Search

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived sensory neuron (iPSC-dSN) models are a valuable resource for the study of neurotoxicity but are affected by poor replicability and reproducibility, often due to a lack of optimization. Here, we identify experimental factors related to culture conditions that substantially impact cellular drug response in vitro and determine optimal conditions for improved replicability and reproducibility. Treatment duration and cell seeding density were both found to be significant factors, while cell line differences also contributed to variation. A replicable dose–response in viability was demonstrated after 48-h exposure to docetaxel or paclitaxel. Additionally, a replicable dose-dependent reduction in neurite outgrowth was demonstrated, demonstrating the applicability of the model for the examination of additional phenotypes. Overall, we have established an optimized iPSC-dSN model for the study of taxane-induced neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been implicated as critical regulators of cancer tumorigenesis and progression. However, their functions and molecular mechanisms in colorectal cancer (CRC) still remain to be further elucidated. Methods: LINC00460 was identified by differential analysis between human CRC and normal tissues and verified by in situ hybridization (ISH) and qRT-PCR. We investigated the biological functions of LINC00460 in CRC by in vitro and in vivo experiments. We predicted the mechanism and downstream functional molecules of LINC00460 by bioinformatics analysis, and confirmed them by dual luciferase reporter gene assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), RNA pull-down, etc. Results: LINC00460 was found to be significantly overexpressed in CRC and associated with poor prognosis. Overexpression of LINC00460 promoted CRC cell immune escape and remodeled a suppressive tumor immune microenvironment, thereby promoting CRC proliferation and metastasis. Mechanistic studies showed that LINC00460 served as a molecular sponge for miR-186-3p, and then promoted the expressions of MYC, CD47 and PD-L1 to facilitate CRC cell immune escape. We also demonstrated that MYC upregulated LINC00460 expression at the transcriptional level and formed a positive feedback loop. Conclusions: The LINC00460/miR-186-3p/MYC feedback loop promotes CRC cell immune escape and subsequently facilitates CRC proliferation and metastasis. Our findings provide novel insight into LINC00460 as a CRC immune regulator, and provide a potential therapeutic target for CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous studies shed light on the potential role of secure parental attachment in mitigating the effects of child sexual abuse (CSA) on the survivors' long-term psychological distress. However, few studies have explored both approach and avoidance coping strategies as mediators of the link between parental attachment and psychological distress in a nonclinical sample. The purpose of this study was to examine the respective mediating effects of approach coping and avoidance coping on the relationship between perceived parental attachment, CSA severity, and psychological distress. Method: Our sample included 427 adults with a history of CSA. Participants were recruited from various social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist, discussion board, university announcement board). We conducted a mediation analysis with bootstrapping. Results: We found that parental attachment significantly predicted CSA survivors' psychological distress. Additionally, both approach coping and avoidance coping mediated the effect of perceived parental attachment on psychological distress. CSA severity was found to be a nonsignificant predictor of psychological distress. Conclusion: These findings may help develop interventions that enhance CSA survivors' effective copings strategies to ultimately reduce psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the thermo-elastoplastic sliding frictional contact and wear problem of a functionally graded material (FGM) coated homogeneous half-plane subjected to a rigid cylindrical punch. The coating has arbitrarily varying material properties including elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio, thermal expansion coefficient, wear coefficient, etc. The graded layer is modeled using a thermo-elastoplastic constitutive model of FGM to evaluate the contact pressure, in-plane stress, and temperature field. A modified Archard model is used to characterize the wear behavior of FGM coating, and the influence of wear on the stress and strain behavior is considered. The constitutive model and wear model are implemented in the finite element method (FEM) to study the thermo-elastoplastic sliding frictional contact and wear behavior of FGM coating. After the validation of the numerical approach, the effects of plasticity, wear, cycle number, gradient index, and gradient form are discussed. Simulation results show that changing the gradient form and gradient index can prevent contact damage and reduce frictional wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bevacizumab is a beneficial therapy in several advanced cancer types. Predictive biomarkers to better understand which patients are destined to benefit or experience toxicity are needed. Associations between bevacizumab induced hypertension and survival have been reported but with conflicting conclusions. Methods: We performed post-hoc analyses to evaluate the association in 3124 patients from two phase III adjuvant breast cancer trials, E5103 and BEATRICE. Differences in invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and overall survival (OS) between patients with hypertension and those without were compared. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 160 mmHg (n = 346) and SBP ≥ 180 mmHg (hypertensive crisis) (n = 69). Genomic analyses were performed to evaluate germline genetic predictors for the hypertensive crisis. Results: Hypertensive crisis was significantly associated with superior IDFS (p = 0.015) and OS (p = 0.042), but only IDFS (p = 0.029; HR = 0.28) remained significant after correction for prognostic factors. SBP ≥ 160 mmHg was not associated with either IDFS or OS. A common single-nucleotide polymorphism, rs6486785, was significantly associated with hypertensive crisis (p = 8.4 × 10−9; OR = 5.2). Conclusion: Bevacizumab-induced hypertensive crisis is associated with superior outcomes and rs6486785 predicted an increased risk of this key toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Child sexual abuse (CSA) has short-term and long-term effects on survivors, but distress after the abuse varies widely and not all survivors show a significant degree of distress. Factors contributing to the variations of CSA outcomes need to be further investigated. The present study examines the moderating role of childhood attachment in the relationship between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem. Methods: Seven hundred and sixty-seven adults participated in this study, of which 427 (55.67%) reported a history of CSA. Participants were recruited from various social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist, discussion board, university announcement board). To examine the moderating role of childhood attachment between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, we conducted path analysis. Results: Childhood attachment significantly predicted adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem in adulthood and moderated the relation between CSA and anxious adult attachment; CSA survivors with more secure childhood attachment were less likely to develop anxious attachment in adulthood. Additionally, CSA survivors reported less secure adult attachment, more psychological distress, and lower self-esteem than did individuals without a history of CSA. Furthermore, secure childhood attachment was significantly associated with secure adult attachment, lower levels of psychological distress, and higher levels of self-esteem. Conclusions: The results suggested that secure childhood attachment at least partially protected against negative long-term effects of CSA and fostered healthier intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment in CSA survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, smartphones have emerged as the primary terminal for navigation and location services among mass users, owing to their universality, portability, and affordability. However, the highly integrated antenna design within smartphones inevitably introduces interference from internal signal sources, leading to a misalignment between the antenna phase center (APC) and the antenna geometric center. Accurately determining a smartphone's APC can mitigate system errors and enhance positioning accuracy, thereby meeting the increasing demand for precise and reliable user positioning. This paper delves into a detailed analysis of the generation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver antenna phase center errors and proposes a method for correcting the receiver antenna phase center. Subsequently, a smartphone positioning experiment was conducted by placing the smartphone on an observation column with known coordinates. The collected observations were processed in static relative positioning mode, referencing observations from geodetic-grade equipment, and the accuracy of the static relative positioning fixed solution was evaluated. Following weighted estimation, we determined the antenna phase center of the Xiaomi Mi8 and corrected the APC. A comparison of the positioning results of the Xiaomi Mi8 before and after APC correction revealed minimal impact on the standard deviations (STDs) but significant influence on the root mean square errors (RMSEs). Specifically, the RMSEs in the E/N/U direction were reduced by 59.6%, 58.5%, and 42.0%, respectively, after APC correction compared to before correction. Furthermore, the integer ambiguity fixing rate slightly improved after the APC correction. In conclusion, the determination of a smartphone's APC can effectively reduce system errors in the plane direction of GNSS positioning, thereby enhancing smartphone positioning accuracy. This research holds significant value for advancing high-precision positioning studies related to smartphones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the widespread misinformation problem in societies across the globe, scholars aiming to combat misinformation wish to change verification behaviors at the individual level. To map what is known about media users' verification behaviors, this study reviewed 52 articles and analyzed how verification research has progressed so far. The results indicate that verification research has been conducted since 2000 but has increased considerably in recent years. However, a clear definition and a standard measure of verification behaviors were missing. Theories and methodologies from different disciplines have been adopted to investigate verification behaviors. The examined variables are diverse, but the overall understanding of the findings is fragmented. Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the number of studies on media users' verification behaviors and brought changes to the direction of the research. This review calls for a better conceptualization and validated measures of verification behaviors and examinations of verification in more diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper is concerned with the adaptive neural network event‐triggered control (ETC) problem for stochastic nonlinear systems with output constraint. The influence of stochastic disturbance inevitably exists in many practical systems, which leads to system instability. Meanwhile, a novel tan type barrier Lyapunov function (Tan‐BLF) structure is proposed to deal with the constraint requirements of stochastic systems. In the sense of probability, the output constraints will not be violated during the operation of the system. In addition, the ETC strategy is adopted to reduce the burden of communication. The asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system is guaranteed without violating output constraints. Meanwhile, the tracking error converges to a small region of the origin. Two simulations results demonstrate the effectiveness of theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room‐temperature sodium–sulfur batteries are potential candidate for sustainable large‐scale energy storage systems due to their high energy density and low cost. However, the shuttling effect of high‐order polysulfides (Na2Sn, 4 < n ≤ 8) usually leads to rapid capacity fading, while the reaction kinetics of low‐order polysulfides (Na2Sn, 1 ≤ n ≤ 4) are slow. In this work, microporous‐mesoporous carbon derived from mangosteen peels is reported as cathode materials for RT Na–S batteries. The designed micro‐mesoporous structure not only effectively suppresses the shuttling effect of sodium polysulfides (NaPS), but also has high electrical conductivity and porosity, which facilitates electron/ion diffusion. Oxygen functional groups on the surface provide high catalytic activity for efficient low‐order NaPS conversion. The obtained Na–S battery exhibits high reversible capacity with excellent long‐term cycle performance (526.1 mAh g−1 at 4 A g−1 after 1000 cycles) and outstanding rate performance (676.59 mAh g−1 at 16 A g−1). This work demonstrates a novel activation strategy of biomass‐derived carbons for high‐performance Na–S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a significant clinical challenge. Chemotherapy remains the mainstay for a large part of TNBC patients, whereas drug resistance and tumor recurrence frequently occur. It is in urgent need to identify novel molecular targets for TNBC and develop effective therapy against the aggressive disease. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression of HER3 in TNBC samples. Western blots were used to assess protein expression and activation. Cell proliferation and viability were determined by cell growth (MTS) assays. TCGA databases were analyzed to correlate HER3 mRNA expression with the clinical outcomes of TNBC patients. Specific shRNA was used to knockdown HER3 expression. IncuCyte system was utilized to monitor cell growth and migration. LIVE/DEAD Cell Imaging was to detect live and dead cells. HER3 recognition by our anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 4A7 was verified by ELISA, flow cytometry, and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Orthotopic tumor models were established in nude mice to determine the capability of TNBC cells forming tumors and to test if our mAb 4A7 could potentiate the antitumor activity of paclitaxel in vivo. Results: Elevated expression of HER3 was observed in approximately half of the TNBC specimens and cell lines tested. Analyses of TCGA databases found that the TNBC patients with high HER3 mRNA expression in the tumors showed significantly worse overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) than those with low HER3 expression. Specific knockdown of HER3 markedly inhibited TNBC cell proliferation and mammosphere formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Our mAb 4A7 abrogated heregulin (a ligand for HER3), but not SDF-1 (a ligand for CXCR4)-induced enhancement of TNBC cell migration. Combinations of 4A7 and the EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib dramatically decreased the levels of phosphorylated HER3, EGFR, Akt, and ERK1/2 in TNBC cells and potently induced growth inhibition and cell death. Moreover, 4A7 in combination with paclitaxel exerted significant antitumor activity against TNBC in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that increased HER3 is an effective therapeutic target for TNBC and our anti-HER3 mAb (4A7) may enhance the efficacy of gefitinib or paclitaxel in TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing technology is an advanced technology with great advantages and prospects in the field of dental repair that needs personalization and high precision. In this work, we tried to optimize the printing parameters, including laser power, scanning space, and layer thickness, from the dimension accuracy, warpage, and surface quality of the prepared samples and focus on the research and optimization of the debinding process in the heat treatment process. Starting from dimensional accuracy, warpage and surface quality, the optimal combination of printing parameters was 160 mW laser power, 0.07 mm scanning spacing and the ratio of layer thickness (Lt) to cured depth (Cd) was 1/3. In addition, it was found that the debinding atmosphere had a significant impact on the debinding effect of zirconia green body. The process of debinding in the nitrogen atmosphere and decarbonizing in the air atmosphere was finally adopted, which reduced the pyrolysis rate of organic matter, avoided the defects such as cracking of green body and bulging of sintered body, and improved the performance of ceramic samples. It was worth emphasizing that Vickers hardness, flexural strength and fracture toughness of the ZrO 2 dental ceramics were 13.67 ± 0.72 GPa, 820 ± 59 MPa and 5.89 ± 0.63 MPa m1/2, respectively, and had good biocompatibility. The research results could provide some useful guidance for the selection of SLA printing parameters and the optimization of the heat treatment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) is a nondestructive technique, and one of its applications is to determine the elastic constants of a solid by measuring its free-vibration resonant frequencies. For dissipative materials, the vibration spectrum peaks are broad and strongly overlapped, and in some cases, the resonant frequencies extracted by a linear prediction filter are considered to be false positive frequencies that cannot be paired with theoretical resonant frequencies. The inverse identification of elastic constants is also seriously influenced when these false positive frequencies are wrongly paired with theoretical resonant frequencies. In this paper, a new selection index and an extraction process for RUS resonant frequencies are studied to discard false positive frequencies. The change in the relative error between the theoretical and extracted frequencies was employed to update the traditional frequency selection index. An extraction process was proposed by combining a trial-and-error method and a Bayesian method. A bone-mimicking material (quality factor, Q ≈ 30) and the simulated resonant spectra were adopted to validate the proposed method. The performance of identifying false positive frequencies was effectively improved by using the new selection index. Moreover, the proposed process can be applied to enhance the pairing and estimation accuracy for RUS. Calculations of the elastic constants for distinct specimens presented good consistency. The new method proposed in this paper provides a better analysis of the elastic constants in highly dissipative materials and can help to extend the application range of RUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni2In-type hexagonal compounds MM′X (M, M′ = transition metals, X = main element) involving magnetostructural transition (MST) have attracted much attention due to their giant magnetocaloric effect (MCE). Physical pressure, as an effective method, has been used to adjust the MST and the resultant MCE. Enhanced and diminished MCEs by hydrostatic pressure were both reported previously, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we report our neutron diffraction study on MST and MCE regulated by hydrostatic pressure in MnNi1 – xFexSi1 – yGey alloys. Careful refinements indicate that the martensitic phase shows a linear ferromagnetic structure with spin moment confined on Mn sites, which remains almost unchanged at pressures lower than 5 kbar even though slight compressions of Mn–Mn bond lengths can be identified. The MST keeps sharp under pressures lower than 5 kbar, while the derived volume change (ΔV/V) across MST reduces 7%, i.e., from 2.84% (0 kbar) to 2.63% (2.1 kbar), due to the effect of pressure on two-phase coexistence. Accordingly, the estimated lattice entropy change (ΔSLatt) based on the Debye approximation reduces by 10% from 37.1 J/kg K (0 kbar) to 33.5 J/kg K (2.1 kbar). These ΔSLatt values, driven by temperature, are all somewhat larger than the magnetic entropy change driven by a 5 T magnetic field. This result may imply that a magnetic field of 5 T is not sufficient for the MST to complete. As the pressure reaches 5 kbar, the MST notably slows down. This may originate from the extended temperature region of two-phase coexistence but not the decoupling of MST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a moderated mediation model to understand how social media use influences political polarization through two competing mechanisms and how such mechanisms are conditioned by political tolerance. The model was tested with a survey of 1,200 Hong Kong residents after the prolonged Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement. We found that social media use was positively correlated with attitudinal and affective polarization. Such polarizing effects were channeled through politically motivated selective avoidance, but there were noticeable depolarizing effects induced by increased network heterogeneity. More importantly, political tolerance could further amplify the depolarizing effects of social media use. In contrast, political tolerance cannot counteract the polarizing effect of social media use channeled through selective avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone metastasis is one of the most important factors associated with poor prognosis for patients with prostate, breast, thyroid, and lung cancer. In the past two decades, 651 clinical trials, including 554 interventional trials, were being registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and pharma.id.informa.com to combat bone metastases from different perspectives. In this review, we comprehensively analyzed, regrouped, and discussed all the interventional trials on bone metastases. Clinical trials were re-grouped into bone-targeting agents, radiotherapy, small molecule targeted therapy, combination therapy, and others, based on the different mechanisms of action including modifying the bone microenvironment and preventing the growth of cancer cells. We also discussed the potential strategies that might improve overall survival and progression-free survival of patients with bone metastases in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Fructans in angiosperms play essential roles in physiological functions and environmental adaptations. As a major source of industrial fructans (especially inulin‐type), chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a model species for studying fructan biosynthesis. However, the genes underlying this process and their evolutionary history in angiosperms remain elusive.We combined multiple sequencing technologies to assemble and annotate the chicory genome and scan its (epi)genomic features, such as genomic components, DNA methylation, and three‐dimensional (3D) structure. We also performed a comparative genomics analysis to uncover the associations between key traits and gene families.We achieved a nearly complete chicory genome assembly and found that continuous bursts of a few highly active retrotransposon families largely shaped the (epi)genomic characteristics. The highly methylated genome with its unique 3D structure potentially influences critical biological processes. Our comprehensive comparative genomics analysis deciphered the genetic basis for the rich sesquiterpene content in chicory and indicated that the fructan‐accumulating trait resulted from convergent evolution in angiosperms due to shifts in critical sites of fructan‐active enzymes.The highly characterized chicory genome provides insight into Asteraceae evolution and fructan biosynthesis in angiosperms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the orthogonality, multiple orbital angular momentums (OAMs) have great potential for increasing communication capacity and improving imaging resolution. In this work, a general N‐arm Archimedean spiral antenna (ASA) synthesis method is proposed for generating broadband vortex waves carrying multiple OAMs. In the proposed method, the theoretical formulas of the whole OAM modes based on the improved current band theory for N‐arm ASA and the maximum common bandwidth of each N‐adjacent OAM mode are presented. The performance of the proposed method is verified by simulated results of three‐arm ASA, as well as simulated results and measured results of four‐arm ASA. The measured results show that the four‐arm ASA generates vortex waves carrying OAM modes of l = 0, 1, 2, 3 in 0.6–3, 1.4–3.8, 2.3–4.1 and 2.6–4.5 GHz. And the maximum common bandwidth of the four generated OAM modes is 2.6–3 GHz, which satisfies the design requirement of OAM's practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object re‐identification, such as vehicle re‐identification or pedestrian re‐identification, plays a significant role in intelligent video surveillance systems for public security. Due to viewpoint variations and appearance changes, both pedestrians and vehicles usually have complex intra‐class variations. However, most existing object re‐identification methods often use a sample‐level triplet loss function cooperating with a single‐proxy softmax loss function, which could not handle complex intra‐class variations well. In this paper, a sample‐proxy dual triplet (SPDT) loss function is proposed, which works with a multi‐proxy softmax (MPS) loss function. The MPS loss function is in charge of learning multiple proxies to represent a class. The SPDT loss function is responsible for enlarging inter‐class distances as well as shrinking intra‐class distances on both sample and proxy levels. Therefore, the method not only handles multi‐proxy intra‐class variations but also fully learns discrimination on samples and proxies. Experiments on two large datasets, that is, VeRi776 and DukeMTMC‐reID, demonstrate that the method is superior to state‐of‐the‐art object re‐identification approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The BSATOS takes advantage of using haplotypes and markers with different segregation patterns to identify QTLs. • A novel integrated strategy was developed to conduct genomics-assisted prediction (GAP) in out-crossing species. • GAP models were successfully developed for apple fruit weight, ripening date, and soluble solid content. Genomic heterozygosity, self-incompatibility, and rich-in somatic mutations hinder the molecular breeding efficiency of outcrossing plants. We attempted to develop an efficient integrated strategy to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and trait-associated genes, to develop gene markers, and to construct genomics-assisted prediction (GAP) modes. A novel protocol, bulked segregant analysis tool for out-crossing species (BSATOS), is presented here, which is characterized by taking full advantage of all segregation patterns (including AB × AB markers) and haplotype information. To verify the effectiveness of the protocol in dealing with the complex traits of outbreeding species, three apple cross populations with 9,654 individuals were adopted. By using BSATOS, 90, 60, and 77 significant QTLs were identified successfully and candidate genes were predicted for apple fruit weight (FW), fruit ripening date (FRD), and fruit soluble solid content (SSC), respectively. The gene-based markers were developed and genotyped for 1,396 individuals in a training population, including 145 Malus accessions and 1,251 F1 plants of the three full-sib families. GAP models were trained using marker genotype effect estimates of the training population. The prediction accuracy was 0.7658, 0.6455, and 0.3758 for FW, FRD, and SSC, respectively. The BSATOS and GAP models provided a convenient and efficient methodology for candidate gene mining and molecular breeding in out-crossing plant species. The BSATOS pipeline can be freely downloaded from: https://github.com/maypoleflyn/BSATOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information disclosure during online political activities can place participants under the threat of personal data leakage and misuse, but privacy protection in the context of online political participation has rarely been studied. This study examined how online political participation is related to privacy protection behaviours. Using survey data of internet users from 10 Asian societies, our study suggests two important findings. First, online political participation was found to be positively related to privacy protection behaviours. Second, we examined whether such a positive association can be explained by two mediators: perceived privacy risk and internet efficacy, in countries of different cybersecurity capacity. Our data suggest that internet efficacy mediates the relationship between online political participation and privacy protection behaviours across countries with different levels of cybersecurity capacity, while perceived privacy risk only mediates the effects of online political participation on privacy protection behaviours in countries of low cybersecurity capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study was performed to construct and validate a risk prediction model for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) failure after birth in premature infants with gestational age < 32 weeks.The data were derived from the multicenter retrospective study program – Jiangsu Provincial Neonatal Respiratory Failure Collaboration Network from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. The subjects finally included were preterm infants using NIV after birth with gestational age less than 32 weeks and admission age within 72 h. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1436 babies were subsequently recruited in the study, including 1235 infants in the successful NIV group and 201 infants in the failed NIV group.(1) Gestational age, 5 min Apgar, Max FiO2 during NIV, and FiO2 fluctuation value during NIV were selected by univariate and multivariate analysis. (2) The area under the curve of the prediction model was 0.807 (95% CI: 0.767–0.847) in the training set and 0.825 (95% CI: 0.766–0.883) in the test set. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual observed probability (Mean absolute error = 0.008 for the training set; Mean absolute error = 0.012 for the test set). Decision curve analysis showed good clinical validity of the risk model in the training and test cohorts.This model performed well on dimensions of discrimination, calibration, and clinical validity. This model can serve as a useful tool for neonatologists to predict whether premature infants will experience NIV failure after birth.Methods: This study was performed to construct and validate a risk prediction model for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) failure after birth in premature infants with gestational age < 32 weeks.The data were derived from the multicenter retrospective study program – Jiangsu Provincial Neonatal Respiratory Failure Collaboration Network from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. The subjects finally included were preterm infants using NIV after birth with gestational age less than 32 weeks and admission age within 72 h. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1436 babies were subsequently recruited in the study, including 1235 infants in the successful NIV group and 201 infants in the failed NIV group.(1) Gestational age, 5 min Apgar, Max FiO2 during NIV, and FiO2 fluctuation value during NIV were selected by univariate and multivariate analysis. (2) The area under the curve of the prediction model was 0.807 (95% CI: 0.767–0.847) in the training set and 0.825 (95% CI: 0.766–0.883) in the test set. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual observed probability (Mean absolute error = 0.008 for the training set; Mean absolute error = 0.012 for the test set). Decision curve analysis showed good clinical validity of the risk model in the training and test cohorts.This model performed well on dimensions of discrimination, calibration, and clinical validity. This model can serve as a useful tool for neonatologists to predict whether premature infants will experience NIV failure after birth.Results: This study was performed to construct and validate a risk prediction model for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) failure after birth in premature infants with gestational age < 32 weeks.The data were derived from the multicenter retrospective study program – Jiangsu Provincial Neonatal Respiratory Failure Collaboration Network from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. The subjects finally included were preterm infants using NIV after birth with gestational age less than 32 weeks and admission age within 72 h. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1436 babies were subsequently recruited in the study, including 1235 infants in the successful NIV group and 201 infants in the failed NIV group.(1) Gestational age, 5 min Apgar, Max FiO2 during NIV, and FiO2 fluctuation value during NIV were selected by univariate and multivariate analysis. (2) The area under the curve of the prediction model was 0.807 (95% CI: 0.767–0.847) in the training set and 0.825 (95% CI: 0.766–0.883) in the test set. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual observed probability (Mean absolute error = 0.008 for the training set; Mean absolute error = 0.012 for the test set). Decision curve analysis showed good clinical validity of the risk model in the training and test cohorts.This model performed well on dimensions of discrimination, calibration, and clinical validity. This model can serve as a useful tool for neonatologists to predict whether premature infants will experience NIV failure after birth.Conclusion: This study was performed to construct and validate a risk prediction model for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) failure after birth in premature infants with gestational age < 32 weeks.The data were derived from the multicenter retrospective study program – Jiangsu Provincial Neonatal Respiratory Failure Collaboration Network from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. The subjects finally included were preterm infants using NIV after birth with gestational age less than 32 weeks and admission age within 72 h. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1436 babies were subsequently recruited in the study, including 1235 infants in the successful NIV group and 201 infants in the failed NIV group.(1) Gestational age, 5 min Apgar, Max FiO2 during NIV, and FiO2 fluctuation value during NIV were selected by univariate and multivariate analysis. (2) The area under the curve of the prediction model was 0.807 (95% CI: 0.767–0.847) in the training set and 0.825 (95% CI: 0.766–0.883) in the test set. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted probability and the actual observed probability (Mean absolute error = 0.008 for the training set; Mean absolute error = 0.012 for the test set). Decision curve analysis showed good clinical validity of the risk model in the training and test cohorts.This model performed well on dimensions of discrimination, calibration, and clinical validity. This model can serve as a useful tool for neonatologists to predict whether premature infants will experience NIV failure after birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A BEM method for multi-physics electrical contact on rough surface is presented. • Both film resistance and constriction resistance are conducted in the model. • Linear relationship between contact conductance and contact stiffness is verified. • Probability density function of contact pressure and temperature rise is studied. In this study, a numerical strategy based on the boundary element method (BEM) is developed to simulate the electrical contact behavior on rough surfaces. By using the Fourier transform, the solutions of the electric potential, temperature rise, and displacement fields in the Fourier space are derived with finite boundaries, in which the electro-thermo-mechanical coupling effect is considered. With the consideration of the contact condition, an iterative algorithm is proposed to seek the solutions of rough surface electrical contact under a given contact force and total electric potential drop. The contact pressure, real contact area, electrical contact resistance, electric current, and temperature rise distribution are predicted. For the validation, the electrical contact results of a spherical punch-half space contact and a rough surface-elastic substrate contact are calculated based on the finite element method. The good agreement between the results from the BEM-based method and the finite element method indicates the accuracy of the presented method. Then, the effect of the total electric potential and the thermal expansion on the electrical contact behavior, the relationship between the contact conductance and contact stiffness, and the probability density function of the contact pressure and temperature rise distributions are evaluated using the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a valuable resource for neurological disease-modeling and drug discovery due to their ability to differentiate into neurons reflecting the genetics of the patient from which they are derived. iPSC-derived cultures, however, are highly variable due to heterogeneity in culture conditions. We investigated the effect of passage number on iPSC differentiation to optimize the generation of sensory neurons (iPSC-dSNs). Three iPSC lines reprogrammed from the peripheral blood of three donors were differentiated into iPSC-dSNs at passage numbers within each of the following ranges: low (5–10), intermediate (20–26), and high (30–38). Morphology and pluripotency of the parent iPSCs were assessed prior to differentiation. iPSC-dSNs were evaluated based on electrophysiological properties and expression of key neuronal markers. All iPSC lines displayed similar morphology and were similarly pluripotent across passage numbers. However, the expression levels of neuronal markers and sodium channel function analyses indicated that iPSC-dSNs differentiated from low passage numbers better recapitulated the sensory neuron phenotype than those differentiated from intermediate or high passage numbers. Our results demonstrate that lower passage numbers may be better suited for differentiation into peripheral sensory neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of solid-state electrolytes endows the distinctive features of high safety and high energy density for lithium (Li) metal batteries. Among all kinds of solid-state electrolytes, garnet-type Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZO) with high Young's modulus is a promising candidate. Nevertheless, Li metal can still grow inside LLZO and lead to short circuit. But it is difficult to determine the failure mechanism caused by Li dendrite due to the opacity of the common LLZO. Herein, a transparent Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO) electrolyte is fabricated for the observation of Li growth inside the electrolyte directly. The factor that influences the transparency of LLZTO is investigated thoroughly, which is crucial for studying the behavior of Li metal during the plating process inside LLZTO. Results demonstrate that the amount of residual Li-containing compound at grain boundaries is the dominant factor influencing the transparency of LLZTO. The formation of Li filament and its growth process inside transparent LLZTO are also observed directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the requirements of an aluminized explosive cylinder test with a longer energy release time, a non-standard cylinder structure with a larger wall thickness was designed, which can not only extend the effective expansion time of detonation products but also avoid a great increase in the test charge mass. The non-standard cylinder was filled with TNT explosives for its relatively stable Gurney energy, and the experimentally generated parameters were compared with those of Φ 50 and Φ 100 mm standard cylinders. Based on this, a more accurate Gurney Model for Non-Standard Cylinder (GM-NSC) was proposed taking into account the influence of shell deformation and axial movement of detonation products compared with the traditional Gurney model. The analysis results show that the proposed GM-NSC model curve is suitable for both non-standard and standard cylinders. Finally, the method was applied to DNAN-based aluminized explosives, and the experimental results show that the method can characterize more thoroughly the effect of the detonation product expansion enhanced by the rapid reaction of aluminum powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of traditional media, social media, and media trust on people's compliance with health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. A total of 3000 Chinese adults filled online questionnaire using quota sampling method. Results show that use of central government media and use of WeChat are positively related to compliance with health behaviors, while use of local media and use of Weibo are negatively related to the levels of compliance. In addition, trust in the media amplified the effects of media use on levels of compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of air bubbles determines the quality of air-void structure and the durability of concrete. Recently, air bubbles stabilized by nanoparticles has received considerable attention for the improvement of air-void structure in cement mortar. However, the relationship between particle properties and the resulting bubbles quality and stability remains unclear. In this study, the SiO 2 particles with different wettability, sizes and charge types were obtained by chemical modification. These modified SiO 2 particles were added to the solutions and cement mortars and the prepared mixtures were characterized for the evolution and structure of the entrained bubbles. The influence mechanism of particle properties on the bubbles in solutions and cement mortars was also investigated. The experimental results show that the particles with intermediate wettability (60° ≤ θ ≤ 110°) and smaller sizes (around 50 nm) decreased the time-dependent changes of air contents, meanwhile induced smaller bubble size in both solution and mortars. Since most of the air-entraining agents were charged surfactants, which have electrostatic attraction interactions with oppositely charged SiO 2 particles, thus the addition of oppositely charged SiO 2 particles further inhibit the loss of air contents within 2 h. The analysis of granule structure around bubbles reveals that the particles with suitable structures tend to strongly absorb on both the surface and interlayer of bubbles as aggregates, forming a rigid and incompressible grid structure to prevent the Ostwald ripening of bubbles. [Display omitted] • The hydrophobicity of SiO 2 particles was adjusted by controlling the content and chain length of the silica coupling agent and the charge properties of particles can be changed by introducing amino group. • Particles with intermediate wettability are most beneficial for the stability of bubbles and excessive hydrophobicity of particles shows a defoaming performance. • The stability of bubbles in solution and mortar increases with the decrease in particle size. • Surfactants have favorable electrostatic interaction with oppositely charged particles, which improve the bubble stability in solution and mortar. • Particles with the right properties tend to arrange around the bubble as aggregates, forming a dense network structure to suppress the Ostwald ripening of bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current load is one of the most significant factors in the reliability of electrical contact under fretting conditions. In this paper, the fretting wear experiments are conducted for CuZn40 and AgCu10 alloys with varied current loads. The variations of electrical contact resistance (ECR), ECR endurance, temperature, and wear volume with the increasing current load of two alloy materials under fretting conditions are investigated, and the differences between their electrical contact behaviors are compared. The microstructures of the surface wear morphology are examined to reveal the mechanisms of fretting wear and electrical contact failure. In addition, the fretting wear volume evolution of both alloys under different fretting cycles is studied. The results show the current load impacts the wear morphology. The wear particles become smaller and the oxide layer becomes stable with the increase of current load. The effect of current load on ECR and temperature is more significant for CuZn40 alloy. The ECR endurance for both materials first increases and then decreases. This is attributed to two competitive mechanisms controlling the evolution of ECR endurance under varied current loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examines the timelines of occurrences of intimate partner violence (IPV) on child–mother attachment, as well as the mediating role of maternal postpartum depression (PPD). Using a sample in the United States (N = 2,268), findings suggest that, compared to mothers’ prenatal IPV victimization, postnatal IPV more negatively influences child–mother attachment when the children were at 3 years old, and this negative impact on attachment was partially mediated through maternal PPD. As IPV screening for pregnant women in healthcare settings becomes a common practice, effective IPV and PPD screening postnatally should be broadly implemented to promote maternal mental health and child–mother attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An elastic-plastic electrical contact model of rough surfaces is proposed. • BEM and truncation method are used to obtain electrical contact area on asperity. • The elastic or plastic deformation state is judged using a critical contact area. • FEM simulation is conducted to validate the model. A multi-physics electrical contact model is proposed to study electrical, thermal, and mechanical behaviors on rough surfaces, in which the elastic and plastic deformation of asperities is considered. The rough surface is generated by a two-dimensional Weierstrass-Mandelbrot (WM) function. The contact spot morphology is obtained by a boundary element method. The deformation state of each contact spot is determined by the comparison between the critical compression displacement and the actual displacements obtained from the BEM results and geometrical analysis. The multi-asperity electrical contact problem is then treated as a group of single-asperity electrical contact problems on contact spots. The contact force, real contact area, electric current, electrical contact resistance, and maximum temperature rise of each asperity are predicted by using the single-asperity electrical contact model proposed in our previous study. The electrical contact behaviors on rough surfaces are determined by summarizing the contributions from all contact asperities. Moreover, the electrical contact behaviors on rough surfaces are simulated using finite element analysis to validate the proposed model. The comparison shows an excellent agreement between the theoretical solutions and the FEA results. The applicable range of the theoretical model is also studied. The effect of the random phase in the WM function on the electrical contact behavior is evaluated using the developed model. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicone rubber foam (SiRF) is increasingly recognized as a versatile polymeric foam in industrial applications, owing to its broad temperature stability, weather resistance, and outstanding thermal insulation properties. However, the inherent flammability of SiRFs limits their application in certain areas. Previous attempts to enhance the flame retardancy of SiRFs typically involved the addition of various functional fillers and complex assembly strategies, which often lead to complicated processes, weak interfacial bonding, and potential degradation of other key properties. Therefore, preparing flame-retardant silicone rubber using a simple, low-filler, and large-scale production strategy is a significant challenge. In this study, we introduce a self-adhesive silicone rubber foam (Sa-SiRF) modified with residual Si-H reactive groups using a straightforward dip-coating method, employing graphene oxide nanosheets (GO) for this enhancement. The refined Sa-SiRF-GO nanocomposite exhibits exceptional mechanical properties across a temperature range of 30–200 °C, as well as remarkable surface hydrophobicity, evidenced by a high water contact angle (WCA) of approximately 142.6°. Additionally, this material demonstrates robust structural stability under varying environmental conditions (pH = 1, 7, 14), and an improved flame retardancy, with the limiting oxygen index (LOI) rising from 21.5 % to 27.0 %. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of the flame retardation mechanism of Sa-SiRF-GO samples was conducted. This flame-retardant silicone rubber foam, developed through a GO-enhanced dip-coating process, shows great promise for applications that require both flame retardancy and thermal insulation. Our approach, which leverages interfacial engineering to create GO-coated self-adhesive SiRF composites, effectively overcomes the limitations associated with high filler content and the complexities of traditional methods. This innovative technique is poised to spur further advancements in conventional PDMS foams and contribute to the development of advanced polymer foam nanocomposites. [Display omitted] • A multifunctional composite material was designed and fabricated by coating GO solution onto the surface of SiRF with residual Si-H bonds at room temperature. • The residual Si-H bonds on SiRF reacted with GO and enabled firm attachment of GO onto the SiRF surface. • Surface modification of SiRF was achieved by assembling an ultra-low content of GO onto the surface. • The optimized GO-Sa-SiRF exhibited excellent flame retardancy, hydrophobicity and stable mechanical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bayesian inference with prior knowledge has been proposed recently to solve the inverse problem in resonant ultrasound spectroscopy. It allows inferring the elastic properties of high damping materials, such as cortical bone with less dependence on the initial guessed values. In this method, the estimation of the stiffness coefficients is expressed as a probabilistic solution to the inverse problem, which can be achieved by sampling or optimization methods. However, the detailed performance comparison of these two strategies applied to high damping materials has not been fully studied. In this work, the full stiffness tensor of 52 transversely isotropic cortical bone specimens was obtained using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling and particle swarm optimization (PSO), respectively. Results showed that the local probability distributions of stiffness coefficients estimated by the two methods are consistent. Compared with MCMC, the average calculation speed of PSO is ten times faster [614 s ± 59 s (MCMC) versus 53 s ± 22 s (PSO)]. The mean standard error between theoretical and experimental resonant frequencies was slightly smaller for PSO compared with MCMC. In conclusion, PSO, a global optimization strategy, is suitable to solve the inverse problem for high damping materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses adaptive neural output‐feedback tracking control problem for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems with output constraint and unknown control coefficients. A state observer is designed to estimate the unmeasurable system states. Nussbaum gain technique is employed to deal with the problem of unknown control coefficients. Simultaneously, aiming at the output constraint requirements of stochastic systems, the tan‐type barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) structure is proposed. The constraint requirement on the system output trace error is not violated during the operation in the sense of probability. An adaptive output‐feedback controller is designed to ensure that the output tracking error converges to a small region of the origin. The control scheme ensures that all signals in the closed‐loop systems are semi‐global uniformly ultimately bounded. Results of simulation are presented to prove the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) is a devastating survivorship issue for many cancer patients. In addition to its impact on quality of life, this toxicity may lead to dose reductions or treatment discontinuation, adversely impacting survival outcomes and leading to health disparities in African Americans (AA). Our lab has previously identified deleterious mutations in SET-Binding Factor 2 (SBF2) that significantly associated with severe TIPN in AA patients. Here, we demonstrate the impact of SBF2 on taxane-induced neuronal damage using an ex vivo model of SBF2 knockdown of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived sensory neurons. Knockdown of SBF2 exacerbated paclitaxel changes to cell viability and neurite outgrowth while attenuating paclitaxel-induced sodium current inhibition. Our studies identified paclitaxel-induced expression changes specific to mature sensory neurons and revealed candidate genes involved in the exacerbation of paclitaxel-induced phenotypes accompanying SBF2 knockdown. Overall, these findings provide ex vivo support for the impact of SBF2 on the development of TIPN and shed light on the potential pathways involved. Author summary: Taxanes, including paclitaxel, are cancer therapy agents that are widely used with curative potential. However, one of the most common side effects of taxanes, taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN), is a devastating survivorship issue for many cancer patients. The employment of taxanes in chemotherapeutic regimens is limited by the severity of TIPN, which may cause lifelong debilitating pain and lack of sensation. Traditionally, African American women have reported higher rates of severe neuropathy with paclitaxel treatment, which has impacted their health outcomes negatively and contributed to treatment disparities. We have previously identified the association of developing severe TIPN with gene SBF2, which is a gene known for causing an inherited neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4B2. In this study, we demonstrated that lower expressions of SBF2 impacted the neuronal morphologic and functional changes resultant from paclitaxel treatment. Moreover, we highlighted candidate genes and inflammatory molecular pathways as potential contributors to the progression of TIPN for future therapeutic target developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a neural network-based adaptive output-feedback control problem is investigated for a class of output-constrained switched stochastic nonlinear systems. By introducing nonlinear mapping, the asymmetric and symmetric output constrained stochastic nonlinear system is transformed into a new system without any constraint. It is the first time that a switching system is used to convert symmetric and asymmetric output constraints in the same system. An adaptive neural output-feedback controller is developed based on the backstepping technique. A state observer is designed to estimate the unmeasurable system state signals. An adaptive controller is designed to ensure that the output tracking error converges to a small region of the origin. The control scheme ensures that all signals in the closed-loop systems are semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded. Results of simulation cases are presented to prove the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Adventitious root (AR) formation is a critical factor in the vegetative propagation of forestry and horticultural plants. Competence for AR formation declines in many species during the miR156/SPL‐mediated vegetative phase change. Auxin also plays a regulatory role in AR formation. In apple rootstock, both high miR156 expression and exogenous auxin application are prerequisites for AR formation. However, the mechanism by which the miR156/SPL module interacts with auxin in controlling AR formation is unclear. In this paper, leafy cuttings of juvenile (Mx‐J) and adult (Mx‐A) phase Malus xiaojinensis were used in an RNA‐sequencing experiment. The results revealed that numerous genes involved in phytohormone signaling, carbohydrate metabolism, cell dedifferentiation, and reactivation were downregulated in Mx‐A cuttings in response to indole butyric acid treatment. Among the differentially expressed genes, an HD‐ZIP transcription factor gene, MxHB13, was found to be under negative regulation of MdSPL26 by directly binding to MxHB13 promoter. MxTIFY9 interacts with MxSPL26 and may play a role in co‐repressing the expression of MxHB13. The expression of MxTIFY9 was induced by exogenous indole butyric acid. MxHB13 binds to the promoter of MxABCB19‐2 and positively affects the expression. A model is proposed in which MxHB13 links juvenility‐limited and auxin‐limited AR recalcitrance mechanisms in Mx‐A. Significance Statement: Adventitious root (AR) formation is essential for vegetative propagation of perennial woody plants. During the juvenile‐to‐adult phase change mediated by the miR156/SPL, the AR ability decreases dramatically in many species. Auxin also plays a regulatory role in AR formation. However, the mechanism underlying how miR156/SPL module interacts with auxin to regulate AR formation is unclear. Here, we show that an HD‐ZIP transcription factor gene, MxHB13, as a direct target gene of MxSPL26. MxSPL26 interacts with an auxin‐induced MxTIFY9. MxHB13 hence integrates auxin‐regulated and juvenility‐determined control of AR in Malus xiaojinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of things technology plays an important role in improving the efficiency of oil and gas production, of which digital twin technology is the most prominent. By effectively using data and organically combining them with a deep understanding of technicians, digital twin technology can improve the efficiency of oil and gas asset systems in the entire life cycle of an oilfield including design, operation control, optimization, etc. Starting with the concept of digital twinning, this paper analyzes the situation of digital twinning in various industries, then obtains the new connotation of digital twinning in oil and gas industry, and at last establishes an optimization model of oil and gas production. Based on the digital twinning of oil and gas and applying the Internet of things, real-time data, and AI, the paper optimizes the oil and gas production process control and applies it to the actual production. Actually, the digital twin technology of oil and gas production includes six parts: entity, model, data collection, intelligent algorithm, service, and interaction control. Meanwhile, each part is interspersed with various data perception and drive, and interactive feedback forms an organic iterative closed-loop control. Digital twin technology can effectively use data and organically combine the deep understanding of technical personnel, so that it can be used in design, operation control, optimization, and other aspects including the entire life cycle of the oilfield from concept to front-end design and out-of-service. And digital twin technology would improve the efficiency of oil and gas asset systems. The example analysis shows that the system efficiency of the oil and gas production model based on digital twinning is improved by 3%. By analyzing the production status, optimizing the design, and fully grasping the production capacity, equipment capacity, and their working conditions of the oil layer, the digital twin-based approach can provide a basis for further formulating reasonable technical measures and make the equipment work normally at high efficiency to ensure high output and efficient production of oil wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermomechanical model is developed to predict the temperature, degree of crystallization, residual stress, and strain in the selective laser sintering process for polymeric powder. Especially, a transient heat transfer model is used to calculate the temperature evolution. An elastic–viscoplastic model is developed to describe the temperature- and time-dependent stress–strain behavior of polymeric materials with crystallization-induced strain being included. A crystallization model is used to predict the relative crystallization degree during the cooling process. The sintering process and cooling process of polyamide 12 are simulated using the developed model. The melt pool depth and the deformation of the printed parts are validated by the experimental results. The evolutions of the temperature, relative degree of crystallization, strain, and stress are evaluated. The effects of the cooling rate on the strain and stress evolutions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injuries related with falls are a major health risk for the elderly. Accurate evaluation of the dynamic walking stability of elderly people is the key to fall prevention. A two-dimensional (2-D) model is proposed in this study given that the custom method is mainly focused on the dynamic walking stability along the antero-posterior axis. An inverted pendulum model was utilised to calculate the region of stability at toe-off, and stability conditions were evaluated first along the antero-posterior and medio-lateral axes. The analysis was then extended to the 2-D plane. In the 2-D case, the region of stability was determined based on the use of the information of the envelope of the foot. Twenty-four female participants, categorised as healthy young, healthy elderly, and elderly with a history of falls, were examined. Significant differences among the three groups were demonstrated with the 2-D analysis method, but not in the antero-posterior or medio-lateral analyses. The centre-of-masses of elderly fallers were significantly closer to the foot-supporting boundary compared with that of healthy young and elderly adults at toe-off. A 2-D analysis method using the envelope-of-foot could evaluate the dynamic stability of elderly females based on a more accurate scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an anomaly detection method based on background reconstruction is proposed to perform defect inspection on the texture surface of the industrial products. This method consists of two modules: 1) an autoencoder integrated with a generative adversarial network is utilized to reconstruct the textured background of the original image as a defect-free reference. Specifically, extra anomalous images are introduced and a mapping method of anomaly is given to improve the stability of reconstruction. 2) A U-net based inspection network is trained to perform pixel-wise analysis of the differences between the original and the reconstructed defect-free image. During these processes, only artificial synthesized defective images are utilized to train the model without any real defective samples. A series of experiments are conducted on several texture image data sets and the industrial production line. The experimental results reveal the effectiveness and versatility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultramarine is a nontoxic and cheap inorganic pigment, which has been rarely used in blue pearlescent pigments. This work reports the synthesis of nano-ultramarine with LTA structure by calcining the polysulfide impregnated zeolite at 600∘C for 1 h. Then the ultramarine colored mica composite was prepared by using γ -(2,3-epoxypropoxy) propytrimethoxysilane (KH-560) to attach ultramarine to the mica substrate through a covalent bond. Scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrophotometry (UV-Vis) were employed to characterize the structure and properties of the ultramarine, composites as well as the intermediates. The results showed that LTA framework was retained in ultramarine during the calcination at the temperature below 700∘C. The FTIR spectra demonstrated that ultramarine was successfully modified by KH-560. The SEM, UV-Vis and L * a * b * values revealed the increasing the amount of KH-560-modified ultramarine contributing to the formation of the dense coating layer on mica and changed the color of the ultramarine-coated mica composite. The optimum mass ratio of mica to ultramarine was 1:2 and the composite demonstrated an ideal blue pearlescent effect. A blue pearlescent pigment was prepared by using KH-560 to attach nano LTA-type ultramarine to the mica substrate through a covalent bond. The ultramarine coating layer showed good adhesive strength. The color of the ultramarine-coated mica composite varied with changing the amount of KH-560-modified ultramarine added. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To convert lignin into high-valued carbon materials and understand the lignin structure function, oxidized lignin, a by-product from lignocellulose PHP-pretreatment (phosphoric acid plus hydrogen peroxide), was carbonized by one-step KOH-activation; the physico-chemical characteristics and electrochemical performances of the harvested carbons were also investigated. Results indicated the resultant carbons displayed 3-dimensional hierarchical porous morphology with maximum specific surface area of 3094 m2 g−1 and pore volume of 1.72 cm3 g−1 using 3:1 KOH/lignin ratio for carbonization. Three-electrode determination achieved a specific capacitance of 352.9 F g−1 at a current of 0.5 A g−1, suggesting a superior rate performance of this carbon. Two-electrode determination obtained an excellent energy density of 9.5 W h kg−1 at power density of 25.0 W kg−1. Moreover, 5000 cycles of charge/discharge reached 88.46% retention at 5 A g−1, implying an outstanding cycle stability. Basically, low molecular weight and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups of employed lignin mainly related to the excellent porous morphology and the outstanding electrochemical performances, suggesting the oxidized lignin was an ideal precursor to facilely prepare activated carbon for high-performance supercapacitor. Overall, this work provides a new path to valorize lignin by-product derived from oxidative pretreatment techniques, which can further promote the integrality of lignocellulose biorefinery. [Display omitted] • Oxidized lignin was employed to prepare 3-D hierarchical porous carbons. • Oxygen-containing groups facilitated the formation of porous structures of carbon. • The derived carbon was hierarchical porous with large specific surface area. • This carbon electrode displayed good electrochemical performances. • Oxidized lignin is a promising precursor of carbon electrode for supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the problem of adaptive control based on Barrier Lyapunov function for a class of full-state constrained stochastic nonlinear systems with dead-zone and unmodeled dynamics. To stabilize such a system, a dynamic signal is introduced to dominate unmodeled dynamics and an assistant signal is constructed to compensate for the effect of the dead zone. Dynamic surface control is used to solve the "complexity explosion" problem in traditional backstepping design. Two cases of symmetric and asymmetric Barrier Lyapunov functions are discussed respectively in this paper. The proposed Barrier Lyapunov function based on backstepping method can ensure that the output tracking error converges in the small neighborhood of the origin. This control scheme can ensure that semi-globally uniformly ultimately boundedness of all signals in the closed-loop system. Two simulation cases are proposed to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oilfield water injection is one of the important means to supplement energy to the formation and enhance oil recovery in the process of oilfield development. The level of water injection technology determines the effect of oilfield development and also determines the length of oilfield development life. Research on seepage law of water injection development in low-permeability reservoir is the basis and important technical means of low-permeability reservoir development, and the key point of seepage law is to analyze the starting pressure gradient law. In previous studies, either static test or dynamic experimental value is used, so the error of pseudo starting pressure gradient derived from experimental value is too large, which makes people expand the starting pressure value in low-permeability reservoir in practical engineering application, and the starting pressure gradient obtained from laboratory test cannot be applied in actual reservoir. To accurately calculate the threshold pressure gradient for low-permeability reservoirs, the threshold permeability is proposed through the study of the seepage law and laboratory experiments. It is recognized that the threshold pressure gradient and the threshold permeability had been changing during the seepage. Through steady-state "flow rate-pressure difference" displacement experiment, with natural cores from a low-permeability reservoir, based on a capillary bundle model, the method for calculating the gradient is innovatively proposed. The experimental data show that the whole low-permeability seepage flow is nonlinear, divided into three stages according to the physical stages with obvious changes. Through processing and analyzing of the experimental results, first, it is showed that both threshold pressure gradient and threshold permeability increase with the rise of flow rate and the increasing amplitude is gradually decreasing. Second, the study proposes the permeability is the main controlling reason of the threshold pressure gradient, and the flow velocity is an important reason. Third, we obtain the formulas of the minimum threshold pressure gradient, the threshold pressure gradient, and the corresponding threshold permeability of different cores and the power function relationship between the threshold pressure gradient and the core permeability is obtained. And further, the one-dimensional experimental results are applied to the radial fluid flow, and the recognition that the threshold pressure gradient decreases with increasing distance and the ratio of the threshold pressure to the total displacement pressure difference are obtained. The ratio of starting pressure to total pressure drop is about 0.5, and the higher the permeability is, the lower the ratio is lower under 0.5. These findings significantly help in understanding how to effectively develop low-permeability reservoir by water injection. Through the dynamic macro experiment and microcapillary bundle principle, the experiment can be divided into several sections for analysis, which can be more accurate. The minimum start-up pressure gradient can not only guide the later development of the oilfield, but also enrich the theoretical study of non-Darcy low-velocity seepage. At the same time, the law of flow velocity and start-up pressure gradient indirectly proves the boundary layer theory of the generation mechanism of start-up pressure gradient and supports and guides the effective development of various development methods of low-permeability reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Retention of flesh texture attributes during cold storage is critical for the long‐term maintenance of fruit quality. The genetic variations determining flesh firmness and crispness retainability are not well understood. The objectives of this study are to identify gene markers based on quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and to develop genomics‐assisted prediction (GAP) models for apple flesh firmness and crispness retainability. Phenotype data of 2664 hybrids derived from three Malus domestica cultivars and a M. asiatica cultivar were collected in 2016 and 2017. The phenotype segregated considerably with high broad‐sense heritability of 83.85% and 83.64% for flesh firmness and crispness retainability, respectively. Fifty‐six candidate genes were predicted from the 62 QTLs identified using bulked segregant analysis and RNA‐seq. The genotype effects of the markers designed on each candidate gene were estimated. The genomics‐predicted values were obtained using pyramiding marker genotype effects and overall mean phenotype values. Fivefold cross‐validation revealed that the prediction accuracy was 0.5541 and 0.6018 for retainability of flesh firmness and crispness, respectively. An 8‐bp deletion in the MdERF3 promoter disrupted MdDOF5.3 binding, reduced MdERF3 expression, relieved the inhibition on MdPGLR3, MdPME2, and MdACO4 expression, and ultimately decreased flesh firmness and crispness retainability. A 3‐bp deletion in the MdERF118 promoter decreased its expression by disrupting the binding of MdRAVL1, which increased MdPGLR3 and MdACO4 expression and reduced flesh firmness and crispness retainability. These results provide insights regarding the genetic variation network regulating flesh firmness and crispness retainability, and the GAP models can assist in apple breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global outbreak of COVID-19 has become an international public health crisis. Specific antiviral treatments for COVID-19 are not yet available, and prevention is of particular importance to fight the virus. This study tends to explore and compare the roles of cognitive and affective factors in predicting preventive behavior adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.Methods: An online survey using a quota sampling method to collect responses from 3000 Chinese adults was conducted from March 2, 2020 to March 23, 2020. Questions included sociodemographic features, coronavirus knowledge, negative emotion, risk perception, and behavioral responses. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of behavioral responses toward COVID-19.Results: On average, respondents had low levels of knowledge about COVID-19 (the overall correct response rate was 7.5%). Most respondents reported moderate to strong negative emotions towards the virus (3.47 out of 5). The average reported perceived chance of infection was 23.89%. For behavioral responses, respondents reported low frequencies of going out for activities (1.98 out of 4) and high frequencies of taking preventive measures (3.22 out of 4). Behavioral responses toward COVID-19 were found to be determined by cognitive and affective variables. Knowledge was negatively related to frequency of going out for activities (β = - 0.11, p < .001). Negative emotion (β = 0.34, p < .001), and risk perception (β = 0.05, p = .007) were positively associated with going out for activities. The explanatory power of affective variables (ΔR2 = 12.1%) was greater than cognitive variables (ΔR2 = 1.0%). For preventive behaviors, knowledge was positively associated with preventive behaviors (β = 0.22, p < .001). Negative emotion (β = - 0.28, p < .001) and risk perception (β = - 0.05, p = .002) were all negatively associated with preventive measures. Affective variables still showed stronger explanatory power (ΔR2 = 8%) than cognitive variables (ΔR2 = 4.4%) in predicting preventive behaviors.Conclusions: After the rising period of the COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China, cognitive and affective variables still played important roles in predicting behavioral responses. Compared with cognitive factors, affective factors demonstrated stronger explanatory power in predicting behavioral responses toward COVID-19. The findings may have implications for enhancing individual compliance with guidelines of adopting preventive behaviors in response to COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A crystal plasticity damage model proposed for RCF of GGS. • FEM implementation to predict crack initiation and spalling lifetime. • Effect of the residual stress on RCF behavior is investigated. A dislocation density-based crystal plasticity damage model is presented for a numerical study on the spalling behavior of gradient grained structures under rolling contact fatigue loading. The topology of the gradient grained structure is constructed using Voronoi tessellations. The fatigue damage is coupled into a dislocation density-based crystal plasticity model where the evolutions of the dislocation density and fatigue damage are considered. The process of spalling is characterized by the evolution of fatigue damage in the polycrystalline structures. The evolutions of contact pressure, stresses, dislocation density, plastic strain, and fatigue damage of gradient grained structures with regard to rolling cycles are investigated. Moreover, the effect of the gradient form and residual stress on the rolling contact fatigue behavior is studied. The simulation results reveal that the gradient grained structures and the residual stress influence the rolling contact fatigue resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Computationally efficient simulation of transcranial ultrasound for fast focus corrections using hybrid boundary integral methods and finite element methods. • The coupling of boundary integrals and finite elements using dual interpolations. • Reduced computational domain including only the heterogeneous region. Transcranial focused ultrasound is a novel technique for the noninvasive treatment of brain diseases. The success of the treatment greatly depends on achieving precise and efficient intraoperative focus. However, compensating for aberrated ultrasound waves caused by the skull through numerical simulation-based phase corrections is a challenging task due to the significant computational burden involved in solving the acoustic wave equation. In this article, we propose a promising strategy using the coupling of the boundary integral equation method (BIEM) and the finite element method (FEM) to overcome the above limitation. Specifically, we adopt the BIEM to obtain the Robin-to-Dirichlet maps on the boundaries of the skull and then couple the maps to the FEM matrices via a dual interpolation technique, resulting in a computational domain including only the skull. Three simulation experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, including a convergence test and two skull-induced aberration corrections in 2D and 3D ultrasound. The results show that the method's convergence is guaranteed as the element size decreases, leading to a decrease in pressure error. The computation times for simulating a 500 kHz ultrasound field on a regular desktop computer were found to be 0.47 ± 0.01 s in the 2D case and 43.72 ± 1.49 s in the 3D case, provided that lower–upper decomposition (approximately 13 s in 2D and 2.5 h in 3D) was implemented in advance. We also demonstrated that more accurate transcranial focusing can be achieved by phase correction compared to the noncorrected results (with errors of 1.02 mm vs. 6.45 mm in 2D and 0.28 mm vs. 3.07 mm in 3D). The proposed strategy is valuable for enabling online ultrasound simulations during treatment, facilitating real-time adjustments and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]