Search

The central midcontinent of the USA's cratonic platform is a region of low elevation and relief underlain by tectonic basins, domes, faults, and monoclines. To investigate potential correlations among shallow crustal structure and crustal thickness, we produced a high‐resolution Moho‐depth map of the region by applying the recently developed H‐κ‐c receiver‐function method to data from EarthScope Transportable‐Array and Flexible‐Array stations. Results indicate that Moho depth varies from 38 to 57 km. Changes of Moho depth and of Vp/Vs ratios do not correlate with Precambrian tectonic boundaries, suggesting that they reflect post‐accretion tectonics. Deeper Moho underlies sedimentary basins, implying a relationship between crustal thickness and lithospheric subsidence. Thicker crust may be due to rift‐related underplating, and thinner crust may have undergone delamination. Some depth changes underlie known faults and fold zones. Since short‐wavelength undulations were detected only under high‐density seismic arrays, they may occur more widely but have yet to be resolved. Plain Language Summary: Studies of the central midcontinent region of the USA, a portion of North America's relatively stable craton, reveal that both the Moho (the crust/mantle boundary) and the surface of the Great Unconformity (the boundary between crystalline basement and overlying Phanerozoic sedimentary cover) have kilometers of relief, even though land‐surface relief in the region is, at most, 0.5 km. To clarify the nature of variations in Moho depth, so as to make it possible to correlate these variations with other geologic features of the shallow continental crust, we applied a new, more robust, method in estimating Moho depth to data from all available EarthScope seismic stations in the region. This effort yielded a new, high‐resolution map of Moho depth. Significantly, we found large undulations (ups and downs) of the Moho both at the regional scale and at the local scale. Some of these undulations correlate with the boundaries of regional basins and domes, as defined by the depth to the Great Unconformity, and others correlate with known faults. The development of thickness variations may reflect geologic events, such as addition of new rock to the base of the crust, or removal of lower crust, which happened after the crust first formed. Key Points: We applied an improved receiver‐function method in central midcontinent of the U.S. to construct a refined Moho‐depth mapOur results indicate Moho depth variations of different wavelengths, some of which correspond with known geological structuresMoho depth variations cross Precambrian boundaries, suggesting a likely post‐accretion tectonic modification of the lithosphere [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a common challenge faced by all humanity. Promoting emission and carbon reduction in agricultural land is the most important priority for addressing climate change and realizing sustainable development. Based on data from 296 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this study utilizes machine-learning and text-analysis methods to construct an indicator of government climate-risk attention (GCRA). It combines a two-way fixed-effects model to investigate how GCRA affects agricultural-land carbon emissions (ALCE) and carbon intensity (ALCI) and the mechanism of the impact. The results indicate that (1) GCRA substantially reduces ALCE and ALCI, and the conclusions are robust to a battery of tests. Furthermore, (2) mechanism analysis reveals that GCRA primarily uses three mechanisms—strengthening environmental regulation, promoting agricultural green-technology innovation, and upgrading agricultural-land mechanization—to reduce ALCE and lower ALCI. Additionally, (3) heterogeneity analysis suggests that the carbon-emission reduction effect of GCRA is more significant in the east, in arid and humid climate zones, and in non-grain-producing regions. Finally, (4) spatial-spillover effect analysis and quantile regression results demonstrate that GCRA also significantly inhibits carbon emissions and the carbon intensity of nearby agricultural land, with the inhibition effect becoming more pronounced at higher levels of government attention. This study's discoveries are helpful in promoting the emission reduction and carbon sequestration of agricultural land and provide references for developing countries to cope with climate change. • GCRA contributes to advancing carbon mitigation and reducing carbon intensity within agricultural land. This conclusion retains its validity even following a battery of rigorous tests for robustness. • Mechanism analysis indicates that GCRA primarily promotes ALCE and ALCI reduction by strengthening environmental regulation, promoting agricultural green-technology innovation, and upgrading agricultural-land mechanization. • Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that in the eastern regions, arid and humid climate zones, and non-grain-producing areas, GCRA has a more significant effect on carbon and carbon-intensity reduction in agricultural land. • Spatial-spillover analysis and quantile tests indicate that GCRA also has a significant inhibitory effect on neighboring ALCE and ALCI. Moreover, the higher the GCRA, the more pronounced the inhibitory effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Downhole heat damage during drilling seriously restricts the exploration and development of deep oil and gas reservoirs and geothermal resources. The petroleum industry focuses on controlling the downhole heat damage during drilling while utilizing low-grade thermal energy and making it profitable. Therefore, a techno-economic coupling evaluation model is developed for a low-grade thermal energy utilization system developed for use during drilling along with a wellbore heat transfer model. Subsequently, based on the model, the influence of different lengths and installation positions of insulated drill pipe (IDP) on the downhole temperature is studied. Then, on the premise of satisfying the wellbore cooling target, the system is economically evaluated based on factors such as production time, government subsidy, and electricity price, and the corresponding measures are proposed to make the system profitable. Finally, a set of efficient IDP-based low-grade thermal energy utilization methods is developed. The case study presented herein shows that the IDP length that allows the system to reach the maximum profit in the 10th year is 4720 m for a horizontal well with a depth of 6200 m when the government one-off subsidy rate is 30% and electricity price is increased by 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to explore the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFP) on ulcerative colitis (UC) based on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced mice UC model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated Caco-2 cells model. The results firstly indicated that TFP can significantly alleviate the symptoms and signs of the DSS-induced mice UC model, which manifests as improvement of body weight loss, increase of colon length, decrease of colon thickness and reduction of intestinal permeability. Then, results from histopathological and electron microscope analysis further implied that TFP could dramatically reduce inflammatory cells infiltration and restore intestinal epithelial barrier integrity. In addition, the experiments of LPS-stimulated Caco-2 cells model in vitro also further confirmed that TFP could markedly inhibit the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase related genes or proteins expressions of intestinal barrier and mucus barrier. Taken together, these data suggested that TFP has a significant therapeutic effect on DSS-induced UC model, and its mechanisms are closely linked to the inhibition of inflammation and the restoration of intestinal barrier and mucus barrier function. These beneficial effects may make TFP a promising drug to be used in alleviating UC. • Polysaccharides from Tremella fuciformis (TFP) can attenuate ulcerative colitis (UC). • Mechanism of TFP on protecting against UC involved the inhibition of inflammation. • Mechanism of TFP on anti-UC was related to the restoration of intestinal barrier. • Mechanism of TFP on anti-UC was associated with increased mucus barrier function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the effect of recombinant LZ‐8 (rLZ‐8) on streptozocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats and further illustrate its underlying mechanism. Methods: Rats were intraperitoneally injected with single‐dose STZ 50 mg/kg for induction of type 1 diabetes (T1D), and then, the diabetic rats were treated with rLZ‐8 for 3 months. The clinical symptoms, fasting blood glucose, insulin, cytokines, histopathology, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of rLZ‐8 on alleviating diabetes mellitus (DM). Key findings: Treatment with rLZ‐8 obviously alleviated the clinical symptoms of T1D and dose‐dependently reduced the levels of blood glucose, blood lipid and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in diabetic rat model. Meanwhile, rLZ‐8 markedly increased insulin secretion and protected against STZ‐induced pancreatic tissue injury. Additionally, rLZ‐8 dramatically inhibited the levels of TNF‐α and IL‐1β, and obviously increased the level of IL‐10 in serum and pancreas. Further investigation indicated that rLZ‐8 treatment significantly increased the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and up‐regulated the expression of Foxp3 to restore balance between anti‐inflammatory and inflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: These data suggest that rLZ‐8 can antagonize STZ‐induced T1D, and its mechanism may be related to inhibit inflammation and enhance Tregs generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond possesses extremely excellent properties, which make it a potentially transformative material in an extensive range of applications. Herein, diamonds were synthesized in a FeNiCo–C system with B2S3 as an additive by a temperature-gradient growth method at high temperature and high pressure (HPHT) conditions. The effects of the B2S3 additive in the FeNiCo–C system on diamond crystallization were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. FTIR result shows the presence of positive-charged N+ in the diamond crystal synthesized with the B2S3 additive, and its concentration was estimated to be around 30 ppm. Moreover, the XPS measurements confirm that N+ can combine with boron to form a B–N bond. Furthermore, the Hall effect result indicates that the resistivity of the diamond crystal synthesized with B2S3 was reduced to 3.89 × 10 Ω cm, whereas, the resistivity of the diamond synthesized with the same weight of B2S3 additive along with Ti/Cu as the nitrogen removal agent dropped sharply to 2.51 × 10−1 Ω cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dependence of grain boundaries (GBs) structure on the precipitation at GBs in a TiB 2 /Al-Zn-Mg-Cu composite has been systemically investigated by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The relationship between GBs misorientation and grain boundary precipitates (GBPs) distribution is established. For low angle GBs (LAGBs), the average size and coverage of GBPs are increased and the number density of GBPs is decreased with the increasing misorientation; for high angle GBs (HAGBs), the coincidence site lattice (CSL, ∑) GBs and the effect of TiB 2 particles have been taken into consideration. It is found that the GBPs size at ∑3 GB is smaller than that of random HAGBs while the rest of CSL GBs have minor effect. In random HAGBs, the average GBP size and coverage are increased firstly and then decreased while the number density of GBPs is decreased with the increasing of GB misorientation. For GB TiB 2 particles, the average size and coverage of GBPs at GBs covered with TiB 2 particles are smaller than other GBs while the number density is larger. The GB TiB 2 particles can refine GBPs and reduce the consistent precipitates at GBs. The orientation relationship between Al and GBP, TiB 2 and GBP are determined. The results indicate that the TiB 2 particles favor the nucleation of GBPs while limit their growth. • Grain boundary precipitates were significantly affected by GB TiB 2 particles. • The orientation relationship between GB TiB 2 /matrix and grain boundary precipitates was identified, respectively. • GB TiB 2 particles promoted the nucleation and limited the growth of grain boundary precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of temperature of first-step pretreatment on the precipitation and crystal structure of Al 3 Zr in a spray-formed (SFed) Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy was systematically explored. With different first-step pretreatments, the microstructure evolutions during hot extrusion and solution treatment were studied. The results show that pretreatment before hot-working is necessary for rapidly-solidified Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy and temperature of first-step pretreatment is crucial for stabilizing microstructures. In detailed, the homogenous nucleation of L1 2 Al 3 Zr is limited at low first-step temperature (<250°C), while the transformation from L1 2 Al 3 Zr to D0 23 Al 3 Zr is simulated and high first-step temperature (≥420°C). The crystallographic orientation relationship between D0 23 Al 3 Zr precipitate (P) and Al matrix is recognized as: [001] Al //[011] P , (200) Al //(01 1 ¯) P , (020) Al //(200) P , which is different from the previous works. When the first-step temperature is 250–350°C, the dispersed η-Mg(Zn,Al,Cu) 2 phases formed during spray forming can act as heterogeneous nucleation sites of Al 3 Zr precipitation. The recrystallization resistance of SFed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy during solution treatment is markedly enhanced by an optimized pretreatment of 250°C@36 h + 470°C@24 h. [Display omitted] • The first-step pretreating temperature was crucial for pretreatment in SF 7050 alloy. • η phases promoted heterogeneous nucleation of L1 2 Al 3 Zr during pretreatment. • The orientation between D0 23 Al 3 Zr and Al matrix was identified and discussed. • Recrystallization resistance was affected by crystal structure of Al 3 Zr precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-dispersed YVO 4 :Eu 3+ nanoparticles (NPs) of about 8 nm were synthesized by a precipitation reaction and they were coated with SiO 2 by a reverse microemulsion method. The thickness of SiO 2 shells was altered by changing the molar ratio of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/YVO 4 :Eu 3+ . The influence of SiO 2 coating on the photoluminescence properties of the YVO 4 :Eu 3+ NPs was studied in detail. With the increase of the SiO 2 shell thickness, the intensity ratio of 5 D 0 - 7 F 2 / 5 D 0 - 7 F 1 becomes lower. It was interesting to observe that the quantum yield of naked YVO 4 :Eu 3+ is higher than that of YVO 4 :Eu 3+ @SiO 2 nanocomposites, and the result is opposite to a previous reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quench-induced S(Al 2 CuMg) phases are generally formed in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. The precipitation and relative crystallographic relationships of η-type (MgZn 2) precipitates at the interfaces between the quench-induced S phases and Al matrix were studied in an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy by coupling Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with scanning precession electron diffraction (SPED) technology. It was found that Zn segregation occurred at S-Al interfaces due to higher lattice strain energy, which induced the heterogeneous nucleation of nanosized η' precipitates at these interfaces. Crystallographic orientation relationships (ORs) between the S phases and η'/η precipitates were firstly reported and discussed in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy. With the coarsening of η precipitates at S-Al interfaces, a new type of OR ([112] Al //[ 1 ¯ 2 1 ¯ 0] η , (11 1 ¯) Al //(10 1 ¯ 3) η) between the interfacial η precipitates and Al matrix was identified, which was different from their non-interfacial counterparts in Al matrix reported to date. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality type-Ib tower-shape gem-diamond crystals in carats grade were synthesized in cubic anvil high pressure apparatus (SPD-6x1200) at 5.4 GPa and 1250-1450°C. The relationship between the growth time and the weight of growth diamond has been gained. The faces of {110} and {113} were found in the synthetic diamond crystals frequently. We found that the relative growth rate of {113} face was descending with the increase of growth temperature, and that of {110} face had no obvious change with the increase of the growth temperatures and the growth time. In the work, the crystal defects were studied carefully, and the reasons for the appearance of the defects were also obtained. Some diamond crystals have been polished into the anvil of DAC (Diamond Anvil Cell) and the diamond jewelry. Compared with natural diamond crystal, synthetic diamond crystal has the merits such as small grinding quantity, low cost, etc., so it can be widely used in super high pressure field and gemstone industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality type-Ib tower-shape diamond single crystals were synthesized in cubic anvil high pressure apparatus (SPD-6×1200) at 5.4 GPa and 1250-1450°C. The (100) face of seed crystal was used as the growth face, and FeNiMnCo alloy was used as the solvent/catalyst. Two kinds of carbon diffusing fields (type-B and type-G) were simulated by finite element method (FEM). Using the two kinds of carbon diffusing fields, many diamond single crystals were synthesized. The effects of carbon diffusing fields on the crystal quality and β value (the ratio of height to diameter of diamond crystal) were studied. The results show that using type-B diffusing field, considerable inclusions appeared in tower-shape diamond crystals with high β values; however, using type- G diffusing field, inclusions were reduced markedly in high β values tower-shape diamond crystals, and the crystal, up to 0.6 carat in weight and 5.3 mm in size, was synthesized. Experimental phenomena were explained well with the help of the FEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precipitation behaviors and mechanical properties of the slowly-quenched 7085Al alloy subjected to various aging treatments were studied by multi-scale microstructural and mechanical properties characterization techniques. There were coarse quench-induced precipitates (QIPs) including η phases and lath-shaped S phases identified at grain boundaries and Al 3 Zr particle interfaces during the slow quenching process. Both precipitate free zone and precipitate rich zone were characterized in the slowly-quenched samples after various aging treatments. It was found that the average size of the age-induced precipitates (AIPs) after the double-step aging treatment (D3) was finer, and the number density of the AIPs was larger than those after the single-step aging treatment (S1). Meanwhile, the precipitate free zones around the coarse QIPs and at grain boundaries became narrower in the D3 sample. Critically, the heterogeneous nucleation of η′ phase on the lath-shaped S phase which was previously unreported has been characterized. The orientation relationship between the η' phase and S phase was determined, and the detailed mechanism was discussed based on heterogeneous nucleation theory. Furthermore, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the D3 sample increased by ∼94.4 MPa and ∼65.9 MPa over the S1 sample, respectively. Finally, the underlying mechanisms of such yield strength variations were discussed. The mixture rule was used to model this microstructure-mechanical property relationship quantitatively, in which the calculated results showed the good agreement with the measured results. • Heterogeneous nucleation of η' phase on S phase was characterized. • PFZs can both develop around QIPs and at GBs. • The slow-quenched 7085Al alloy was strengthened by double-step aging process. • The mixture rule can model this microstructure-mechanical property relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been reported that Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides (DOPS) could alleviate colitis in animal model and suppress the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and β-arrestin1 in vitro. However, it remains unclear whether DOPS has effect on protecting against colitis-induced pulmonary injury. The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effect and mechanism of DOPS on colitis-induced lung injury. A dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced mice colitis model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BEAS-2B cells model were applied in this study. The results showed that DOPS treatment restored histopathological changes, reduced inflammatory cells infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokines levels, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and MDA generation, and increased anti-oxidative enzymes activities including SOD and GSH-Px in colitis mice. Further investigation showed that DOPS significantly inhibited the protein expression of TLR4, and apparently up-regulated proteins expressions of nuclear-Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in lung tissues of colitis mice and in BEAS-2B cells. These results indicated that DOPS significantly inhibited inflammation and oxidative stress to alleviate colitis-induced secondary lung injury, and its mechanisms are closely related to the inhibition of TLR4 signaling pathway and the activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway. DOPS may be a promising drug for alleviating colitis-induced lung injury. [Display omitted] 1 Polysaccharides from Dendrobium officinale (DOPS) can attenuate colitis-induced pulmonary injury. 2. Mechanism of DOPS on protecting against colitis-induced pulmonary injury involved the inhibition of inflammation. 3 Mechanism of DOPS on alleviating colitis-induced pulmonary injury was related to the restoration of oxidative stress. 4. DOPS may be a promising drug for alleviating colitis-induced lung injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New insight into the microstructural evolution and the correlative damage mechanisms near fatigue crack tip in a TiB 2 /Al composite was conducted by transmission kikuchi diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the micro deformation band formed from the crack tip and ran along slip planes. Ultrafine grains were induced in deformation band, where the fatigue crack preferring to grow along these deformation-induced boundaries was first demonstrated as the essential process of crack across parent grains and grain boundaries. Ahead of crack tip, the TiB 2 particles can affect crack growth by impeding the successive propagation of deformation band. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper firstly replaces the first-come-first-service (FCFS) mechanism with the time-sharing (TS) mechanism in fog computing nodes (FCNs). Then a collaborative load-balancing algorithm for the TS mechanism is proposed for FCNs. The algorithm is a variant of a work-stealing scheduling algorithm, and is based on the Nash bargaining solution (NBS) for a cooperative game between FCNs. Pareto optimality is achieved through the collaborative working of FCNs to improve the performance of every FCN. Lastly the simulation results demonstrate that the game-theory based work-stealing algorithm (GWS) outperforms the classical work-stealing algorithm (CWS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer is a high-incidence cancer, and it is also the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. 80–85% of lung cancer cases can be classified as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: NSCLC transcriptome data and clinical information were downloaded from the TCGA database and GEO database. Firstly, we analyzed and identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between non-metastasis group and metastasis group of NSCLC in the TCGA database, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were consulted to explore the functions of the DEGs. Thereafter, univariate Cox regression and LASSO Cox regression algorithms were applied to identify prognostic metastasis-related signature, followed by the construction of the risk score model and nomogram for predicting the survival of NSCLC patients. GSEA analyzed that differentially expressed gene-related signaling pathways in the high-risk group and the low-risk group. The survival of NSCLC patients was analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method. ROC curve was plotted to evaluate the accuracy of the model. Finally, the GEO database was further applied to verify the metastasis‑related prognostic signature. Results: In total, 2058 DEGs were identified. GO functions and KEGG pathways analysis results showed that the DEGs mainly concentrated in epidermis development, skin development, and the pathway of Neuro active ligand -receptor interaction in cancer. A six-gene metastasis-related risk signature including C1QL2, FLNC, LUZP2, PRSS3, SPIC, and GRAMD1B was constructed to predict the overall survival of NSCLC patients. The reliability of the gene signature was verified in GSE13213. The NSCLC patients were grouped into low-risk and high-risk groups based on the median value of risk scores. And low-risk patients had lower risk scores and longer survival time. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression verified that this signature was an independent risk factor for NSCLC. Conclusion: Our study identified 6 metastasis biomarkers in the NSCLC. The biomarkers may contribute to individual risk estimation, survival prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemsleya macrosperma (H. macrosperma) is widely used in southwestern China as folk medicine with various bioactivities. Cucurbitacin IIa is the main active component in H. macrosperma and draws increased attention for its potential pharmacological activities. In order to reveal the mechanism of cucurbitacin IIa biosynthesis and regulation in H. macrosperma , transcriptome analysis was performed to compare differentially expressed genes in three tissues (root tuber, stem and leaf). A total of 47 946 unigenes were generated from these tissues and 55 unigenes were identified as candidate genes involved in triterpenoid backbone biosynthesis. Three homologous genes encoding squalene epoxidase (HmSE) were discovered and successfully expressed in a prokaryotic system. HmSE1 was found to be responsible for oxidization of squalene. In addition, several cytochrome P450s and transcription factors were predicted as candidates associated to cucurbitacin IIa biosynthesis. Notably, the expression profiles of those putative genes showed a positive correlation with elevated curcurbitacin IIa production in methyl jasmonate-elicited suspension cells of H. macrosperma., suggesting probable functions of the candidates on curcurbitacin IIa biosynthesis. These findings provide insights on cucurbitacin IIa biosynthesis and regulation in H. macrosperma. • Functional genes involved in curcurbitacin IIa biosynthesis were identified in H. macrosperma. • HmSE in H. macrosperma were functionally characterized. • The functional gene expressions showed a positive correlation with curcurbitacin IIa content in MeJA-elicited cell culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, accounting for 90% of primary liver cancer) was the sixth most common cancer in the world and the third leading cause of cancer death in 2020. The number of new HCC patients in China accounted for nearly half of that in the world. HCC was of occult and complex onset, with poor prognosis. Clinically, at least 15% of patients with HCC had strong side effects of interventional therapy (IT) and have poor sensitivity to chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as a multi-target adjuvant therapy, had been shown to play an active anti-tumor role in many previous studies. This review systematically summarized the role of TCM combined with clinically commonly used drugs for the treatment of HCC (including mitomycin C, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, sorafenib, etc.) in the past basic research, and summarized the efficacy of TCM combined with surgery, IT and conventional therapy (CT) in clinical research. It was found that TCM, as an adjuvant treatment, played many roles in the treatment of HCC, including enhancing the tumor inhibition, reducing toxic and side effects, improving chemosensitivity and prolonging survival time of patients. This review summarized the advantages of integrated traditional Chinese and modern medicine in the treatment of HCC and provides a theoretical basis for clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fatigue cracking of a particle-reinforced aluminium matrix composite was studied. • The formation of microcracks during fatigue test was observed by in-situ SEM. • Cracks inside the composite were studied by high-resolution X-ray microtomography. • Stress intensity factors at crack tips of initiated cracks were evaluated. • Fatigue crack initiation mechanisms associated with particles were discussed. In this work, the fatigue initiation in a particle-reinforced aluminium matrix composite was investigated. The fatigue cracks mostly initiate at multiple sites associated with TiB 2 and second phases (S/θ). Only few cracks initiate from individual TiB 2 , and they are caused by matrix fracture close to the high density dislocation zones around TiB 2. Furthermore, the growth capability of initiated cracks is dependent on their stress intensity factors at crack tip. Only crack initated from largest-sized (S/θ + TiB 2) cluster is developed into main crack. During main crack evolution, the small crack grows along slip traces and retarded by grain boundaries and/or TiB 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Among breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the highest degree of malignancy and the worst prognosis. The Shuganhuazheng formula (SGHZF) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of TNBC, but the mechanism of SGHZF in the treatment of TNBC remains unclear. In this study, the therapeutic effect and mechanism of SGHZF against TNBC were preliminarily determined based on in vivo experimental verification and network pharmacology. In terms of therapeutic effects, the antitumour effect was verified by measuring and calculating tumour volume, and the expression of proto-oncogene c-Myc was verified by PCR. In terms of the mechanism, potential therapeutic targets were identified by overlapping the SGHZF-related and TNBC-related targets. After comprehensively analysing the results of the protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology (GO) function, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, Akt and HIF-1α were selected for verification by using immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. The results of the study indicated that SGHZF can inhibit breast tumour growth in mice and that the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of Akt and HIF-1α expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Among breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the highest degree of malignancy and the worst prognosis. The Shuganhuazheng formula (SGHZF) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of TNBC, but the mechanism of SGHZF in the treatment of TNBC remains unclear. In this study, the therapeutic effect and mechanism of SGHZF against TNBC were preliminarily determined based on in vivo experimental verification and network pharmacology. In terms of therapeutic effects, the antitumour effect was verified by measuring and calculating tumour volume, and the expression of proto-oncogene c-Myc was verified by PCR. In terms of the mechanism, potential therapeutic targets were identified by overlapping the SGHZF-related and TNBC-related targets. After comprehensively analysing the results of the protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology (GO) function, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, Akt and HIF-1α were selected for verification by using immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. The results of the study indicated that SGHZF can inhibit breast tumour growth in mice and that the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of Akt and HIF-1α expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boron-doped type-Ib gem diamond crystals were synthesized successfully by adding amorphous boron into a system of graphite and Kovar catalyst under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). The effect of additive boron on type-Ib gem diamond was extensively studied including the growth characteristic, morphology and nitrogen concentration. The synthesized boron- doped type-Ib gem diamond crystals were characterized by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and infrared spectrometer (IR). The results show that the growth region of the {111} face becomes wide, whereas the growth region of the {100} face becomes narrow and nearly disappears as increasing additive boron in the sample. The crystal will be opaque and imperfect, and the concentration of nitrogen will be decreased when the boron atoms are incorporated into gem diamond lattice. These techniques are very important and will be widely applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Diamonds with B-NiS co-doped were synthesized under HPHT from FeNi-C system. • NiS or B-NiS doping makes the V-shaped region of diamond shift to upper right. • When B-NiS is co-doped, boron makes progressively C S and C N in the diamond more. Large single diamonds were successfully synthesized from NiS or B-NiS co-doping FeNi-C system under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) in this paper. In this study, the effects of different additive amounts of NiS doping alone or B-NiS co-doping on the crystal shape, color and quality of diamond were investigated. The color of NiS doped diamonds change from bright yellow to bright green and then to grayish yellow. The color of B-NiS co-doped diamonds change from yellowish green to grayish green and black. Besides, the shape of doped crystals gradually changes from plate to tower. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra shows that with the increase of additive NiS content, the entry of nitrogen is suppressed to some extent by the entry of S into the diamond lattice, while with B-NiS co-doping, the content of nitrogen impurities increase with the increase of B content. It can be found from the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results that the obtained diamonds contain B/S/N elements, with S present in the diamond lattice in the form of C–S–O. Raman measurements show that with increasing B content, the peak positions of co-doped diamonds are shifted and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) become slightly larger, but still have a high quality sp3 structure. This study not only contributes to the investigation of the formation mechanism of natural diamond, but also has important implications for the enrichment of diamond species and the expansion of synthetic diamond applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of nitrogen impurities on diamond is an issue that deserves continuous attention, and annealing is an important method to change the state of nitrogen in diamond. In this paper, C 3 H 6 N 6 doped diamonds with high nitrogen content were synthesized then annealed at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). After HPHT annealing, the transparency of high nitrogen diamond improved, and the pyramidal defects on the surface of nitrogen-containing diamond disappear or are destroyed. The infrared spectra show annealing causes a change in the state of aggregation of some of the nitrogen in high-nitrogen diamonds from C center to A center. Raman spectra show that the higher the nitrogen content is, the more the characteristic peaks shift is and the wider the FWHM (full width at half maxima) of diamond is. Annealing has a little effect on the position and FWHM of Raman peaks. PL spectra show that proper nitrogen concentration is conducive to increase the concentration of NV− in diamond. In addition, we found that un-doped diamond crystals synthesized by the high temperature and high pressure method had a high NV− colour center concentration after annealing. The results are helpful to further understand the defects related to nitrogen impurities in diamond. • HPHT annealing can make impurities in diamond more evenly dispersed and improve the transparency of diamond. • Annealing can change the state of nitrogen in diamond from dispersed C center to aggregated A center. • Annealing has a little effect on the position and FWHM of Raman peaks. • Proper nitrogen concentration is conducive to increase the concentration of NV− in diamond. • The undoped diamond synthesized by HPHT method had a high NV− colour center concentration after annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focal plane size of modern CCD/CMOS camera is getting bigger and bigger, that is to say, more and more pixels have been integrated on the focal plane array. Under this advance in technology, people can take a picture with higher resolution and higher dynamic range. The image contains much more information of the real world. A serious problem of dealing with such kind of image is that, although the image has high dynamic range, people cannot display all the information of it. Certain technologies have been applied on modern cameras to solve this problem, but they still have some defects. In this paper, we raised a novel high dynamic range image enhancement algorithm. This algorithm use the guided image filter to separate the image and deal with the detail layer as well as the base layer. The high frequency information needs to be enhanced to highlight the detail of the image on the detail layer. Meanwhile, the base layer controls the gray scale contrast which also needs to be processed with certain strategy. The color saturation can be controlled by both two layers. The raw high dynamic range image can be enhanced both through the detail layer and the base layer to improve its digital detail, gray scale rearranging and the color contrast. Detailed analysis of the procedure and figure demonstration have been illustrated in the paper to show the ability of this algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 submicrocubes were synthesized using a modified Stöber procedure. [•] Silica shells protect NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ cores from aggregating and growing up during annealing. [•] Intense green light was observed in annealed submicrocubes excited with a 980nm laser source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By using nonequilibrium Green's function method, we study the phonon transport properties in S-shaped graphene nano-junctions (GNJs). Interesting transmission phenomenon is found. The transmission spectrum of low frequency phonon shows forbidden frequency band, by changing the width W 2 of the S-shaped GNJs. These low frequency forbidden bands are sensitive to their periodic geometric shape of GNJs. These thermal transport phenomena can be explained by analyzing the phonon transmission coefficient. This paper illustrates the thermal transport mechanisms in the different S-shaped GNJs, and the results could provide significant physical models and theoretical validity in designing the thermal devices based on the GNJs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Type lb diamonds were grown by the temperature gradient method (TGM) at 5.5 GPa and 1500-1560 K in a china-type cubic anvil high pressure apparatus using Ni70Mn25Co5 alloy as solvent/catalyst. The concentration of nitrogen (CN) in type lb diamonds synthesized at different synthesis temperatures was measured by a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The dependence of CN in diamond on synthesis temperature was studied. For the type lb diamonds synthesized using Ni70Mn25Co5 as catalyst, its CN decreases along with the increase of synthesis temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum alloys fabricated by spray forming (SF) technology are commonly followed by hot-working without heat treatments. A new approach that is a pretreatment before hot-working is proposed in the present work. The results show that the microstructural stability of materials processed by this new approach is improved evidently, which is related to the pinning effect on dislocations and grain boundaries by Al 3 Zr particles induced during pretreatment. The strength of SF Al alloy processed by this treatment can be enhanced significantly. Owing to the combined effect of grain refinement strengthening, dislocation strengthening and precipitation strengthening, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength can be enhanced by 171 MPa and 143 MPa, respectively. Based on experimental characterizations and a physical-based model, the underlying mechanisms regarding on enhancement of mechanical properties is mainly related to the induced Al 3 Zr particles and the optimized precipitates by the pretreatment. [Display omitted] • A new two-step pretreatment was proposed for spray formed Al alloy. • Microstructural stability of Al alloy is enhanced by the new treatment. • The strength is significantly enhanced by the proposed approach. • The improved microstructural stability is related to Al 3 Zr particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to conduct risk assessment for collision-free decision making of intelligent vehicles in a complex road traffic environment, it is essential to conduct stable tracking and state estimation of multiple vehicle targets. Therefore, this paper proposes a multitarget tracking method in line with the priority data association rule. Firstly, a standard coordinate turn process model is deduced as the existence of translation and rotation of the vehicle on the two-dimensional ground plane. Secondly, an unscented Kalman filter algorithm is developed due to the nonlinear radar measurement model. Thirdly, a priority data association rule, which puts the targets in a priority queue according to the number of times they are associated, is designed to filter out noise, given that it is unlikely for a vehicle target as an inertial system to appear or disappear instantly in practice. In addition, the data association rule specifies that the closer the target is to the front of the queue, the more prioritized the association with the newly observed target would be. Finally, the track management algorithm is constructed. On this basis, a series of real vehicle tests were conducted on real roads with four typical scenarios. According to the test results, the proposed algorithm is effective in filtering out noise and is suboptimal as the nearest neighbor data association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The segregation behavior of S(Al 2 CuMg) precipitates at T(Al 20 Cu 2 Mn 3)/Al interfaces during aging process in an Al-Cu-Mg alloy was investigated. It was found that the main alloying elements of Cu and Mg are uniform around T phases after solution treatment. The elemental segregation was not found at T/Al interfaces. During artificial aging, the S precipitates were favorable to nucleate at T/Al interfaces with the specific orientation relationships between T phase and Al matrix. Owing to the S precipitation preferential at T/Al interfaces, Cu/Mg lean zones are formed approaching the segregated S layers, leading to the formation of "multishell structure" surrounding T phases. The segregated S precipitates at T/Al interfaces were hardly coarsening even undergoing over aging due to the required Cu and Mg element depleted in the surrounding matrix by S precipitation. As a result, the growth of S aggregates is more difficult in comparison with the S phases normally precipitated from the Al matrix. Based on the "multishell structure" surrounding T phases, the effects of the S and elemental segregation on the localized corrosion behavior around T phases were revealed by STEM characterizations, and the localized corrosion mechanisms were elucidated finally. • The S precipitates preferentially nucleated at Al/T(Al 20 Cu 2 Mn 3) interfaces. • "Multishell structure" were formed including Cu/Mg lean zones and segregated S phases. • Effects of S(Al 2 CuMg) segregation on localized corrosion were directly observed. • In Al-S-T system, S segregation at Al/T interfaces accelerated pitting corrosion around T phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]