Search

For ground-penetrating radar (GPR) detection, multiphase heterogeneous pavement models were built and on-site detections were conducted. The statistic distribution rules of relative permittivity in pavement materials including asphalt mixture and cement-stabilized macadam were determined, and the heterogeneous error correction method of the layer thickness and distress buried depth were studied. The heterogeneous interferences in the A-scan curve before and after interlayer reflection wave filtering were quantified. The relationship between the crack width and homogeneous reflection wave was proposed, and the heterogeneous interference on the identification of the internal crack in the surface layer was discussed. The results show that the relative permittivity values of the surface and base layers obey Gaussian distribution obviously. Heterogeneous error formulas of the layer thickness and distress buried depth were proposed, and the concept of assurance rate was introduced in the error correction. The heterogeneous interference ratio (HIR) index was proposed to represent the heterogeneous interference in A-scan curves, and its Gaussian distribution characteristics were put forward. The heterogeneous interference increases with the wave frequency increase, and the standard deviation of HIR in the surface layer is higher than that in the base layer because of its finer gradation. The average value subtraction method filters the interlayer boundary reflection wave, which has no or minimal influence on the mean value and standard deviation of HIR, respectively. The crack interference ratio (CIR) index was proposed to quantify the heterogeneous interference on the crack reflection wave. Higher wave frequency, wider crack width, and higher water content of the crack medium are conducive to decrease the heterogeneous interference on the crack identification. The reflection waves of the millimeter-scale internal cracks have close magnitude compared with the heterogeneous interference wave, so filtering the heterogeneous interference wave is the premise to identify the millimeter-scale internal cracks in the surface layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mafic intrusions, lava flows, and felsic plutons in southwestern Laurentia have been hypothesized to be associated with the emplacement of a late Mesoproterozoic (Stenian Period) large igneous province. Improved geochronologic data resolve distinct episodes of mafic magmatism in the region. The ca. 1,098 Ma main pulse of southwestern Laurentia large igneous province (SWLLIP) magmatism is recorded by mafic intrusions across southeastern California to central Arizona. A younger episode of volcanism resulted in eruptions that formed the ca. 1,082 Ma Cardenas Basalt, which is the uppermost unit of the Unkar Group in the Grand Canyon. With the updated geochronological constraints, we develop new paleomagnetic data from mafic sills in the SWLLIP. Overlapping poles between the Death Valley sills and rocks of similar age in the Midcontinent Rift are inconsistent with large‐scale Cenozoic vertical axis rotations in Death Valley. We also develop a new paleomagnetic pole from the ca. 1,082 Ma Cardenas Basalt (pole longitude = 183.9°E, pole latitude = 15.9°N, A95 ${\mathrm{A}}_{95}$ = 7.4°, N = 18). The new paleomagnetic data are consistent with the pole path developed from time‐equivalent rocks of the Midcontinent Rift, supporting interpretations that changing pole positions are the result of rapid equatorward motion. These data add to the record of Laurentia's rapid motion from ca. 1,110 to 1,080 Ma that culminated in collisional Grenvillian orogenesis and the assembly of Rodinia. Plain Language Summary: In Earth's geological record, voluminous magmatism over brief time frames are known as large igneous provinces. One such event took place approximately 1.1 billion years ago on the ancient North American continent (known as Laurentia) resulting in the formation of thick mafic sills. Previously, these intrusions across southwestern Laurentia were believed to have been emplaced simultaneously with the extrusive Cardenas Basalt lava flows in the Grand Canyon. We now know that the emplacement of the thick mafic intrusions represent a large igneous province, which predates the eruption of the Cardenas Basalt by 16 million years. By pairing this knowledge of the age with recorded magnetic directions in the lavas and intrusions, we can enrich our knowledge of Laurentia's motion leading up to the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. These data provide a new constraint on the position of the continent 1,082 million years ago and support the interpretation of rapid plate motion over the preceding 20 million years. Key Points: Paleomagnetic directions from mafic sills in Death Valley are consistent with ca. 1,098 Ma LIP‐style magmatism in southwestern LaurentiaA paleomagnetic pole from the ca. 1,082 Ma Cardenas Basalt of the Grand Canyon corresponds with time‐equivalent Midcontinent Rift polesChanging southwestern Laurentia LIP pole positions support rapid equatorward motion of the continent recorded by the Keweenawan Track [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) can resolve transcriptional features from individual cells, but scRNA-seq techniques capable of resolving the variable regions of B cell receptors (BCRs) remain limited, especially from widely-used 3′-barcoded libraries. Here, we report a method that can recover paired, full-length variable region sequences of BCRs from 3′-barcoded scRNA-seq libraries. We first verify this method (B3E-seq) can produce accurate, full-length BCR sequences. We then apply this method to profile B cell responses elicited against the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (ST3) by glycoconjugate vaccines in five infant rhesus macaques. We identify BCR features associated with specificity for the ST3 antigen which are present in multiple vaccinated monkeys, indicating a convergent response to vaccination. These results demonstrate the utility of our method to resolve key features of the B cell repertoire and profile antigen-specific responses elicited by vaccination. A method that recovers full-length, paired heavy- and light-chain variable regions of B cell receptor transcripts from 3'barcoded scRNA-seq libraries reveals a convergent response to pneumococcus vaccination in rhesus macaques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the low redox potential (−3.040 V vs. SHE) and high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mA h g−1), lithium metal is regarded as the 'holy grail" anode for energy storage systems. However, traditional porous polypropylene (PP) separators cause inhomogeneous flux of lithium ions, leading to lithium dendrites and unstable byproducts (known as "dead lithium"). In the work, a composite coating consisting of lithium ion conductor Li1+xAlxTi2−x(PO4)3 (LATP) and polymer polyvinylidene fluoride–hexafluoropropylene (PVDF–HFP) is proposed. The conductive LATP nanoparticles regulate the lithium ion flux and induce homogeneous lithium metal deposition. The flexible PVDF–HFP/LATP coating layer reduces the energy barrier for Li deposition and enables fast kinetics at the interface. As a result, stable and high rate performance lithium metal batteries are achieved. With an areal capacity of 1 mA h cm−2, Li‖‖Li symmetric batteries cycled steadily with very low overpotentials for over 850 h at a current density of 1 mA cm−2, and at the 520th cycle, the battery with a modified separator exhibited a capacity of 156 mA h g−1 (capacity retention of 88.6%). In the rate test, the modified batteries exhibited a capacity of 145.9 mA h g−1 at a high rate of 4C, which suggests that the modified separator results in uniform and dendrite-free Li deposition and stripping as well as fast kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current manufacturing process of enterprises, there are some problems such as poor predictability and low level of intelligence, which lead to high product error rate and affect production efficiency. Therefore, this paper introduces the building information model in the field of engineering construction, and proposes a big data predictive manufacturing model based on the building information model, which divides the production process into production service system, resource planning system, production control system and after-sales service system, and realizes the overall process optimization of planning-production-sales on the basis of the close combination of each system and virtual model system. Finally, the application of error correction process in production line is verified from an empirical point of view, which provides a reference method and path for reducing production error rate and improving work efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi-static and dynamic tensile tests on aluminum-hydroxide-enhanced ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) coatings were conducted using a universal testing machine and a Split Hopkinson Tension Bar (SHTB) over a strain rate range of 10−3 to 103 s−1. This comprehensive study explored the tensile performance of enhanced EPDM coatings in solid rocket motors. The results demonstrated a significant impact of strain rate on the mechanical properties of EPDM coatings. To capture the hyperelastic and viscoelastic characteristics of EPDM coatings at large strains, the Ogden hyperelastic model was used to replace the standard elastic component to develop an enhanced Zhu–Wang–Tang (ZWT) nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model. The model parameters were fitted using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The improved constitutive model's predictions closely matched the experimental data, accurately capturing stress–strain responses and inflection points. It effectively predicts the tensile behavior of aluminum-hydroxide-enhanced EPDM coatings within a 20% strain range and a wide strain rate range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to adapt the morphology of CeO2 to different applications. A novel flaky CeO2 with nanocrystals was successfully synthesized using the ordinal precipitation method and calcination. The size of the flaky CeO2 was about 10 μm, and the nanocrystals were about 100 nm. Under the action of the precipitant NH4HCO3, Ce3+ nucleated in large quantities. The nanosized crystals gathered into flakes driven by the surface energy. As the calcination temperature increased, the grains grew slowly by mass transfer due to the slow diffusion of reactants. By adding AlOOH to the starting material, the Al3+ doped into the CeO2 increased the content of Ce3+ in the CeO2, which improved the chemical activity of the CeO2. When the starting material's Al:Ce ratio was 5:1, the Ce3+ increased to 31.11% in the CeO2, which provided good application potential in the polishing field. After polishing by the slurry of flaky CeO2 for 1 h, the SiC surface roughness reduced from 464 nm to 11 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of robot-assisted laparoscopic ureteroplasty for the repair of retrocaval ureter, a rare congenital anomaly. The study included eight patients who underwent this surgical technique, which was successfully completed without the need for open surgery. The results showed favorable outcomes, including minimal blood loss and shorter hospital stays. The use of 3D imaging during the procedure helped with accurate diagnosis and facilitated the identification and dissection of the affected area. The study acknowledges its limitations and suggests further research is needed. Overall, robot-assisted laparoscopic ureteroplasty is considered a safe and feasible technique for the repair of retrocaval ureter. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the existing literature and conduct a systematic evaluation of the clinical outcomes associated with anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) and posterior laminoplasty (LP) for the treatment of multisegment ossification of the cervical posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). We conducted an electronic search of databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI, from the inception of the initial database to March 2023. We analyzed various parameters, including demographic data, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, cervical curvature, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, and postoperative complications. Two independent reviewers screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Our evaluation encompassed 7 studies involving a total of 467 patients. The patient cohort was divided into 2 groups: Group A (ACAF) comprised 226 patients, while Group B (LP) comprised 241 patients. Overall, our statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the 2 groups (P < 0.05) in terms of intraoperative blood loss, operative time, JOA score, JOA score improvement rate, postoperative VAS score, postoperative cervical curvature, and the incidence of certain postoperative complications (C5 nerve root paralysis, dysphagia, and axial symptoms). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage and postoperative total complications between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that, in the treatment of multilevel cervical OPLL, ACAF yields superior outcomes compared to LP. Specifically, ACAF improves postoperative neurologic function, reduces postoperative pain, lowers intraoperative blood loss, improves postoperative cervical curvature, and decreases the incidence of C5 nerve root paralysis and postoperative axial symptoms. Nonetheless, ACAF is associated with longer operative times and a higher incidence of postoperative dysphagia, though the overall incidence of postoperative complications is similar. It is important to note that these conclusions should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited sample size and the variable quality of the included studies. Further research involving larger, high-quality studies is warranted to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant inherent optical properties (IOPs) for sea ice currently applied in sea ice models do not realistically represent the dividing of shortwave radiative fluxes in sea ice and the ocean below it. Here we implement a parameterization of variable IOPs based on ice microstructures in the Los Alamos sea ice model, version 6.0 (CICE6) and investigate its effects on the simulation of the dividing of shortwave radiation and sea ice in the Arctic. Our sensitivity experiments indicate that variable IOP parameterization results in strong seasonal variation for the IOP parameters, typically reaching the seasonal maximum in the boreal summer. With such large differences, variable IOP parameterization leads to increased absorbed solar radiation at the surface and in the interior of Arctic sea ice relative to constant IOPs, up to ~3 W/m2, but decreased solar radiation penetrating into the ocean, up to ~5–6 W/m2. The changes in the dividing of shortwave fluxes in sea ice and the ocean below it induced by the variable IOPs have significant influence on Arctic sea ice thickness by modulating surface and bottom melting and frazil ice formation (increasing surface melting by ~16% and reducing bottom melting by ~11% in summer). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Misalignment tolerance is an important issue for the electric vehicle wireless charging system. This letter proposes a hybrid topology of the inductor–capacitor–capacitor‐series (LCC‐S) and three‐coil structures with load‐independent output to achieve misalignment tolerance, which is suitable for anti‐offset in the door‐to‐door direction of electric vehicles. The unipolar coil is divided into two windings to form the two coils in the three‐coil structure. The bipolar coil is employed as the transmitting coil of the LCC‐S topology, realizing decoupling from the two unipolar windings of three‐coil structure. The receiving coil only consists of a unipolar coil. From the central to the boundary positions, the output power of the three‐coil structure decreases while that of the LCC‐S topology increases. In this way, the output power can be stabilized against misalignment. Compared with existing hybrid topologies with two sets of coils, the receiver side adopts only one receiving coil and one compensation, which is compact, low‐profile, and cost effective. Besides, the output voltage is independent of the load, and the system can achieve constant voltage output characteristic. The experimental results validate the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate detection of injection molding defects plays a crucial role in effective quality control of injection-molded products. This paper presents a U-Net training strategy, namely Semi-Supervised Auxiliary Learning (SSAL), that incorporates the morphological information of the inspected products into the U-Net network. Through the utilization of defect-free samples in semi-supervised auxiliary learning and the development of a well-designed training strategy, the U-Net network's ability to localize injection molding defects is significantly enhanced. The introduction of defect-free samples to expand the dataset and the utilization of pre-trained models effectively reduces the risk of overfitting and the dependency on labeled datasets. Additionally, we have created an open-source dataset of injection-molded products with flash defect. The proposed SSAL has been evaluated against PSPNet, DeepLabv3+, and several U-Net methods and demonstrated superior performance. The mIoU (mean intersection over union), Recall, and mPrecision (mean precision) scores reach the values of 89.40%, 94.95%, and 93.32% respectively. This study precisely segments pixels depicting flash defect with complex contours, providing decision support for subsequent adjustment of injection molding machine production parameters and quality control in injection-molded product production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convolutional neural network-based deep generative model (DGM) is a powerful tool for handling image datasets that opens up strategies for fast synthesis of optimum designs at unseen boundary conditions. Existing DGMs for design synthesis are typically based on O (10000) training data, which limits the engineering applications. This paper explores the feasibility of improving DGM data efficiency with O (100) training data through prior constraints. A two-stage data-efficient deep generative model (DE-DGM) is proposed which leverages the first-stage design synthesis from probabilistic proper orthogonal decomposition and the second-stage enhancement from encoder-decoder convolutional neural network. Four topology optimization cases have been adopted, including compliance minimization, heat conduction, airplane bearing bracket design, and three-dimensional machine tool column structure design. The proposed DE-DGMs could be trained with 100–200 data and synthesize the main features of the design at unseen boundary conditions. The overall computation cost of warm-start topology optimization leveraging DE-DGM predictions reduces to 36 %–58 % of the standard cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noble metal‐engineered catalysts (NMECs) play an important role in promoting the practical utilization of water‐splitting devices in hydrogen energy systems. While owing to the complicated catalytic centers, diverse support structures, and changing microenvironments, NMECs still face many challenges when it comes to designing and analyzing the precise catalytic sites and activity‐mechanism analyses, which are crucial for their future developments. Here, this cutting‐edge review systematically discusses recent advancements in designing NMECs for water electrolysis, including the structure evolution, microenvironment modulation, structure‐reactivity correlation, and new horizons. First, the fundamental advantages, mechanisms, and evaluation methods of NMECs for water splitting are outlined. Then, the strategies to modulate the catalytic microenvironments of NMECs are thoroughly summarized, such as crystal phase modulation, alloying effects, crystallization degrees, size effects, and substrate effects. In particular, there are valuable perspectives on bond interactions, theoretical calculations, and evaluation methods to disclose the catalytic mechanisms. Thereafter, a special emphasis is given on structure‐reactivity correlation, performances, and water‐splitting devices. Finally, a thorough discussion of the upcoming difficulties and new directions for developing next‐generation NMECs is presented. It is believed that the review will have a significant influence on creating noble metal‐based catalysts in the field of electrolytic water‐splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compound-specific stable carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotopic compositions of microbial fatty acids have been widely used to trace microbial metabolism across a range of mesophilic environments. However, few studies have combined the δ13C and δ2H values of microbial fatty acids. So far none have determined the δ2H of microbial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) in soils or peats, even though these stable isotope combinations could provide new insights into soil microbial metabolism. Here, we measured the δ13C and δ2H values of microbial PLFAs in top soils from peatlands, meadows, and woodlands in the Dajiuhu basin, central China. We observed a significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between the δ13C and δ2H of microbial PLFAs across the three habitats studied here, indicating that central metabolic pathways affect both carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of microbial PLFAs. Moreover, our stable isotope data consistently indicate a relatively conservative metabolic state, which is dominated by expected heterotrophic metabolism. The exception to these observations is PLFAs associated with methanotrophs, as these appear to have decoupled carbon and hydrogen isotopes, providing an additional tool for tracing methanotrophic signals. Our results suggest that the carbon and hydrogen dual isotopic composition of microbial PLFAs can not only provide cross-validation for microbial metabolism in natural environments, but as a combined tool can also provide new insights into the perturbation of soil microbial community metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraordinary chemical diversity of MAX phases raises the question of how many and which novel ones are yet to be discovered. The conventional schemes rely either on executions of well designed experiments or elaborately crafted calculations; both of which have been key tactics within the past several decades that have yielded many of important new materials we are studying and using today. However, these approaches are expensive despite the emergence of high throughput automations or evolution of high-speed computers. In this work, we have revisited the in prior proposed "light-duty" strategy, i.e. structure mapping, for describing the genomic conditions under which one MAX phase could form; that allow us to make successful formability/non-formability separation of MAX phases with a fidelity of 95.5 %. Our results suggest that the proposed coordinates, and further the developed structure maps, are able to offer a useful initial guiding principles for systematic screenings of potential MAX phases and provide untapped opportunities for their structure prediction and materials design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new two-dimensional B 6 N 6 monolayer is investigated as a type of promising material for hydrogen storage. The average binding energy between Lithium and BN monolayer will be significantly increased from 0.80 eV to 2.42 eV and the metal agglomeration is also effectively avoided by the substitution of one nitrogen atom with one carbon atom. We use Density functional computations to check the hydrogen adsorption properties and find up to ten hydrogen molecules will be adsorbed on the double side Lithium decorated BNC monolayer with the adsorption energy of per H 2 from 0.19 eV to 0.27 eV. The maximum storage gravimetric capacity of hydrogen can reach to 11.1 wt%. Meanwhile, the molecular dynamics (MD) calculations confirm that the 10H 2 @Li-decorated BNC structure is still thermodynamic stable. In addition, the simulation results of Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) further prove that the hydrogen gravimetric density (HGD) is expected to reach to 7.48 wt% at room temperature (298 K). • C-doping can avoid Li clustering and enhance hydrogen adsorption. • The binding energy of Li-decorated B 6 N 5 C 1 nanosheet can reach 2.42 eV. • The hydrogen storage capacity achieves to 11.1 wt% by DFT calculation. • Dreiding force field parameters are fitted and GCMCs is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials can reduce stress when subjected to drastic temperature changes and therefore have potential applications in fire-fighting field. However, NTE ceramics are susceptible to impact damage due to their poor mechanical properties. We have found that treatment of a ceramic with hydrofluoric acid (HF) generated floral microstructures that enhanced the ceramic's impact resistance. Specifically, pellets of a refractory NTE ceramic, Zr 2 P 2 WO 12 (ZWP) ceramics, containing various doping ratios of MgO) are fabricated and then treated with hydrofluoric acid (HF) to induce the formation of flower-like microstructures. Structural analyses show that the concentration of MgO in the ZWP pellets affects the morphology of the microstructures. The crystal orientation of ZWP appears after HF acid corrosion, and the formation of floral particles corresponded to the content of MgO. This investigation demonstrates that HF treatment can alter the microstructure of a refractory NTE ceramic and may have wide application for enhancing such ceramics' mechanical properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sphericity and fluidity of the powder play a crucial role in the forming and sintering of ceramics. High‐performance AlON spherical powder was prepared for the first time by spray drying of powder fired by solid‐phase reaction, and the preparation of AlON transparent ceramics was realized under pressureless sintering conditions. The effect of AlN dosage on the purity of AlON powder was investigated, and the powder fluidity was improved by spray drying technique. Then the best spray drying process was selected by scanning electron microscopy, AD/TD, green density, MIP and transmittance measurements. The AlON particles obtained under the optimal granulation process have good dispersibility, high green density after pressing, and uniform pore distribution. After dry pressing and sintering at 1900°C for 20 h, the AlON ceramics with linear transmissivity of 84.3% at 2 μm wavelength can be obtained. The excellent pressing and sintering properties of AlON granulated particles make it possible for large‐scale production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper proposes a multi‐loads capacitive power transfer (CPT) system based on a single relay plate for railway monitoring systems. The proposed system can supply power wirelessly to the monitoring system on the trackside and train carriages simultaneously to eliminate traditional power cables connection and prevent frequent battery replacement. Unlike the traditional multiple loads CPT systems, the proposed system uses only one relay plate, which is more stable and uncomplicated considering the coupler installation space and moving dynamically in the railway system. The proposed system adopts a CL‐LCLC‐CL compensation network to achieve a load‐independent output. The limitation of the charging load quantity is given in detail considering the coupler voltage stress distribution. An experimental prototype with three loads is also built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. Experimental results show that the proposed system achieves wireless power transfer to multiple loads simultaneously with two loads on the receiver and one on the repeater side. The load‐independent property is also achieved when two loads are removed. The maximum experimental efficiency is about 87.13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials can reduce stress when subjected to drastic temperature changes and therefore have potential applications in fire-fighting field. However, NTE ceramics are susceptible to impact damage due to their poor mechanical properties. We have found that treatment of a ceramic with hydrofluoric acid (HF) generated floral microstructures that enhanced the ceramic's impact resistance. Specifically, pellets of a refractory NTE ceramic, Zr 2 P 2 WO 12 (ZWP) ceramics, containing various doping ratios of MgO) are fabricated and then treated with hydrofluoric acid (HF) to induce the formation of flower-like microstructures. Structural analyses show that the concentration of MgO in the ZWP pellets affects the morphology of the microstructures. The crystal orientation of ZWP appears after HF acid corrosion, and the formation of floral particles corresponded to the content of MgO. This investigation demonstrates that HF treatment can alter the microstructure of a refractory NTE ceramic and may have wide application for enhancing such ceramics' mechanical properties. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the first cause of death globally. Hypertension is considered to be the most important independent risk factor for CHD. Early and accurate diagnosis of CHD in patients with hypertension can plays a significant role in reducing the risk and harm of hypertension combined with CHD. OBJECTIVE: To propose a non-invasive method for early diagnosis of coronary heart disease according to tongue image features with the help of machine learning techniques. METHODS: We collected standard tongue images and extract features by Diagnosis Analysis System (TDAS) and ResNet-50. On the basis of these tongue features, a common machine learning method is used to customize the non-invasive CHD diagnosis algorithm based on tongue image. RESULTS: Based on feature fusion, our algorithm has good performance. The results showed that the XGBoost model with fused features had the best performance with accuracy of 0.869, the AUC of 0.957, the AUPR of 0.961, the precision of 0.926, the recall of 0.806, and the F1-score of 0.862. CONCLUSION: We provide a feasible, convenient, and non-invasive method for the diagnosis and large-scale screening of CHD. Tongue image information is a possible effective marker for the diagnosis of CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the continuous improvement of people's health needs, the public's requirements for medical care are also getting higher and higher. Work engagement is a positive psychological state related to the work. It is very important to maintain nurses' work engagement, however, due to many factors, the level of nurses' work engagement is not high and nursing managers should identify the influencing factors of work engagement, and take positive measures to fully improve nurses' work engagement. Objectives: To explore the influence of compassion fatigue, professional identity and sense of coherence on nurses' work engagement. Methods: From January 2022 to June 2022, convenience sampling was used to select clinical nurses from 9 tertiary hospitals in Henan Province of China as the research objects for a questionnaire survey. Statistical methods included descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and the PROCESS Macro Model 4 and 7 in regression analysis. Results: The results showed that compassion fatigue was significantly negatively correlated with sense of coherence, professional identity and work engagement (P<0.01), professional identity was significantly positively correlated with sense of coherence and work engagement (P<0.01), and there was a significant positive correlation between sense of coherence and work engagement (P<0.01). Professional identity played a partial mediating role between compassion fatigue and work engagement, accounting for 46.40% of the total effect; meanwhile, sense of coherence moderated the effect of compassion fatigue on professional identity and formed a moderated mediation model. Conclusions: Compassion fatigue has a negative predictive effect on nurses' work engagement. Professional identity and sense of coherence further explained the relationship of compassion fatigue on compassion fatigue and work engagement through mediating and moderating effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease mainly involving the colon and rectum, which features recurrent mucosal inflammation. The excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a trigger for pathological changes such as cell apoptosis and disordered immune microenvironments, which are crucial for the progression of UC and can be a promising therapeutic target. Nowadays, the development of targeted therapeutic strategies for UC is still in its infancy. Thus, developing effective therapies based on ROS scavenging and elucidating their molecular pathways are urgently needed. Herein, a biomimetic nanoformulation (Pd@M) with cubic palladium (Pd) as the core and macrophage‐derived extracellular vesicles (MEVs) as the shell is synthesized for the treatment of UC. These Pd@M nanoformulations exhibit multienzyme‐like activities for effective ROS scavenging, excellent targeting ability as well as good biocompatibility. It is verified that Pd@M can regulate the polarization state of macrophages by inhibiting glycolysis, and decrease neutrophil infiltration and recruitment. In this way, the colonic inflammatory and immune microenvironment is remodeled, and apoptosis is prevented, ultimately improving colonic mucosal barrier function and alleviating colitis in the mouse model. This finding provides a promising alternative option for the treatment of UC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlON ceramics with high transmittance and strength are essential for transparent armor application. However, high-temperature sintering for long time would result in large grain sizes associated with low strength. In this paper, a low + high temperature two-step sintering method with ultrafine AlON powders was reported for the preparation of high-strength and high-transmittance AlON ceramics. Firstly, the high-purity AlON powders with high specific surface area of 29.77 m2/g was synthesized by solution combustion synthesis-nitridation method and subsequently ball-milling process. Thereafter a sample with 97% density and small grain size (less than 4 μm) can be obtained after sintered at 1750 °C for 3 h, in which the difference of kinetics between grain-boundary diffusion and grain-boundary migration was used to suppress the final stage of grain growth. Further increasing sintering temperature to 1850 °C resulted in the elimination of the residual porosity, and realizing transparent AlON ceramics with high optical transmission (85.4%) and high flexural strength (375.1 MPa) could be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berberine is a plant-origin quaternary isoquinoline alkaloid with a vast array of biological activities, including antioxidant and blood-glucose- and blood-lipid-lowering effects. However, its therapeutic potential is largely limited by its poor oral bioavailability. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro solubility and Caco-2 cell permeability followed by pharmacokinetic profiling in healthy volunteers of a new food-grade berberine delivery system (i.e., Berberine LipoMicel®). X-ray diffractometry (XRD), in vitro solubility, and Caco-2 cell permeability indicated higher bioavailability of LipoMicel Berberine (LMB) compared to the standard formulation. Increased aqueous solubility (up to 1.4-fold), as well as improved Caco-2 cell permeability of LMB (7.18 × 10−5 ± 7.89 × 10−6 cm/s), were observed when compared to standard/unformulated berberine (4.93 × 10−6 ± 4.28 × 10−7 cm/s). Demonstrating better uptake, LMB achieved significant increases in AUC0–24 and Cmax compared to the standard formulation (AUC: 78.2 ± 14.4 ng h/mL vs. 13.4 ± 1.97 ng h/mL, respectively; p < 0.05; Cmax: 15.8 ± 2.6 ng/mL vs. 1.67 ± 0.41 ng/mL) in a pilot study of healthy volunteers (n = 10). No adverse reactions were reported during the study period. In conclusion, LMB presents a highly bioavailable formula with superior absorption (up to six-fold) compared to standard berberine formulation and may, therefore, have the potential to improve the therapeutic efficacy of berberine. The study has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with Identifier NCT05370261. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we introduce Trackplot, a Python package for generating publication-quality visualization by a programmable and interactive web-based approach. Compared to the existing versions of programs generating sashimi plots, Trackplot offers a versatile platform for visually interpreting genomic data from a wide variety of sources, including gene annotation with functional domain mapping, isoform expression, isoform structures identified by scRNA-seq and long-read sequencing, as well as chromatin accessibility and architecture without any preprocessing, and also offers a broad degree of flexibility for formats of output files that satisfy the requirements of major journals. The Trackplot package is an open-source software which is freely available on Bioconda (https://anaconda.org/bioconda/trackplot), Docker (https://hub.docker.com/r/ygidtu/trackplot), PyPI (https://pypi.org/project/trackplot/) and GitHub (https://github.com/ygidtu/trackplot), and a built-in web server for local deployment is also provided. Author summary: Simultaneously visualizing how isoform expression, protein-DNA/RNA interactions, accessibility, and architecture of chromatin differs across conditions and cell types could inform our understanding on regulatory mechanisms and functional consequences of alternative splicing. However, the existing versions of tools generating sashimi plots remain inflexible, complicated, and user-unfriendly for integrating data sources from multiple bioinformatic formats or various genomics assays. Thus, a more scalable visualization tool is necessary to broaden the scope of sashimi plots. To overcome these limitations, we present Trackplot, a comprehensive tool that delivers high-quality plots via a programmable and interactive web-based platform. Trackplot seamlessly integrates diverse data sources and utilizes a multi-threaded process, enabling users to explore genomic signal in large-scale sequencing datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the blood concentrations of quercetin in healthy participants after the administration of different formulations in single- and multiple-dose phases. Ten healthy adults (males, 5; females, 5; age 37 ± 11 years) participated in a diet-controlled, crossover pilot study. Participants received three different doses (250 mg, 500 mg, or 1000 mg) of quercetin aglycone orally. In the single-dose study, blood concentrations (AUC0–24 and Cmax) of standard quercetin were compared with those of LipoMicel®—a food-grade delivery form of quercetin. In the multiple-dose study, blood concentrations of formulated quercetin were observed over 72 h, after repeated doses of LipoMicel (LM) treatments. The AUC0–24 ranged from 77.3 to 1128.9 ng·h/ml: LM significantly increased blood concentrations of quercetin by 7-fold (LM 500) compared to standard quercetin, when tested at the same dose, over 24 h (p < 0.001); LM administered at a higher dose (LM 1000) achieved 15-fold higher absorption (p < 0.001); LM tested at half a dose of standard quercetin increased concentration by approx. 3-fold (LM 250). Quercetin blood concentrations were attained over 72 h. The major metabolites measured in the blood were methylated, sulfate, and glutathione (GSH) conjugates of quercetin. Significant differences in concentrations between quercetin conjugates (sulfate vs. methyl vs. GSH) were observed (p < 0.001). Data obtained from this study suggest that supplementation with LipoMicel® is a promising strategy to increase the absorption of quercetin and its health-promoting effects in humans. However, due to the low sample size in this pilot study, further research is still warranted to confirm the observations in larger populations. This trial is registered with NCT05611827. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important computer vision technique, image segmentation has been widely used in various tasks. However, in some extreme cases, the insufficient illumination would result in a great impact on the performance of the model. So more and more fully supervised methods use multi-modal images as their input. The dense annotated large datasets are difficult to obtain, but the few-shot methods still can have satisfactory results with few pixel-annotated samples. Therefore, we propose the Visible-Depth-Thermal (three-modal) images few-shot semantic segmentation method. It utilizes the homogeneous information of three-modal images and the complementary information of different modal images, which can improve the performance of few-shot segmentation tasks. We constructed a novel indoor dataset VDT-2048-5i for the three-modal images few-shot semantic segmentation task. We also proposed a Self-Enhanced Mixed Attention Network (SEMANet), which consists of a Self-Enhanced module (SE) and a Mixed Attention module (MA). The SE module amplifies the difference between the different kinds of features and strengthens the weak connection for the foreground features. The MA module fuses the three-modal feature to obtain a better feature. Compared with the most advanced methods before, our model improves mIoU by 3.8% and 3.3% in 1-shot and 5-shot settings, respectively, which achieves state-of-the-art performance. In the future, we will solve failure cases by obtaining more discriminative and robust feature representations, and explore achieving high performance with fewer parameters and computational costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isolation and quantitative characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are of great importance in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. However, isolating and detecting CTCs in whole blood presents a significant challenge due to the low numbers of CTCs (often ranging from one to five) in samples containing billions of erythrocytes. Recently, point-of-care devices that use antibody trapping coupled with remote immunofluorescence analyses have been described to identify the number and type of CTCs in blood. In this study, we propose a novel method for trapping and quantifying CTCs using Sepharose 6B beads of 45–160 μm size that are engineered with capture antibodies. Specifically, we employed CD44 antibody conjugates (bearing a maleimide group) that are specific to the CTCs of breast cancer to thiol-Sepharose beads 6B. These beads, when mixed with MDAMB231 and Jurkat cells and filtered through a 40 μm filter, can capture ~80% of MDAMB231 cells. Furthermore, the antibody-modified Sepharose 6B can be stored at four degrees Celsius for a period exceeding six months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the expression of specific genes, breast cancer is classified into four molecular types: Luminal A, Luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-positive, and triple negative. By summarizing and analyzing the studies published in the past decade, including the correlation between molecular types of breast cancer and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) patterns, as well as the connection between the TCM constitution and clinical characteristics of different molecular types of breast cancer, this study reveals that there are differences in TCM patterns between different types of breast cancer. Notably, the pattern of liver depression and qi stagnation and the pattern of thoroughfare-controlling vessel disharmony are common contributors to the development of Luminal A and B breast cancer. In patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer, the main pathogenic mechanism is that wind, an exterior pathogen in Chinese medicine, complicated with phlegm and static blood, flows through the channels. In patients with triple-negative breast cancer, toxin, phlegm, and static blood are cemented in the channels. Therefore, in TCM-based diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, it is necessary to make targeted changes according to the pathogenesis characteristics of different molecular types based on the core treatment principle of soothing the liver and invigorating the spleen, paying attention to the balance of qi, blood, and yin and yang and achieving accurate TCM differentiation and treatment with the integration of disease differentiation, molecular typing, and pattern differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal pollutant that still exists in the environment. The microRNA (miRNA) is a type of noncoding RNA that plays an important role in gene posttranscriptional regulation and disease development. Although the toxic effects of Cd have been extensively studied, studies on the mechanism of Cd from the perspective of miRNA are still limited. So, we established a Cd‐exposure pig model, which confirmed that Cd exposure would cause pig artery damage. The miR‐210 with the most reduced expression and the nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) that had a targeting relationship with miR‐210 were screened. The effect of miR‐210/NF‐κB on the artery damage induced by Cd exposure was investigated by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, reactive oxygen species (ROS) staining, quantitative PCR, and western blotting. The results showed that miR‐210 inhibitor, pcDNA‐NF‐κB could induce ROS overproduction in pig hip artery endothelial cells, thus inducing Th1/Th2 imbalance and necroptosis, leading to increased inflammation, while small interfering RNA‐NF‐κB played a mitigating role. In conclusion, Cd can induce artery necroptosis and Th1/Th2 imbalance by regulating the miR‐210/NF‐κB axis, so as to lead to artery inflammatory damage. In this study, we explored the way in which Cd exposure causes artery damage in pig, providing a new perspective on the regulatory damage of miR‐210/NF‐κB axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is caused primarily by mutations in PKHD1, encoding fibrocystin (FPC), but Pkhd1 mutant mice failed to reproduce the human phenotype. In contrast, the renal lesion in congenital polycystic kidney (cpk) mice, with a mutation in Cys1 and cystin protein loss, closely phenocopies ARPKD. Although the nonhomologous mutation diminished the translational relevance of the cpk model, recent identification of patients with CYS1 mutations and ARPKD prompted the investigations described herein. We examined cystin and FPC expression in mouse models (cpk, rescued‐cpk (r‐cpk), Pkhd1 mutants) and mouse cortical collecting duct (CCD) cell lines (wild type (wt), cpk). We found that cystin deficiency caused FPC loss in both cpk kidneys and CCD cells. FPC levels increased in r‐cpk kidneys and siRNA of Cys1 in wt cells reduced FPC. However, FPC deficiency in Pkhd1 mutants did not affect cystin levels. Cystin deficiency and associated FPC loss impacted the architecture of the primary cilium, but not ciliogenesis. No reduction in Pkhd1 mRNA levels in cpk kidneys and CCD cells suggested posttranslational FPC loss. Studies of cellular protein degradation systems suggested selective autophagy as a mechanism. In support of the previously described function of FPC in E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes, we demonstrated reduced polyubiquitination and elevated levels of functional epithelial sodium channel in cpk cells. Therefore, our studies expand the function of cystin in mice to include inhibition of Myc expression via interaction with necdin and maintenance of FPC as functional component of the NEDD4 E3 ligase complexes. Loss of FPC from E3 ligases may alter the cellular proteome, contributing to cystogenesis through multiple, yet to be defined, mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Develop a generic framework for maintenance scheduling of multi-component systems with environment modeling, state representation and policy optimization. • Propose Guided-Probabilistic Reinforcement Learning for sampling-efficient maintenance scheduling by incorporating domain expert knowledge. • Develop Bayesian formulations to address data sparsity for environmental reward modeling, performance degradation, and exploration of action spaces. In recent years, multi-agent deep reinforcement learning has progressed rapidly as reflected by its increasing adoptions in industrial applications. This paper proposes a Guided Probabilistic Reinforcement Learning (Guided-PRL) model to tackle maintenance scheduling of multi-component systems in the presence of uncertainty with the goal of minimizing the overall life-cycle cost. The proposed Guided-PRL is deeply rooted in the Actor-Critic (AC) scheme. Since traditional AC falls short in sampling efficiency and suffers from getting stuck in local minima in the context of multi-agent reinforcement learning, it is thus challenging for the actor network to converge to a solution of desirable quality even when the critic network is properly configured. To address these issues, we develop a generic framework to facilitate effective training of the actor network, and the framework consists of environmental reward modeling, degradation formulation, state representation, and policy optimization. The convergence speed of the actor network is significantly improved with a guided sampling scheme for environment exploration by exploiting rules-based domain expert policies. To handle data scarcity, the environmental modeling and policy optimization are approximated with Bayesian models for effective uncertainty quantification. The Guided-PRL model is evaluated using the simulations of a 12-component system as well as GE90 and CFM56 engines. Compared with four alternative deep reinforcement learning schemes, the Guided-PRL lowers life-cycle cost by 34.92 % to 88.07 %. In comparison with rules-based expert policies, the Guided-PRL decreases the life-cycle cost by 23.26 % to 51.36 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic low back pain can lead to individual suffering, high medical expenditures, and impaired social well-being. Although the role of physical activity in pain management is well established, the underlying mechanisms of biological and clinical outcomes are unknown. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a pain self-management intervention, Problem-Solving Pain to Enhance Living Well, which employs wearable activity tracking technology and nurse consultations for people with chronic low back pain. Methods: This one-arm longitudinal study recruited 40 adults aged 18–60 years with chronic low back pain. Over 12 weeks, participants watched 10 short video modules, wore activity trackers, and participated in nurse consultations every 2 weeks. At baseline and the 12-week follow-up, they completed study questionnaires, quantitative sensory testing, and blood sample collection. Results: Forty participants were recruited, and their mean age was 29.8. Thirty-two participants completed the survey questionnaire, quantitative sensory testing, Fitbit activity tracker, and bi-weekly nurse consultation, and 25 completed the evaluation of biological markers. The overall satisfaction with the Problem-Solving Pain to Enhance Living Well video modules, nurse consultations, and Fitbit in pain management was rated as excellent. No adverse events were reported. Between the baseline and 12-week follow-up, there was a significant decrease in pain intensity and interference and an increase in the warm detection threshold at the pain site. Conclusions: Despite concerns about the participant burden due to multidimensional assessment and intensive education, the feasibility of the Problem-Solving Pain to Enhance Living Well intervention was favorable. Technology-based self-management interventions can offer personalized strategies by integrating pain phenotypes, genetic markers, and physical activity types affecting pain conditions. Trial registration: This pilot study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov [NCT03637998, August 20, 2018]. The first participant was enrolled on September 21, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of the axial gap on the mechanical response of a cartridge-loaded propellant grain under vibration loads is investigated. The wide strain rate range of uniaxial compression tests (1.7 × 10 − 3 ~ 4 × 10 3 s − 1 ) on the composite modified double base (CMDB) propellant was carried out by using a universal testing machine, a hydraulic testing machine, and a split Hopkinson pressure bar system, respectively. A linear viscoelastic constitutive model of the CMDB propellant was developed by using the experimental measurements. The results show the studied CMDB propellant has a strong strain rate dependence, exhibiting an initial linear elasticity followed by a strain hardening region. The dynamic process of collision between the propellant grain and the motor case in the axial direction induced by vibration loads was simulated with the developed constitutive model by using the finite element method. The effects of the gap size between the propellant grain and the case and the vibration frequency on the mechanical response of the grain were studied. This shows that with a constant vibration frequency, the stress of the grain increases first and then decreases with increasing gap size. Moreover, the stress increases with increasing vibration loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With unique physiochemical environments in subcellular organelles, there has been growing interest in harnessing yeast organelles for bioproduct synthesis. Among these organelles, the yeast mitochondrion has been found to be an attractive compartment for production of terpenoids and branched-chain alcohols, which could be credited to the abundant supply of acetyl-CoA, ATP and cofactors. In this study we explored the mitochondrial potential for production of 3-hydroxypropionate (3-HP) and performed the cofactor engineering and flux control at the acetyl-CoA node to maximize 3-HP synthesis. Results: Metabolic modeling suggested that the mitochondrion serves as a more suitable compartment for 3-HP synthesis via the malonyl-CoA pathway than the cytosol, due to the opportunity to obtain a higher maximum yield and a lower oxygen consumption. With the malonyl-CoA reductase (MCR) targeted into the mitochondria, the 3-HP production increased to 0.27 g/L compared with 0.09 g/L with MCR expressed in the cytosol. With enhanced expression of dissected MCR enzymes, the titer reached to 4.42 g/L, comparable to the highest titer achieved in the cytosol so far. Then, the mitochondrial NADPH supply was optimized by overexpressing POS5 and IDP1, which resulted in an increase in the 3-HP titer to 5.11 g/L. Furthermore, with induced expression of an ACC1 mutant in the mitochondria, the final 3-HP production reached 6.16 g/L in shake flask fermentations. The constructed strain was then evaluated in fed-batch fermentations, and produced 71.09 g/L 3-HP with a productivity of 0.71 g/L/h and a yield on glucose of 0.23 g/g. Conclusions: In this study, the yeast mitochondrion is reported as an attractive compartment for 3-HP production. The final 3-HP titer of 71.09 g/L with a productivity of 0.71 g/L/h was achieved in fed-batch fermentations, representing the highest titer reported for Saccharomyces cerevisiae so far, that demonstrated the potential of recruiting the yeast mitochondria for further development of cell factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the degradation after aging and the destruction of high-intensity exercise, the frequency of tendon injury is also increasing, which will lead to serious pain and disability. Due to the structural specificity of the tendon tissue, the traditional treatment of tendon injury repair has certain limitations. Biodegradable polymer electrospinning technology with good biocompatibility and degradability can effectively repair tendons, and its mechanical properties can be achieved by adjusting the fiber diameter and fiber spacing. Here, this review first briefly introduces the structure and function of the tendon and the repair process after injury. Then, different kinds of biodegradable natural polymers for tendon repair are summarized. Then, the advantages and disadvantages of three-dimensional (3D) electrospun products in tendon repair and regeneration are summarized, as well as the optimization of electrospun fiber scaffolds with different bioactive materials and the latest application in tendon regeneration engineering. Bioactive molecules can optimize the structure of these products and improve their repair performance. Importantly, we discuss the application of the 3D electrospinning scaffold's superior structure in different stages of tendon repair. Meanwhile, the combination of other advanced technologies has greater potential in tendon repair. Finally, the relevant patents of biodegradable electrospun scaffolds for repairing damaged tendons, as well as their clinical applications, problems in current development, and future directions are summarized. In general, the use of biodegradable electrospun fibers for tendon repair is a promising and exciting research field, but further research is needed to fully understand its potential and optimize its application in tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the common methods and corresponding drawbacks concerning nonlinear analysis of fluxgate excitation circuits and emphasizes the importance of nonlinear analysis for these circuits. With regard to the nonlinearity of the excitation circuit, this paper proposes the use of the core-measured hysteresis curve for mathematical analysis and the use of a nonlinear model that considers the coupling effect of the core and winding and influence of the historical magnetic field on the core for simulation analysis. The feasibility of mathematical calculations and simulation for the nonlinear study of fluxgate excitation circuit is verified via experiments. The results demonstrate that, in this regard, the simulation is four times better than a mathematical calculation. The simulation and experimental results of the excitation current and voltage waveforms under different excitation circuit parameters and structures are essentially consistent, with a difference in current of no more than 1 mA, thereby verifying the effectiveness of the nonlinear excitation analysis method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by equivalently reformulating the absolute value equation (AVE) into an alternative two-by-two block nonlinear equation, we put forward an alternative SOR-like (ASOR-like) iteration method to solve the AVE. The convergence of the ASOR-like iteration method is established, subjecting to specific restrictions placed on the associated parameter. The selection of the optimal iteration parameter is investigated theoretically. Numerical experiments are given to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the ASOR-like iteration method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective active remote sensing technology for the exploration of shallow underground targets, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a detection method that can be used to obtain information about the characteristics of underground targets by transmitting an electromagnetic wave from an antenna and analyzing the propagation of the electromagnetic wave underground. Due to the frequency (1 MHz–3 GHz) of GPRs, the depth of geological exploration is shallow (0.1–30 m). In order to penetrate the deeper Earth, it is necessary to increase the size of the antenna in accordance with the wavelength ratio and, thus, reduce the radiation frequency. For most bi-static antenna GPRs, a dipole antenna is used as the transmitting antenna and another antenna device is used as a receiving antenna, with both being horizontally linearly polarized (LP) antennas. In some cases, such a design can cause problems, such as the multi-path effect and polarization mismatching. When a GPR is used for deep exploration, increased numbers of errors and greater signal attenuation during data reception and processing often occur. In contrast, at the radiation source, with the use of large-aperture multiple-dipole antennas and multi-channel sequential rotational excitation, the electromagnetic wave can radiate in the form of circular polarization at a low frequency. In the receiving antenna, the issues caused by the multi-path effect and polarization mismatching can be addressed, even if LP antennas are used. A novel sequential rotationally excited (SRE) circularly polarized (CP) multiple-dipole array for a bi-static antenna GPR for deep exploration is proposed in this paper. A large-aperture CP multiple-dipole array is used instead of a small-size LP dipole antenna. The analysis and simulation results demonstrated that, comparing circular polarization and linear polarization with the premise of the same transmitting power, the SRE CP multiple-dipole antenna array radiation source achieved a significant enhancement (about 7 dB) in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the radiant energy was collected at the receiving antenna. More importantly, by reducing the exploration frequency to 10 KHz, the exploration depth could also be greatly increased by about tenfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invertible neural network (INN) is a promising tool for inverse design optimization. While generating forward predictions from given inputs to the system response, INN enables the inverse process without much extra cost. The inverse process of INN predicts the possible input parameters for the specified system response qualitatively. For the purpose of design space exploration and reasoning for critical engineering systems, accurate predictions from the inverse process are required. Moreover, INN predictions lack effective uncertainty quantification for regression tasks, which increases the challenges of decision making. This paper proposes the probabilistic invertible neural network (P-INN): the epistemic uncertainty and aleatoric uncertainty are integrated with INN. A new loss function is formulated to guide the training process with enhancement in the inverse process accuracy. Numerical evaluations have shown that the proposed P-INN has noticeable improvement on the inverse process accuracy and the prediction uncertainty is reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is recently discovered programmed cell death, induced by cellular ferrous ion bursts and subsequent Fenton reactions. The iron source in tumor cells is limited due to tightly controlled iron metabolism. Since hierarchical iron architecture is rarely considered in ferroptosis cancer treatment, multilayer Fe2O3 architectures (UF@PPDF NPs) are developed by modulating ultra‐small γ‐Fe2O3 nanocrystal assemblies, and further conjugating cancer cell targeting folic acid (FA), chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (Dox). Hierarchically assembled γ‐Fe2O3 nanocrystal facilitates switchable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), much enhanced ferroptosis efficiency, and very high second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) photothermal conversion. For MRI, UF@PPDF nanoparticles (NPs) enables clearly visualized tissues in terms of size and compactness, with dynamic T2‐T1 imaging switching. UF@PPDF NPs exhibits highly efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) upon NIR‐II irradiation, together with controlled release of ferric ions and Dox, thus achieving PTT‐chemotherapy‐ferroptosis trifunctional synergistic cancer therapy for tumor ablation. RNA sequencing analyses of differentially expressed genes implies a multifaceted role for this therapy in cancer cell signaling. Cellular respiration and electron transport are significantly upregulated, while the epigenetic pathways, including chromatin modification and RNA transcription activity are severely downregulated, with an overall effect of cellular apoptosis. Thus, γ‐Fe2O3 architectures provide new possibility for highly efficient deep tumor treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNAzyme is a class of DNA molecules that can perform catalytic functions with high selectivity towards specific metal ions. Due to its potential applications for biosensors and medical therapeutics, DNAzyme has been extensively studied to characterize the relationships between its biochemical properties and functions. Similar to protein enzymes and ribozymes, DNAzymes have been found to undergo conformational changes in a metal–ion–dependent manner for catalysis. Despite the important role the conformation plays in the catalysis process, such structural and dynamic information might not be revealed by conventional approaches. Here, by using the single–molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) technique, we were able to investigate the detailed conformational dynamics of a uranyl–specific DNAzyme 39E. We observed conformation switches of 39E to a folded state with the addition of Mg2+ and to an extended state with the addition of UO22+. Furthermore, 39E can switch to a more compact configuration with or without divalent metal ions. Our findings reveal that 39E can undergo conformational changes spontaneously between different configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, text-based medical data, such as electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medical records (EMR), are growing rapidly. EHR and EMR are collected from patients to record their basic information, lab tests, vital signs, clinical notes, and reports. EHR and EMR contain the helpful information to assist oncologists in computer-aided diagnosis and decision making. However, it is time consuming for doctors to extract the valuable information they need and analyze the information from the EHR and EMR data. Recently, more and more research works have applied natural language processing (NLP) techniques, i.e., rule-based, machine learning-based, and deep learning-based techniques, on the EHR and EMR data for computer-aided diagnosis in oncology. The objective of this review is to narratively review the recent progress in the area of NLP applications for computer-aided diagnosis in oncology. Moreover, we intend to reduce the research gap between artificial intelligence (AI) experts and clinical specialists to design better NLP applications. We originally identified 295 articles from the three electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and ACL Anthology; then, we removed the duplicated papers and manually screened the irrelevant papers based on the content of the abstract; finally, we included a total of 23 articles after the screening process of the literature review. Furthermore, we provided an in-depth analysis and categorized these studies into seven cancer types: breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and brain tumors. Additionally, we identified the current limitations of NLP applications on supporting the clinical practices and we suggest some promising future research directions in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV) charging are two charging stages for li-ion batteries in an electric vehicle wireless charging system. Based on the three-coil structure, this letter proposes a novel reconfigurable topology to achieve CC and CV charging. The transmitting coil is split into two windings with one winding having a turn number much smaller than the other. The two windings are fully compensated and connected to the corresponding inverter phase. The system can be reconfigured to perform as the two-coil structure with a CC output or as the three-coil structure with CV output. Unlike existing methods, the working frequency is fixed and only one relay is utilized to achieve the shift of CC and CV charging, which has the advantages of simpleness and low cost. An experimental prototype with 94.4% maximum efficiency is implemented to validate the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) have attracted much attention due to their suitable band gap and excellent photocatalytic activity.Although BiOF cannot respond to visible light due to its ultra‐high band gap (3.6 eV), its strong oxidizing property is attractive to researchers.Therefore, in this study, we employed first‐principles studies to design mediator‐free CdS/BiOF and g‐C3N4/BiOF heterostructured photocatalysts. Then, the band structures, optical properties, charge transfer and radical generation reactions of the CdS/BiOF and g‐C3N4/BiOF heterostructures were calculated, respectively.The results show that the heterostructure exhibits hydrogen evolution and reactive radical generation potential under visible light irradiation. In addition, an interfacial electric field is generated during the interfacial charge transfer process of the heterostructure, and the generated interfacial electric field improves the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. This improvement is attributed to CdS (or g‐C3N4) acting as an electron acceptor, enabling the migration of photogenerated carriers at the interface to conform to the direct z‐scheme. Furthermore, we designed a method for catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde on the surface of heterostructures by exploiting the strong oxidizing properties of BiOF, which broadened the applicable scope of CdS/BiOF and g‐C3N4/BiOF heterostructures. This work facilitates the design of novel Z‐scheme photocatalysts and provides new insights into the Z‐scheme charge transfer mechanism in the field of solar energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heat stress has a substantial negative economic impact on the dairy industry. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common internal RNA modification in eukaryotes and plays a key role in regulating heat stress response in animals. In dairy cows, however, this modification remains largely unexplored. Therefore, we examined the effects of heat stress on the m6A modification and gene expression in bovine mammary epithelial cells to elucidate the mechanism of heat stress response. In this study, Mammary alveolar cells-large T antigen (MAC-T) cells were incubated at 37 °C (non-heat stress group, NH) and 40 °C (heat stress group, H) for 2 hours, respectively. HSP70, HSF1, BAX and CASP3 were up regulated in H group compared with those in the NH group. Results: Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were conducted to identify m6A peaks and to produce gene expression data of MAC-T cells in the H and NH groups. In total, we identified 17,927 m6A peaks within 9355 genes in the H group, and 18,974 peaks within 9660 genes in the NH groups using MeRIP-seq. Compared with the NH group, 3005 significantly differentially enriched m6A peaks were identified, among which 1131 were up-regulated and 1874 were down-regulated. In addition, 1502 significantly differentially expressed genes were identified using RNA-seq, among which 796 were up-regulated and 706 were down-regulated in the H group compared to the NH group. Furthermore, 199 differentially expressed and synchronously differentially methylated genes were identified by conjoint analysis of the MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq data, which were subsequently divided into four groups: 47 hyper-up, 53 hyper-down, 59 hypo-up and 40 hypo-down genes. In addition, GO enrichment and KEGG analyses were used to analyzed the potential functions of the genes in each section. Conclusion: The comparisons of m6A modification patterns and conjoint analyses of m6A modification and gene expression profiles suggest that m6A modification plays a critical role in the heat stress response by regulating gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of some specific targets in remote sensing images is still quite challenging despite the adequate accuracy of deep learning-based target detection models. This work proposes a variant of YOLOv3 based on the residual structure as the backbone and the attention mechanism module, which improves the ability of YOLOv3 to extract features. SGE is a lightweight module that can fully extract features from images without bringing an increase in computation. Furthermore, the dilated encoder module used in YOLOF was introduced as a neck to enrich the perceptual field of the C5 feature layer by concatenating four layers of dilated convolution with different expansion coefficients. The C5 feature layer and the residual structure were further processed to contain sufficient scale information for further detection. In terms of the mean average precision (mAP), experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the other models: YOLOv3, faster-RCNN-r50+GACL Net, and YOLOv4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p53 is a critical tumor suppressor, and the disruption of its normal function is often a prerequisite for the development or progression of tumors. Our previous works revealed that multiple members of Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain zinc-finger proteins (KZFPs) family regulate p53 transcriptional activity by interacting with it. But the tumor biology functions of these members have not been fully elucidated. Here, the pan-cancer analysis related to gastrointestinal cancers (GICs) revealed that ZNF8, a p53-interacting protein, is an unfavorable prognostic factor for patients with malignancies. ZNF8 interacts with p53 and further depresses its transcriptional activity in colon cancer cells. The knockdown of ZNF8 or the overexpression of ZNF8 inhibits or facilitates the in vitro colony formation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of p53+/+ colon cancer HCT116 cells, HepG2 cells and EC109 cells rather than p53−/− colon cancer HCT116 cells and p53-knockout HepG2 cells, respectively. Xenograft experiments conducted in vivo also showed that the knockdown of ZNF8 in p53+/+ but not in p53−/− HCT116 cells curbs the tumor growth and metastasis to lung, leading to an extended life span for tumor-bearing mice. Clinically, two independent immunohistochemistry cohorts of colon cancer and esophageal cancer also indicated that ZNF8 is higher expression in carcinoma tissues than adjacent tissues and this is associated with worse overall survival outcomes in patients without harboring p53 mutation. Together, our results provide insight into the p53-specific tumor oncogenic function of ZNF8. ZNF8 may prove to be a potential target for GICs treatment. [Display omitted] • ZNF8 is an unfavorable prognostic factor for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. • ZNF8 interacts with p53 and decreases its transcriptional activity. • ZNF8 promotes in vitro and in vivo colorectal cancer tumor growth and metastasis in a p53-dependent manner. • ZNF8 is highly expressed in CC and ESCA tissues and is an unfavorable prognostic factor for patients with non-p53 mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]