the deposition rate of copper ion at the via and improve the filling process to obtain void-free TSVs. Under the action of ultrasonic agitation, the via-filling process under the condition of low, middle and high current density are explored to realize the "V" type filling, "U" type filling, void filling, respectively. In addition, the filling ratio and filling speed of copper in the vias under different conditions are also analyzed in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in forest ecosystem structure and functions are considered some of the research issues in landscape ecology. In this study, advancing Forman's theory, we considered five spatially explicit processes associated with fragmentation, including perforation, dissection, subdivision, shrinkage, and attrition, and two processes associated with restoration, i.e., increment and expansion processes. Following this theory, a forest fragmentation and restoration process model that can detect the spatially explicit processes and ecological consequences of forest landscape change was developed and tested in the current analysis. Using the National Land Cover Databases (2001, 2006 and 2011), the forest fragmentation and restoration process model was applied to US western natural forests and southeastern plantation forests to quantify and classify forest patch losses into one of the four fragmentation processes (the dissection process was merged into the subdivision process) and to classify the newly gained forest patches based on the two restoration processes. At the same time, the spatio-temporal differences in fragmentation and restoration patterns and trends between natural forests and plantations were further compared. Then, through overlaying the forest fragmentation/restoration processes maps with targeting year land cover data and land ownership vectors, the results from forest fragmentation and the contributors to forest restoration in federal and nonfederal lands were identified. Results showed that, in natural forests, the forest change patches concentrated around the urban/forest, cultivated/forest, and shrubland/forest interfaces, while the patterns of plantation change patches were scattered sparsely and irregularly. The shrinkage process was the most common type in forest fragmentation, and the average size was the smallest. Expansion, the most common restoration process, was observed in both natural forests and plantations and often occurred around the previous expansion or covered the previous subdivision or shrinkage processes. The overall temporal fragmentation pattern of natural forests had a “perforation-subdivision/shrinkage-attrition” pathway, which corresponded to Forman's landscape fragmentation rule, while the plantation forests did not follow the rule strictly. The main land cover types resulted from forest fragmentation in natural forests and plantation forests were shrubland and herbaceous, mainly through subdivision and shrinkages process. The processes and effects of restoration of plantation forests were more diverse and efficient, compared to the natural forest, which were simpler with a lower regrowth rate. The fragmentation mostly occurred in nonfederal lands. In natural forests, forest fragmentation pattern differed in different land tenures, yet plantations remained the same in federal and nonfederal lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cemented carbide has comprehensive properties such as high hardness and good toughness, and it is a high-quality solution for wear-resistant applications such as machining and mining. Nevertheless, the tribological performance of cemented carbide components needs to be further improved for extremely harsh working environments or high-load and high-power working conditions. Surface modification technology is one of the most effective ways to solve the wear problem of modern mechanical components. In this review, the research and development of surface modification technology, including mechanical, physical, and chemical technologies, for cemented carbides are reviewed comprehensively. Moreover, the definition, mechanism, and effect of various technologies are introduced, and different technologies are compared. Finally, the future development of surface modification is described. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon carbide-based ceramic matrix composites have received extensive attention in recent years. Many excellent reviews have reported on the tribological behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced carbon and silicon carbide dual matrix (C/C-SiC) composites. However, a systematic overview of the tribological properties of carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composites does not exist. This review focuses on C/SiC composites and summarizes the key factors, including internal factors (constituent content, graphitization process, material structure and fiber direction), and various test conditions (pressure and speed, dry and wet, temperature, and counterparts) that affect their tribological behavior. Their wear mechanisms under different conditions are elaborated. Finally, some potential future development directions for improving the performance of C/SiC composites are proposed to provide high-quality ceramic matrix composites for engineering applications. These directions include structural modification, matrix modification, coating technology, laser surface texturing, and material genome method. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene oxide (GO) sheets were synthesized via a modified Hummer’s method. Subsequently, annual-ring shaped graphene hydrogel was formed through alkali-inducing hydrothermal process. The lyophilized GO hydrogel was tailored to a cylindrical emitter and demonstrated good field emission performance: maximum current density reached 2.32 mA/cm 2 , field enhanced factor of 1969 and turn-on electric field at 2.41 V/μm, accompanied with excellent stability. Moreover, the emitter also exhibited superior mechanical properties, such as ultra-light, flexibility and free-standing. These results suggest that the resultant with unique structure has a potential to be utilized as a high-performance field emitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the microstructural and hardness evolutions of an Mg-5.91Gd-3.29Y-0.54Zr (wt%) alloy during high-pressure torsion (HPT) were investigated. Deformation twinning played a crucial role in the HPT-induced grain subdivision process. In the 1/8-revolution disk, 10 1 ¯ 1 and 10 1 ¯ 2 twins with different twin variants, 10 1 ¯ 1 − 10 1 ¯ 2 secondary twins and twin-twin interactions were activated. Primary twins prevailed at the very central region of the disk, while much finer multiple twins were formed at the edge region of the disk corresponding to the area subjected to a relatively large plastic strain. Besides, dislocation cell substructures were also developed. Nanocrystalline structure was attained after 5-revolution HPT processing, and the maximum hardness reached ~120 Hv at the edge region of the disk, which is much higher than that achieved from other traditional plastic deformation methods. • An Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy was deformed by high-pressure torsion. • Deformation twinning played a crucial role in the grain subdivision process. • Nanocrystalline structure was obtained after 5-revolution HPT processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the joining of SiCf/SiC and TZM alloy, an AuPdTiCrCu filler metal with dual active element of Ti and Cr was synthesized. The brazing process was carried out under the condition of 1200°C for 10 min. It was shown that fine Cr‐based solid solutions were dispersed in the filler metal. When brazing, the element Cr and Ti moved toward the base metal and reacted with them to form into Mo‐Cr‐Si and Mo‐Cr‐Ti‐Si compounds. These two active elements could promote the metallurgical reaction of the joint. Meanwhile, it was found that some Pd‐Si compounds, fragments of (Au, Cu)ss and soft Au‐Ti phases formed in the middle regions of the joint. (Au, Cu)ss and Au‐Ti phases distributed around the Pd‐Si compounds. In addition, the joining mechanism was discussed and the mechanical properties of the joints were tested. The results showed that the average four point flexural strength of the joints reached 88.5 MPa at room temperature and 46.8 MPa at 500°C. The fracture characters of the joints were discussed in the last. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Two ultra-microporous frameworks were synthesized in a feasible route to scale up. [•] The CH4/N2 separation performances for MOFs and zeolites were evaluated. [•] The highest selectivities ever reported for the separation of CH4 against N2 were achieved. [•] The mechanism explains the good separation performances for the two adsorbents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In existing literature, the distribution of pixel observations is analyzed with models designed for the video foreground detection task. However, it is possible that the background and foreground share similar observations, causing false detections. We propose a novel foreground detection method called Deep Variation Transformation Network (DVTN), focusing on analyzing the pixel variations instead of distributions. In particular, pixel variations are represented by a sequence of pixel observations, and DVTN is trained to transform the pixel variations into a new space, where the observations can be classified easily. Following this, the output of DVTN is utilized by a linear classifier to label pixels as foreground or background. As a result of the global analysis and the strong learning ability of DVTN, the proposed approach adaptively learns a good transformation from pixel variations to probabilities of labels to improve performance. Comprehensive experiments on several benchmark datasets demonstrate the superiority of our DVTN approach compared to both state-of-the-art deep learning and traditional methods, especially in scenes lacking texture and color information. Code is available at https://github.com/Zhangjunyin/DVTN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the transformation of water, land, energy and carbon management to "multi-resource" synergy contributes to thoroughly assess the carbon reduction potential of regional human behavior in response to climate change from the angle of the source of production and the coupling development of resources, which is significant in promoting resource conservation and improving production efficiency. This study conducts a conceptual framework to evaluate the impact of water utilization changes on the water-land-energy-carbon (WLEC) nexus in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), and quantitatively discusses the complex interactions between water utilization changes and the total WLEC system and subsystems by applying the coupling coordination degree. Results present that: (1) the overall difference in the water utilization quantity of the YRB is expanding, and the water utilization types and efficiency show significant heterogeneity of flow segments. (2) Incorporating water into the land-energy-carbon system leads to an increase in the overall coupling and coupling coordination values in the YRB, and different reaches show different growth heterogeneity. (3) The coordination levels of the two-factor system consisting of the water and land-energy-carbon subsystems will be superimposed or canceled out, thus impacting the coupling coordination of the WLEC nexus. This study helps to further clarify the impact of water utilization changes on the land-energy-carbon system and its internal subsystems, and the combination of the WLEC nexus can provide references for governments to establish regional synergistic development models of water-land-energy resources and reduce carbon emission with their resource advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aerospace sector, the identification and extraction of surface defects on composite parts is particularly important as they can have a very serious impact. This paper proposes a new extraction method for surface defects of composite materials, where 3D point clouds on the surface of composite workpieces are directly manipulated to finally extract a point cloud of defects containing both morphological and spatial location information. The specific operation explores the influencing factors in the formation and extraction process of composite surface defects and summarizes them into five categories: material type, fiber direction, curvature algorithm, neighborhood size, and filtering threshold. The Multilayer Perceptron‐Moth Flame algorithm two‐stage network model was constructed, which can reveal the relationship between these five types of influencing factors and the formation and extraction of surface defects in composites in the forward direction with an accuracy of 93.07%. It can also achieve optimal parameter recommendation in the reverse direction. Highlights: Automatic identification and extraction of defects on the surface of composite workpieces is achieved based on 3D point cloud and curvature calculation.The forward direction reveals the relationship between the surface defect formation process and the material type and fabric direction.The reverse direction can automatically select the best curvature algorithm, neighborhood size, and filtering condition parameters.Build a Multilayer Perceptron‐Moth Flame Algorithm network structure based on multilayer perceptron and moth‐flame algorithm for model training of defect extraction, with an accuracy of 93.07%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ovary enlargement is common in controlled ovarian stimulation, which could continue several months during a successful pregnancy. However, persistent megalocystic ovaries 3 years after ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) were rare. Here we will present you the case and treatment as well as discuss the probable etiology. Case presentation: A 34-year-old woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and a history of infertility presented to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital with abdominal pain and persistently enlarged ovaries 36 months after OHSS. Enlarged ovaries were evaluated with ultrasonography and serum tests. Diagnostic laparoscopic surgery with detorsion and drainage followed by GnRHa treatment was performed. Symptoms and ovarian size evaluated by vaginal ultrasound were the main outcome measures. The patient was discharged from the hospital 5 days after surgery without any remarkable complications. Both ovaries recovered to almost normal after a monthly injection of GnRHa for 3 months. Conclusions: Ovarian enlargement may persist for a long time in patients with severe OHSS even after sex hormone levels and ovarian functions return to normal. Long term follow-up is necessary and ovarian torsion should be suspected when accompanied by abdominal pain. Acupuncture plus GnRHa treatment may be an effective way for these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 70-gene signature (70-GS, MammaPrint) test has been recommended by the main guidelines to evaluate prognosis and chemotherapy benefit of hormonal receptor positive human epidermal receptor 2 negative (HR + /Her2−) early breast cancer (BC). However, this expensive assay is not always accessible and affordable worldwide. Based on our previous study, we established nomogram models to predict the binary and quartile categorized risk of 70-GS. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a consecutive cohort of 150 female patients with HR + /Her2− BC and eligible 70-GS test. Comparison of 40 parameters including the patients' medical history risk factors, imaging features and clinicopathological characteristics was performed between patients with high risk (N = 62) and low risk (N = 88) of 70-GS test, whereas risk calculations from established models including Clinical Treatment Score Post-5 years (CTS5), Immunohistochemistry 3 (IHC3) and Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) were also compared between high vs low binary risk of 70-GS and among ultra-high (N = 12), high (N = 50), low (N = 65) and ultra-low (N = 23) quartile categorized risk of 70-GS. The data of 150 patients were randomly split by 4:1 ratio with training set of 120 patients and testing set 30 patients. Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression were performed to establish the two nomogram models to predict the the binary and quartile categorized risk of 70-GS. Results: Compared to 70-GS low-risk patients, the high-risk patients had significantly less cardiovascular co-morbidity (p = 0.034), more grade 3 BC (p = 0.006), lower progesterone receptor (PR) positive percentage (p = 0.007), more Ki67 high BC (≥ 20%, p < 0.001) and no significant differences in all the imaging parameters of ultrasound and mammogram. The IHC3 risk and the NPI calculated score significantly correlated with both the binary and quartile categorized 70-GS risk classifications (both p < 0.001). The area under curve (AUC) of receiver-operating curve (ROC) of nomogram for binary risk prediction were 0.826 (C-index 0.903, 0.799–1.000) for training and 0.737 (C-index 0.785, 0.700–0.870) for validation dataset respectively. The AUC of ROC of nomogram for quartile risk prediction was 0.870 (C-index 0.854, 0.746–0.962) for training and 0.592 (C-index 0.769, 0.703–0.835) for testing set. The prediction accuracy of the nomogram for quartile categorized risk groups were 55.0% (likelihood ratio tests, p < 0.001) and 53.3% (p = 0.04) for training and validation, which more than double the baseline probability of 25%. Conclusions: To our knowledge, we are the first to establish easy-to-use nomograms to predict the individualized binary (high vs low) and the quartile categorized (ultra-high, high, low and ultra-low) risk classification of 70-GS test with fair performance, which might provide information for treatment choice for those who have no access to the 70-GS testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the major challenges remaining in the classification of thyroid tumor is the determination of whether a nodule is benign or malignant. We aimed to characterize the mutational profiles of follicular thyroid tumor and to identify markers with potential diagnostic and prognostic implications. Methods: Targeted sequencing with a panel of 18 thyroid cancer-related genes was performed on 48 tissue samples from follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA), 32 follicular tumors of uncertain malignant potential (FT-UMP), 17 well-differentiated tumors of uncertain malignant potential (WDT-UMP) and 53 samples from follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC). The correlation of mutation profiles and clinicopathological features and prognosis were also analyzed. Results: We identified 95 nonsilent mutations spanning 14 genes. Specifically, TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations were exclusively detected in FTC. A total of 80% EIF1AX exon 2 mutations (4/5) and 75% TSHR mutations (3/4) occurred in FTA, whereas the rest of them occurred in FT-UMP. KRAS mutations and TP53 mutations were only presented in borderline or malignant tumors. H/N-RAS mutations were detected in all four subtypes, but were most commonly found in WDT-UMP (p = 0.031). All N-RAS mutations were located at codon 61. BRAF V600E and RET fusion were absent in the entire cohort. In FTC cases, EIF1AX mutations were all located at intron 5/exon 6 and correlated with advanced disease (p = 0.032). Both EIF1AX and TERTp mutations predicted shorter disease-free survival (p = 0.007, p = 0.024, respectively). Further analysis revealed that TERTp mutations were correlated with shorter disease-free survival in patients with minimally invasive /encapsulated angioinvasive FTC (p = 0.017), but not in those with widely invasive FTC (p = 0.297). Conclusion: TERTp, EIF1AX, TSHR, H/N/K-RAS and TP53 mutations may have diagnostic or prognostic potential in follicular thyroid tumors. TERTp mutations may predict a poor outcome in patients with minimally invasive/encapsulated angioinvasive FTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-entropy alloy (HEA) films prepared by magnetron sputtering on 3D substrates have excellent ability to release bubbles, good electrical conductivity, and abundant active sites, which lead to excellent performance in oxygen evolution reaction. HEA films with various elements were prepared on different substrates. In general, oxygen evolution reaction abilities of HEA film electrodes are related to morphologies of catalyst and types of active sites. Notably, nanostructures with regular array could help to increase the surface area of electrocatalysts and expose active sites. Also, chloride salt solution of transition metals can promote the formation of high-entropy oxy/hydroxides due to oxygen absorption oxidation reaction and displacement reaction on the surface of HEA film electrodes. And electrochemical oxidation at suitable high potential can also produce high-entropy oxy/hydroxides. In this work, dense nanosheet array structures of high-entropy oxy/hydroxides were constructed on the surface of FeCoNiCrMo HEA film electrodes preprocessed in NiCl2 solution and reconstructed by electrochemical oxidation in KOH solution further. The FeCoNiCrMo HEA film electrode with dense nanosheet array structures has excellent OER performance with the overpotential of 250 mV, Tafel slope of 41.5 mV dec−1, and electric double layer capacitance of 4.3 mF cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper electrodeposition in through silicon via (TSV) with additives is a complicated process. Experimental methods are proposed to determine parameters (exchange current density on the cathode covered by additives, cathodic transfer coefficient and effective diffusion coefficient of additives) which are used in the mathematical model describing the copper electrodeposition process controlled by the additives. Linear scan voltammetry and Bulter-Volmer equation are used to determine the exchange current densities and cathodic transfer coefficients for different cathodic surfaces (free-occupied cathode, accelerator-covered cathode and suppressor-covered cathode). Effective diffusion coefficients of additives in plating bath used in TSV-filling model are calculated according to injection experiments and Wilke-Chang equation. The curvature effect, surface diffusion and surface convection are considered in the copper electrodeposition model. Both numerical simulation and experiment are performed on the copper electrodeposition of TSV with ∅20 μm × 65 μm, and comparisons are made to validate the model. The dynamic profile of TSV and the corresponding surface coverage of additives are analyzed to explain the mechanisms of additives in the process of TSV filling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since voids and seams are easily formed during the process of filling TSVs with high aspect ratio, good methods that can achieve the superfilling of TSVs are eagerly needed. This paper presents the numerical modeling of TSV filling concerning the influence of three additives (accelerator, suppressor and leveler). By changing the additives' doses and current density, the following three different simulation results were obtained: the pinch-off effect, seam-inside filling model and “V” shaped filling model. The corresponding distributions of the current density along the cathode surface were analyzed to investigate the filling mechanism. Moreover, TSV filling experiments in the presence of additives were also conducted to validate the proposed numerical model. The simulation results matched well with the experimental results. TSVs with a diameter of 20 μm and depth of 200 μm were fully filled in the appropriate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most studied forms of immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The Cancer Genome Map (TCGA) and METABRIC project provide large-scale cancer samples that can be used for comprehensive and reliable immunity-related gene research. Methods: We analyzed data from TCGA and METABRIC and established an immunity-related gene prognosis model for breast cancer. The SDC1 expression in tumor and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was then observed in 282 TNBC patients by immunohistochemistry. The effects of SDC1 on MDA-MB-231 proliferation, migration and invasion were evaluated. Qualitative real-time PCR and western blotting were performed to identify mRNA and protein expression, respectively. Results: SDC1, as a key immunity-related gene, was significantly correlated with survival in the TCGA and METABRIC databases, while SDC1 was found to be highly expressed in TNBC in the METABRIC database. In the TNBC cohort, patients with high SDC1 expression in tumor cells and low expression in CAFs had significantly lower disease-free survival (DFS) and fewer tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The downregulation of SDC1 decreased the proliferation of MDA-MB-231, while promoting the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells by reducing the gene expression of E-cadherin and TGFb1 and activating p-Smad2 and p-Smad3 expression. Conclusion: SDC1 is a key immunity-related gene that is highly expressed TNBC patients. Patients with high SDC1 expression in tumors and low expression in CAFs had poor prognoses and low TILs. Our findings also suggest that SDC1 regulates the migration of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells through a TGFb1-Smad and E-cadherin-dependent mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the tribological behavior of surface texturing under water lubrication with particles of different sizes was analyzed through pin-on-disk tests. Results show that regardless of whether the particle size is greater than the texture depth, textured samples can effectively reduce the friction coefficient compared with untextured ones. Friction coefficient can be reduced up to 30 %. As the particle size increases, the efficiency of surface texturing in reducing friction decreases. When the particle size is smaller than the texture depth, surface texturing can store particles and thus reduce abrasive wear. On the contrary, when the particle size is larger than the texture depth, some particles will be embedded in the textures, resulting in impact wear. This study provides a reference for the design of the texture parameters in granular water. • Under water lubrication with particles of different sizes, surface texturing can reduce friction. • The efficiency of surface texturing in reducing friction decreases as particle size increases. • When the particle size is less than the texture depth, the texture can store the particles. • When the particle size is greater than the texture depth, particles will be embedded in the texture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retention of hydrogen isotopes in tungsten has been a critical issue in future fusion facilities. Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) is a common method for the studies of hydrogen isotope retention. To explore the effect of heating rate in TDS measurement, a series of deuterium (D) desorption experiments with different heating rates were conducted. The results were compared with TMAP7 (Tritium Migration and Analysis Program, version 7) simulations and Kissinger's theory. An empirical expression for the analysis of desorption spectra with different heating rates was derived. The expression was verified in another set of experiments on helium (He) desorption. Furthermore, the formation of molecules containing D atoms during TDS measurements was investigated. Specimens exposed to D plasma were stored in air and vacuum respectively for three months prior to desorption experiments. Signals of H, H 2 , HD, D 2 , HDO and D 2 O were detected. The reasons for the formation of these species were explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption equilibrium, thermodynamics, and kinetics of CH4, N2, and CO2were investigated by volumetric-chromatographic and inverse gas chromatographic (IGC) methods on the Al-BDC MOF. The binary adsorption data from the volumetric-chromatographic experiments represents that the Al-BDC MOF has a high CO2/CH4selectivityca.11 and a CH4/N2selectivityca.4.3 at 303 K, and appears to be a good candidate for the CH4separation. The initial adsorption heats of CH4, N2, and CO2on the Al-BDC MOF were determined to be 15.3, 11.5, and 32.2 kJmol−1by IGC method, respectively. Moreover, the micropore diffusivities of N2, CH4and CO2in the Al-BDC MOF at 303 K were also estimated to be 1.58 × 10−7cm2/s, 7.04 × 10−8cm2/s, and 3.95 × 10−9cm2/s, respectively. The results indicate that micropores play a crucial role in the adsorptive separation of the CH4/N2and CH4/CO2mixtures, and the IGC method is a validity manner to estimate the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of MOF adsorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ultra-microporous [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] frameworks with different uniform shapes, were synthesized via a facile coordination modulation method, in which HF was used as a modulator to promote the growth of [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] crystals. The as-prepared [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] frameworks were scrutinized and evaluated the CH 4 adsorption capacity and selectivity over N 2 by pure gas adsorption and breakthrough experiments. The [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] frameworks exhibit preferential adsorption of CH 4 over N 2 , and much higher CH 4 adsorption capacity (up to 0.74 mmol/g) by comparison with conventional zeolites. It has been confirmed that the equilibrium selectivities of [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] frameworks are shape dependent, and the uniform prism-like framework with size of 100 μm has the highest selectivity up to 5.5 at 298 K. These results suggest that achieving the optimal coupling of polarizability and structure of [Mg 3 (OOCH) 6 ] framework is key factor to obtain a high selectivity for the separation of CH 4 /N 2 mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A refractory WTaCrVTi high-entropy alloy (HEA) film was prepared by magnetron sputtering, and a pure tungsten (W) film was also prepared in the same way used as a comparison sample. The electrical resistivity of the films in the temperature range of 4 K–300 K was measured by the standard four-probe method and the results showed that the resistivity of the HEA film is about 10 times higher than that of the W film. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the film sample is calculated by Wiedemann-Franz law. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the HEA film at 300 K is about 10 times lower than that of the W film. Deuterium and helium retention and desorption behavior induced by deuterium and helium plasma exposure of the two films were investigated. The total deuterium retention measured by thermal desorption spectra (TDS) in the HEA film was approximately 16 times larger than that in the W film, which was attributed to the existence of more grain boundary defects and vacancy-type defects in HEA film, leading to more deuterium trapped. The characteristics of helium bubbles in the two films were compared. The results showed that the helium bubbles in the HEA film had a shallower depth distribution and smaller size than those in the W film, which indicated that the bubbles growth evolution was suppressed in the HEA film compared to the W film. It is suggested that helium atoms in the HEA film experience larger lattice potential energy fluctuations due to the abundant hopping processes during diffusion and aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The nanosecond laser ablation behavior of the C/SiC composites in the air and water environments was investigated. • The mechanism of material removal in two processing environments was systematically analyzed and compared from the perspective of experiments and thermodynamic theory. • The energy balance equation of the laser processing material surface in two environments is established. • The existence of a water layer effectively avoids the redeposition of SiO 2 on the processing surface and alleviates heat accumulation, and the processing quality is better. Due to their excellent properties, C/SiC composites have gradually become a high-quality choice for structural parts in aerospace and other fields. However, the manner by which to achieve high-quality and efficient surface micromachining is still the focus of current research. In this study, we explored a new method of underwater nanosecond laser processing of C/SiC composites to obtain a machined surface with high cleanliness, less redeposition, and small heat affected area. The ablation behavior and material removal mechanism in the air and water environments were analyzed and compared by using a variety of characterization methods in combination with thermodynamic theory. The changes of the groove depth, width, surface morphology in different fiber directions, and material composition in the two environments were analyzed. The results showed that the removal of materials is realized by thermochemical corrosion in both environments. The water environment benefits from the cooling function of water layer, which alleviates heat accumulation in the processing area, and the heat affected area is small. Furthermore, the mechanical action of the water layer captured the vast majority of SiO 2 produced by oxidation reaction, effectively avoiding its redeposition on the machined surface and improving the surface cleanliness. For C/SiC composites, this work provides a feasible method for high-quality processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to apply a two‐stage deep model combining multi‐scale feature maps and the recurrent attention model (RAM) to assist with the pathological diagnosis of breast cancer histological subtypes by the use of whole slide images (WSIs). Methods and results: In this article, we propose an integrated framework combining multi‐scale feature maps from Inception V3 and the recurrent attention model to classify the six histological subtypes of breast cancer. This model was trained with 194 WSIs, and on 63 validation WSIs the model achieved accuracies of 0.9030 for patch‐level classification and 0.8889 for WSI‐level classification. In the testing stage, a total of 65 WSIs were used to achieve an accuracy of 0.8462 without any form of data curation. The t‐distributed stochastic neighbour embedding showed that features extracted by the feature network of the RAM from WSIs of the same category can cluster together after training, and the visualization of decision steps showed that the decision‐making glimpses are focused on the middle tumour area of an example from test WSIs. Finally, the false classification patches indicated that the morphological similarities between tumour tissues of different subtypes or non‐tumour tissues and tumour tissues in patches might contribute to misclassification. Conclusions: This model can imitate the diagnostic process of pathologists, pay attention to a series of local features on the pathology image, and summarize related information, in order to accurately classify breast cancer into its histological subtypes, which is important for treatment and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cosmetic injection‐induced nodules are tricky to handle in the clinic. Aims: We reported a case of injection‐induced nodule receiving the experimental treatment of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HOT). Patient: A woman presented with multiple red solid nodules on the neck after receiving mesotherapy conducted by syringe. Ultrasound examination showed multiple thickened inflammatory skin tissues on the neck. Pathological biopsy results showed epithelioid granulomas in the dermis, within which there were degenerative necrosis and foreign bodies in the center and multinucleated giant cells around. The bacteria tests remained negative. Diagnosed with foreign body granuloma, the patient rejected the resection or steroids, but willingly took the experimental treatment of HOT instead. After one month, the patient's ultrasound examination showed that the lesion's local hardness got significantly reduced, and the local blood flow increased, indicating the condition improved. Results: Although the patient's nodule has not been eliminated, some improvements have been achieved. So far there has no case report on HOT treating injection‐induced nodules in the literature. Conclusion: HOT may be considered as a potential alternative when other treatment options cannot be implemented. More research is needed in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten (W) film was prepared by magnetron sputtering, and the coarse crystalline W bulk was used as reference samples. All the samples were exposed to deuterium plasma with the exposure fluence of 1.67 × 1024 D/m2. The films were annealed in-situ at 723 K during deposition and hillocks were found on all film surfaces. Focused ion beam analysis of the subsurface structure of hillocks provides data support for the growth mechanism of hillocks. The formation of hillocks suggested that the underlying force is released the intrinsic compressive stress caused by thermal cycling during the magnetron sputtering. After deuterium plasma exposure, the W bulk showed obvious stepped high-dome deuterium blisters. The micrographs revealed the microscopic morphology characteristics of deuterium blisters and hillocks, and analyzed the similarities and differences between hillocks and surface deuterium blisters. By comparing the growth mechanism of hillocks on the W film with the surface blistering on the W bulk, the stress growth model of deuterium blisters on the surface of coarse crystalline W bulk is proposed. This work provides a new perspective for the transverse stress model of deuterium-induced surface blistering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image is based on the Research Article Identification and extraction of surface defects on composite workpieces based on Multilayer Perceptron‐Moth Flame algorithm two‐stage neural network by Yang Wang et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.27952. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intercellular communication is crucial for breast cancer progression and metastasis. However, the role of cancer-derived exosomes and their crucial microRNA (miRNA) cargoes mediating intercellular communication requires further investigation. Methods: Cancer-derived exosomes were isolated using differential centrifugation and differentially expressed miRNAs were determined by microarrays and qRT-PCR analysis. Cell proliferation, wound-healing, Transwell invasion, and tumor xenograft assays were used for functional research. Plasma exosomal RNA was isolated to verify its role as a prognostic biomarker. Results: We found that the tumor-promoting capacity of the exosomes was positively related to their cells of origin. MiR-7641 was identified to be the most differentially expressed miRNA, both at endogenous and secretory levels in high-metastatic cancer cells. MiR-7641 could promote tumor cell progression and metastasis, and that these functions of miR-7641 could alter recipient cells via transportation of exosomes. Additionally, exosomal miR-7641 could promote tumor growth in vivo; and its levels were significantly elevated in the plasma of patients with distant metastasis. Bioinformatics analysis has suggested that miR-7641 is correlated with breast cancer survival, and several important cellular and biological processes are closely targeted by miR-7641. Conclusion: The findings indicate miR-7641 to be an important component of the cancer exosomes in promoting tumor progression and metastasis via intercellular communication. Additionally, exosomal miR-7641 may serve as a promising non-invasive diagnostic biomarker and potential targetable candidate in breast cancer treatment. BWySRQX9DMANyj4v-XQwBN Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have shown that branched-chain amino acid transferase 1 (BCAT1) is associated with tumour progression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Furthermore, CD133 has emerged as a novel cancer stem cell marker for indicating tumour progression. However, the prognostic significance of these two markers remains to be verified. This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between BCAT1 and CD133 expression and clinicopathological features, as well as the prognosis of patients with TNBC.Methods: The study cohort included 291 patients with TNBC. Tissue microarrays were constructed for both cancer and normal tissues. The expression of BCAT1 and CD133 was detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the levels were evaluated using an H-scoring system. Cut-off points for BCAT1 and CD133 expression were determined using receiver operating characteristic curves.Results: The median follow-up time for the study participants was 68.73 months (range: 1.37-103.6 months). The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of the 291 patients with TNBC were 72.51 and 82.47%, respectively. Higher levels of BCAT1 and CD133 expression independently indicated shorter DFS and OS. High levels of both BCAT1 and CD133 expression were detected in 36 (12.37%) patients, who had significantly shorter DFS and OS (both P < 0.001) compared to other patients.Conclusion: BCAT1 and CD133 can be considered as biomarkers with prognostic significance for TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pace of urbanization in China has increased in recent decades. Accordingly, the urbanized area has expanded at a spectacular rate and the urban heat island (UHI) has intensified. Understanding the effects of the landscape pattern on the UHI is crucial for optimizing urban structure, which could mitigate the UHI. This study focused on green cover in an urban area. To investigate how the composition and configuration of urban green patches would affect their temperature in Beijing metropolitan region, China, especially the influence of the configuration of green patches on their cooling effect, the relationships between green surface temperature (GST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and normalized compactness index (NCI) were investigated by regression analyses, and a method to quantify the cooling effect of greens derived from the urban cool island and green space cool island was proposed. The image from the Landsat Thermal Infrared Sensor was used to estimate GST, and three images from the GF-2 Panchromatic & Multispectral Camera were used to obtain NDVI and calculate NCI. Our results showed that both NDVI and NCI had negative relationships to GST in summer, but only NCI strongly influenced the spatial cooling effect of greens. The further exploration of the influence of NCI on the cooling effect showed the NCI was negatively correlated to the cooling effect, which indicated that, for a given area, more compact green patches reduce the extent of the cooling effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tribological behavior of tungsten carbide-textured samples with different particle types (silica, alumina and diamond) and sizes (5 and 25 µm) are investigated. Pin-on-disk experiments are conducted. Surface texture can effectively reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate of the sample with different particle types and sizes. When the lubricant has silica particles, the friction reduction efficiency of texture is the lowest. Softer particles are more likely to be crushed, making it easier to enter the friction interface and fill into the texture. The wear resistance increases with decreasing particle hardness. The particles will cause three-body and two-body abrasion. Small particles (5 µm) are more likely to enter the friction interface and roll more easily than larger particles (25 µm), causing more three-body abrasion. As the hardness of the particles increases, they are more likely to press against the surface of the specimen as they roll, leading to more three-body abrasion. Compared with untextured samples, textured samples can store particles and lubricant and thus have less three-body abrasion and two-body abrasion. This study provides new ideas for reducing the friction and wear of samples in water containing different particle types and sizes. [Display omitted] • Under water containing different types particles with different sizes, surface texturing can reduce wear. • Small particles cause more wear than large particles. • Particles with different types have different wear mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the large number of defects and high entropy properties, high entropy alloy thin film electrodes prepared by magnetron sputtering are beneficial for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the electrocatalytic OER performance of high entropy alloy thin film electrodes without activation is limited. In this work, in-situ reconstruction (chloride corrosion) is applied to activate FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy thin film electrodes for promoting the electrocatalytic OER performance. The research reveals that high entropy hydroxides and high entropy (oxy)hydroxides, which are real active centers of OER electrocatalysts, are generated on the surface of FeCoNiCrMn high entropy film electrodes during in-situ reconstruction. Moreover, it is also proved that there is an obvious quantitative relationship among elements in the surface of the high entropy alloy thin film electrodes after complex chloride corrosion reaction: Ni>Mn>Fe>Co>Cr. In addition, the OER performance of FeCoNiCrMn high entropy film electrodes with in-situ reconstruction can achieve an overpotential of 263 mV and a Tafel slope of 50.9 mVdec−1. Moreover, sponge-like structures created by in situ reconstitution can help to increase surface active areas and the increased contents of high-valence elements after in situ reconstruction contribute to enhance electrocatalytic OER activity. [Display omitted] • In-situ method was proposed and applied to reconstruct the surface of high entropy alloy films. • Abundant high entropy hydroxides and oxyhydroxides were generated. • The behaviors of charge transfers among elements in electrodes were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten-based complex concentrated alloy (CCA) W-Ta-Cr-V films with bcc single-phase have been investigated for its exceptional radiation tolerance. This work aims to investigate the formation of helium (He) bubble and He retention behavior in the CCA film under 100 eV He plasma at a fluence of 2.02 × 1025 He/m2. The results show that the size of He bubbles in the CCA film is smaller than that in the pure W film, and the depth distribution is shallower, which indicates that the evolution of He bubbles is inhibited. As for the underlying mechanism of resistance to the formation of He bubbles in CCAs, it is believed that the characteristic of low He mobility reduces the diffusion depth of He, and the sluggish diffusion of He inhibits the aggregation of He atoms or He clusters to a certain extent. In other words, the unique energy and microstructure characteristics also inhibit the diffusion of He in the CCA film, which affects the nucleation and growth of He bubbles. Furthermore, the release of He is mainly from He adsorption of the near surface, and the desorption peaks shift to lower temperatures in the CCA film within the desorption temperature of 1273 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the influential factors of the silent and ultrasonic electroplating using 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate (MPS), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and Polyethylenimine alkyl salt (PN) on the TSV filling are investigated. The effects of different accelerator concentration, current density and ultrasonic agitation on TSV filling are studied. The accelerative effect of MPS on TSV filling by the copper electrodeposition is studied to find out the optimal condition of the accelerator concentration. Using the plating bath with same additive conditions, the effects of different current densities on the TSV filling under the silent and ultrasonic conditions are investigated. The results show that the quality of TSV filling under ultrasonic electroplating has improved by 23% compared with the silent condition at the same current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy lead to great significance in electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of water splitting. However, the preparation process of high entropy alloy for OER electrocatalyst still has limitations. And thin films of metals prepared by magnetron sputtering has a large amount of defects which facilitate the formation of active sites. In this work, FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy self-supporting electrodes based on nickel foam were fabricated by magnetron sputtering and applied for OER. It is confirmed that there is an optimum deposition time for the best OER performance. Furthermore, the OER performance of FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy electrodes can be boosted by surface reconstruction through cyclic voltammetry. As is revealed by morphology and surface chemical state characterization, there are a large amount of high entropy hydroxides and oxyhydroxides formed on the surface of FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy electrodes after CV reconstruction. The FeCoNiCrMn high entropy alloy electrodes reconstructed by cyclic voltammetric can reach an overpotential of 282 mV and a Tafel slope of 64.3 mVdec−1. [Display omitted] • The thin films of high entropy alloy were prepared by magnetron sputtering. • The thin films were applied as self-supporting electrodes for water splitting. • High entropy oxyhydroxide nanosheets were formed during reconstruction. • Electrons in Fe and Mn transfer to Ni and Co after reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel Ti 50 Zr 30 Co 11 Cu 6 M 3 (M = Sn, V, Al) amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys with low liquidus temperatures of 1145 K – 1171 K were developed as the brazing filler metals for enhancing the mechanical properties of titanium alloy brazed joints. The Ti–6Al–4V (TC4) joints brazed with these novel Ti-based alloy ribbons at 1233 K for 900 s exhibited typical Widmanstätten structure composed of α-Ti and β-Ti, as well as sporadic ultrafine intermetallic compounds. Among these joints, the TC4/Ti–Zr–Co–Cu–Sn/TC4 joint exhibited relatively low tensile shear strength and impact toughness of 461 MPa and 2.6 J/cm2, respectively, due to the concentrated segregation of element Sn in the center of the braze zone. By contrast, the joints brazed with the novel Ti–Zr–Co–Cu–V(Al) fillers showed much improved mechanical properties. The tensile shear strength and impact toughness of the TC4/Ti–Zr–Co–Cu–Al/TC4 joint were enhanced up to 546 MPa and 4.2 J/cm2, respectively, suggesting that the present Ti–Zr–Co–Cu–Al amorphous/nanocrystalline filler is a promising brazing material practically applied for joining titanium alloys. • Novel Ti–Zr–Co–Cu–(Sn, V, Al) amorphous/nanocrystalline brazing filler metals (BMFs) were developed. • The TC4 joints brazed with the novel BMFs consisted of α-Ti, β-Ti and sporadic intermetallics. • The TC4 joints exhibited high shear strength and toughness up to about 546 MPa and 4.2 J/cm2, respectively. • The good mechanical properties of the joints were mainly due to the reduction of intermetallics by using the novel BFMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]