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Background: To investigate the behavior of spiking neural networks (SNNs), the sensitivity of input perturbation serves as an effective metric for assessing the influence on the network output. However, existing methods fall short in evaluating the sensitivity of SNNs featuring biologically plausible leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neurons due to the intricate neuronal dynamics during the feedforward process. Methods: This paper first defines the sensitivity of a temporal-coded spiking neuron (SN) as the deviation between the perturbed and unperturbed output under a given input perturbation with respect to overall inputs. Then, the sensitivity algorithm of an entire SNN is derived iteratively from the sensitivity of each individual neuron. Instead of using the actual firing time, the desired firing time is employed to derive a more precise analytical expression of the sensitivity. Moreover, the expectation of the membrane potential difference is utilized to quantify the magnitude of the input deviation. Results/Conclusions: The theoretical results achieved with the proposed algorithm are in reasonable agreement with the simulation results obtained with extensive input data. The sensitivity also varies monotonically with changes in other parameters, except for the number of time steps, providing valuable insights for choosing appropriate values to construct the network. Nevertheless, the sensitivity exhibits a piecewise decreasing tendency with respect to the number of time steps, with the length and starting point of each piece contingent upon the specific parameter values of the neuron. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical reduction of 2‐allyl‐substituted nitroarenes using a simple, undivided electrochemical cell with non‐precious electrodes to generate nitroarene radical anions was developed. The nitroarene radical anion intermediates participate in 1,5‐hydrogen atom transfer reactions to construct quinoline N‐oxides bearing aryl‐, heteroaryl‐, alkenyl‐, benzyl‐, sulfonyl‐, or carboxyl groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to developed a novel and practical method to quantify the involvement of lesion in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). We hypothesized that the new metric large lesion ratio (LLR) had promising prognostic value. Methods: A total of 131 hips with non-traumatic ONFH were included in this retrospective study. Patient aged 18–60 with MRI-confirmed diagnosis, and a minimum of 2-year follow-up or radiographic collapse progression during follow-up were included. Patients with prior hip surgery, incomplete data or advanced ONFH at baseline (femoral head collapse > 2 mm or osteoarthritis) were excluded. Involvement of necrotic lesion was evaluated by calculating LLR. The differences of LLR between collapse progression and non-progression groups were investigated, and the differences among different scanning parameters groups were also examined. Prognostic value of LLR was examined by multivariate regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were constructed and areas under the curve (AUC) were compared. Results: The median of LLR was 66.67% in the collapse progression group, which was significantly higher compared with 25.00% in the non-progression group (P < 0.001). Subgroups analysis showed that LLR were significantly higher in the collapse progression group of Japanese Investigation Committee type C1 (P < 0.001)and C2 (P = 0.002). Multivariate regression showed that LLR were independently correlated with collapse progression (OR, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.24–1.78]; P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed that the AUC for LLR was 0.84, outperforming the 0.74 AUC OF the JIC classification. Conclusion: LLR could served as a efficient tool to assess the risk of collapse progression and guide the selection of treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are vital in regulating gene expression through binding to specific target sites on messenger RNAs (mRNAs), a process closely tied to cancer pathogenesis. Identifying miRNA functional targets is essential but challenging, due to incomplete genome annotation and an emphasis on known miRNA-mRNA interactions, restricting predictions of unknown ones. To address those challenges, we have developed a deep learning model based on miRNA functional target identification, named miTDS, to investigate miRNA–mRNA interactions. miTDS first employs a scoring mechanism to eliminate unstable sequence pairs and then utilizes a dynamic word embedding model based on the transformer architecture, enabling a comprehensive analysis of miRNA-mRNA interaction sites by harnessing the global contextual associations of each nucleotide. On this basis, miTDS fuses extended seed alignment representations learned in the multi-scale attention mechanism module with dynamic semantic representations extracted in the RNA-based dual-path module, which can further elucidate and predict miRNA and mRNA functions and interactions. To validate the effectiveness of miTDS, we conducted a thorough comparison with state-of-the-art miRNA-mRNA functional target prediction methods. The evaluation, performed on a dataset cross-referenced with entries from MirTarbase and Diana-TarBase, revealed that miTDS surpasses current methods in accurately predicting functional targets. In addition, our model exhibited proficiency in identifying A-to-I RNA editing sites, which represents an aberrant interaction that yields valuable insights into the suppression of cancerous processes. • Utilizes Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers to explore local nucleotide dependencies. • Inception-Attention Hybrid Network processes seed alignments, capturing multi-scale features effectively. • Combines CNN and BiLSTM for integrating dynamic semantics, enhancing pattern recognition in sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of teratozoospermia based on clinical literature data mining for providing guidance methods for teratozoospermia treatment. Methods Clinical literatures on teratozoospermia treatment with traditional Chinese medicine from database establishment to December 31,2022 were retrieved and collected from the database of CNKI, Wanfang and VIP. SPSS and Excel were used for data mining to summarize the clinical medication rules of teratozoospermia. Results A total of 101 related literatures were initially retrieved, and 57 clinical literatures were ultimately obtained, including 64 prescriptions containing 145 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine. Eight syndrome elements were extracted, mainly including essence deficiency, blood stasis, damp-heat and yin deficiency. The disease mainly located in kidney, spleen and liver. Cuscuta chinensis and Lycium barbarum were the most common clinical drugs, and the main drugs were tonic drugs. The property of the drug was warm and mild, the taste of the drug was mainly sweet, and the meridian tropism was mainly in the kidney, liver and spleen. Association rule analysis showed that there were 8 pairs of combinations with high correlation strength, and the results of hierarchical cluster analysis revealed 3 categories. The network visualization of association rules indicated that the core drugs included 16 kinds such as dodder, wolfberry fruit, cornus officinalis, prepared rehmannia root, etc., and the compatibility correlation between drugs was high. Conclusion The basic pathogenesis of teratozoospermia is essence deficiency and kidney deficiency, damp-heat descending and blood stasis blocking collaterals. The main treatment is to tonify deficiency, clear heat, remove dampness and activate blood circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent monitoring approaches for long-term, real-time digitalization in structural health monitoring (SHM) are currently attracting significant interest. Among these, self-sensing cementitious composites stand out due to their easy preparation, cost-effectiveness, and excellent compatibility with concrete structures. However, the current research faces challenges, such as excessive conductive filler, difficulties in filler dispersion, and insufficient stress sensitivity and instability. This study presents a novel approach to these challenges by fabricating self-sensing cementitious sensors using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), a new type of conductive filler. The percolation threshold of AgNPs in these materials was determined to be 0.0066 wt%, marking a reduction of approximately 90% compared to traditional conductive fillers. Moreover, the absorbance test with a UV spectrophotometer showed that AgNPs were well dispersed in an aqueous solution, which is beneficial for the construction of conductive pathways. Through various cyclic loading tests, it was observed that the self-sensing cementitious sensors with AgNPs exhibited robust pressure-sensitive stability. Additionally, their stress sensitivity reached 11.736, a value significantly surpassing that of conventional fillers. Regarding the conductive mechanism, when encountering the intricate environment within the cementitious material, AgNPs can establish numerous conductive pathways, ensuring a stable response to stress due to their ample quantity. This study provides a significant contribution to addressing the existing challenges in self-sensing cementitious materials and offers a novel reference for further research in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that the decision-making and planning of large-scale highway network under the condition of limited funds, there are some problems such as complex algorithm of feasible solution of maintenance scheme and low efficiency of optimisation process, a heuristic maintenance planning optimisation algorithm based on budget is introduced. This paper focuses on the performance prediction, the determination of treatment measures and the optimisation of the optimal scheme. Firstly, through the analysis of the technical process of prediction and treatment measures, the pavement performance degradation models of pavement condition index, riding quality index and rut depth index based on treatment level are established. Then, based on the characteristics of pavement performance degradation in China, the concept of maintenance benefit based on pavement performance index is proposed, and the cost-benefit optimisation model of highway asphalt pavement is established. A budget-based heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve the optimisation model for maintenance planning with budget constraints. Finally, taking Lian-Xu highway network in a case study, the optimal scheme of treatment measures and fund allocation for the maintenance section of the large-scale highway network is realised under the condition of limited funds, so as to verify the feasibility of the optimisation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that the decision-making and planning of large-scale highway network under the condition of limited funds, there are some problems such as complex algorithm of feasible solution of maintenance scheme and low efficiency of optimisation process, a heuristic maintenance planning optimisation algorithm based on budget is introduced. This paper focuses on the performance prediction, the determination of treatment measures and the optimisation of the optimal scheme. Firstly, through the analysis of the technical process of prediction and treatment measures, the pavement performance degradation models of pavement condition index, riding quality index and rut depth index based on treatment level are established. Then, based on the characteristics of pavement performance degradation in China, the concept of maintenance benefit based on pavement performance index is proposed, and the cost-benefit optimisation model of highway asphalt pavement is established. A budget-based heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve the optimisation model for maintenance planning with budget constraints. Finally, taking Lian-Xu highway network in a case study, the optimal scheme of treatment measures and fund allocation for the maintenance section of the large-scale highway network is realised under the condition of limited funds, so as to verify the feasibility of the optimisation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effect and mechanisms of the ingredients (IRAB) of Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae (RAB) on treating osteoporosis (OP) remains debated. We aimed to summary the evidence to evaluate the efficacy of IRAB for animal model OP and elucidate the potential mechanism of IRAB in the treatment of OP. Methods: In this review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, as well as Chinese VIP databases for targeting articles published from inception to March 2023 in English or Chinese. All randomized controlled animal trials that assessed the efficacy and safety of IRAB for OP were included. We excluded trials according to exclusion criteria. The CAMARADES 10-item quality checklist was utilized to test the risk of potential bias for each including study and modifications were performed accordingly. The primary outcome measures were bone mineral density of the femoral neck (F-BMD), serum calcium (Ca), serum phosphorus (P), serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone gla protein (BGP), bone maximum stress (M-STRESS). The secondary outcome measure was the antiosteoporosis mechanisms of IRAB. Results: Data from nine articles were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, which focused on 196 animals. Egger's test revealed the presence of publication bias in various studies regarding the primary outcome. Administration of IRAB or RAB could significantly increases the F-BMD (SMD = 2.09; 95% CI = 1.29 to 2.89; P < 0.001, I2 = 76%), Ca (SMD = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.39to1.34; P = 0.07, I2 = 49%); P (SMD = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.45–4.57; P = 0.08, I2 = 50%), BGP (SMD = 2.13; 95% CI = 1.48 to 2.78; I2 = 46%, P = 0.10), while the ALP (SMD = − 0.85; 95% CI = − 1.38 to − 0.31; I2 = 46%, P = 0.10) was remarkably decreased in OP model animals. Moreover, the bone biomechanical indicator M-STRESS (SMD = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.74–3.04; I2 = 32%, P = 0.21) was significantly improved. Conclusion: Collectively, the findings suggest that the RAB or IRAB could be an effective drug or an ingredient in diet for the clinical treatment of OP in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an invasive alien species, Asian giant hornets are spreading rapidly and widely in Washington State and have caused significant disturbance to the daily life of residents. Therefore, this paper studies the hornets' spread and classification models based on the GM-Logistic and CSRF models, which are significant for using limited resources to control pests and protect the ecological environment. Firstly, by combining the improved grey prediction model (GM) with the logistic model, this paper proposes a GM-Logistic model to obtain hornets' spread rules regarding spatial location distribution and population quantity. The GM-Logistic model has higher accuracy and better fitting effect when only a few non-equally spaced sequences data are used for prediction. Secondly, a cost-sensitive random forest (CSRF) model was proposed to solve the problems of hornets' classification and priority survey decisions in unbalanced datasets. The hornets' binary classification model was established through feature extraction, the transformation from an unbalanced dataset to a balanced dataset, and the training dataset. CSRF improves the adaptability and robustness of the original classifier and provides a better classification effect on unbalanced datasets. CSRF outperforms the Random Forest, Classification and Regression Trees, and Support Vector Machines in performance evaluation indexes such as classification accuracy, G-mean, F1-measure, ROC curve, and AUC value. Thirdly, this paper adds human control factors and cycle parameters to the logistic model, obtaining the judgment conditions of report update frequency and pest elimination. Finally, the goodness-of-fit test on each model shows that the models established in this paper are feasible and reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adding fibers is an effective method to enhance the crack resistance and toughness of cement-treated aggregate (CTA), and to delay crack propagation in base layer of the pavements under vehicle loads. However, the microscopic toughening mechanisms of fiber-reinforced cement-treated aggregate (F-CTA) remain unclear. Gaining insight into these mechanisms is crucial for optimizing the design and enhancing the long-term performance of the F-CTA in practical applications. To address this issue, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were conducted to observe the internal microstructures of the F-CTA, considering variations in fiber content, fiber length, and loading conditions. Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) analysis was employed to compare and analyze the microstructure and elemental composition of hydration products at the internal interface, attempting to reveal the toughening mechanism from the impact of hydration products within the fiber-surrounding local region on interface adhesion. The analysis revealed that the toughening mechanisms of the fibers within the F-CTA are significantly influenced by the presence of calcium hydroxide and C-S-H gel. A discrete element model was also established to track the fiber degradation process and explore the toughening mechanisms of fibers. Results indicate that fiber debonding from the cement paste matrix prevails as the primary failure mode due to the porous structure arising from the accumulation of calcium hydroxide at the fiber-matrix interface. The porous structure contributes to weakening the interfacial bonding between the fiber and the matrix, particularly when the fiber content surpasses 3.0 kg/m³ , potentially resulting in diminished mechanical performance. Furthermore, fibers are more prone to being pulled out of the F-CTA under fatigue loading, leaving visible scratches on their surfaces, in contrast to monotonic loading. During the initial phase of the fatigue loading, fibers and cementitious material exhibit excellent adhesion, collaborating to effectively withstand the applied load. As the fatigue loading progressed to its later stages, the fibers played a crucial role in enhancing the mechanical properties of the F-CTA by restricting particle displacement and dissipating fracture energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short shelf life of Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs after harvesting limits its market supply capacity and makes it difficult to meet customer demand. Therefore, it is particularly important to effectively extend the fresh-eating period of Lilium brownii var. viridulum. In this study, Lilium brownii var. viridulum was used as experimental material and metabolomics and transcriptomics techniques were employed. A total of 883 metabolites and 9452 differentially expressed genes were detected, primarily enriched in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and starch–sucrose metabolism pathways. Further analyses showed that the accumulation of cellulose had a positive effect on maintaining the cellular structure and morphology of the Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs. The reduction of vicianose may be related to the energy expenditure associated with maintaining internal metabolism in Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs after postharvest. The low temperature and hypobaric conditions could slow down the increase of reducing sugars, reduce the metabolic rate of sucrose, maintain the relative stability of trehalose, and improve the resistance of bulbs. Ferulic acid was not consumed in large quantities and flavonoids were not over-accumulated, effectively maintaining the stability of the epidermal colour of the bulbs. Meanwhile, the increased expression of LbSUS4 , LbINV2 , and LbTPP genes could enhance the cold tolerance of Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs, stabilise the cell membrane and protect the cell structure to adapt to changes in environmental conditions. In conclusion, bulbs stored under low temperature and hypobaric conditions showed minimal changes in metabolites, and their morphology and color were maintained for a longer duration. This method proves to be suitable for the rapid postharvest storage of Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs. This study provides new insights into the molecular regulatory mechanisms during postharvest storage of Lilium brownii var. viridulum bulbs and offers theoretical and technical support for extending their fresh-eating period. • The phenylpropanoid derivatives are important in maintaining lily color. • Sucrose & trehalose are important metabolites affecting the quality of lily bulbs. • LbSUS 4, LbINV 2 and LbTPP play a key role in postharvest storage of lily bulbs. • Keeping the low temperatures & hypobaric will extend the shelf life of lily bulbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lexical density was found to rise in research article abstracts. • Hard science disciplines exhibit higher lexical density than soft sciences. • Lexical density trends reflect broader shifts in academic writing towards higher information density. • Disciplinary variations reveal important implications for academic writing. Lexical density refers to the ratio of content words and measures the information density of academic texts. It has been regarded as an important indicator of writing proficiency and author style in academic writing research. A recent study based on Nature Biology Letters reported an upward trend in lexical density in research articles published in the journal. However, such a finding needs to be validated with a larger dataset. In addition, it remains unknown whether such a trend varies among disciplines. Using a large-scale corpus of research article abstracts from 16 academic disciplines, the present study reveals that the rise in lexical density could be a common trend across all fields. Moreover, the results of cross-disciplinary comparisons show that hard disciplines exhibit higher lexical density than soft disciplines. To our knowledge, this is probably the first study to investigate both the temporal dynamics of and disciplinary variations in lexical density using extensive multidisciplinary text data. Possible reasons for and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multiple sclerosis (MS), the imbalance between T helper (Th)-17 cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells are critical in autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) inflammation and demyelination. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an established mouse MS model and simulates MS at diverse levels. This study aims at investigating the impact of anlotinib on the clinical severity of EAE and CD4+ T cell differentiation. EAE-induced mice were treated with water (control) or 6 mg/kg anlotinib by gavage daily. At the peak of EAE, histopathological examination and flow cytometry analysis of CNS-infiltrating CD4+ T cells were performed. In vitro differentiation of CD4+ T cells under different conditions was detected by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR. Finally, the impacts of anlotinib on the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the transcription levels of key genes involved in Th17 and Treg differentiation were tested. Anlotinib attenuated the clinical severity of EAE and changed the frequencies of CNS-infiltrating CD4+ T cell subsets. Anlotinib inhibited the differentiation of Th17 cells in vitro, decreased the phosphorylation of STAT3, and reduced the expression of Rorc. Anlotinib promoted the differentiation of Treg cells and upregulated the expression levels of CD39 and CD73. Anlotinib alleviated the symptoms of EAE via inhibiting the Th17 cell differentiation and promoting Treg cell differentiation. Our study provides new opportunities for the exploitation of anlotinib as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective management of moderate to severe pain often relies on the use of analgesic agents. However, the widespread utility of these medications is hindered by the occurrence of several undesirable side effects. In light of this challenge, there is growing interest in the development of κ opioid receptor (KOR) agonists, which have shown promise in mitigating these adverse effects. In this study, leveraging the structural scaffold of compound D (our previous study), we embarked on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a series of N ′-benzyl-3-chloro- N - ((1S , 3R , 4R)-3-((dimethylamino)methyl)-4-hydroxy-4-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexyl)benzenesulfonamide derivatives. These compounds were subjected to comprehensive in vitro and in vivo test. Through systematic structure-activity relationship (SAR) exploration, we successfully identified compound 23p (K i (KOR) :1.9 nM) as a highly selective KOR ligand of new chemotype. 23p showed high clearance in vitro PK test, and abdominal contraction test showed potent antinociceptive effect. 23p and its O -demethyl metabolite 25 were both found in the plasma of mouse, 25 also showed potent affinity toward KOR (K i (KOR): 3.1 nM), both they contribute to the analgesic effect. Moreover, 23p exhibited potent antinociceptive activity in abdominal constriction test, which was effectively abolished by pre-treatment of nor-BNI, a selective KOR antagonist. [Display omitted] • Article explains new KOR ligand structure, offering insights for further development. • We studied new small molecules' impact on KOR systematically. • Summarizing and discussing mode of action for these KOR agonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Revealing the mechanism of lily bulbs dormancy using metabolomics and proteomics. • Variable temperature treatment promotes dormancy release and bulb expansion in lily. • Multiple active sugars accumulated significantly after variable temperature. • Variable temperature can accumulate energy substances and signal molecules in advance. Lily bulbs possess inherent dormancy characteristics, with starch and various active sugars playing a crucial role in dormancy release. In this study, Lilium brownii var. viridulum was used as the experimental material. The comparison revealed that plants in the control group, cultured at 25℃ + 4℃, produced only one young leaf, whereas plants in the experimental group, subjected to variable temperature treatment (25℃ + 15℃ + 4℃), developed a main stem and multiple leaves, and exhibited significant bulb expansion. The pronounced phenotypic differences between the two groups demonstrated that temperature variation treatment effectively promoted dormancy release and germination in L. brownii var. viridulum bulbs. A total of 1676 metabolites and 291 proteins were identified using Untargeted Plant Metabolomics and IBT Quantification Proteomics technologies. Differentially expressed metabolites and proteins were significantly enriched in starch and sucrose metabolic pathways. Active sugars such as sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, and trehalose, along with enzymes including PK and GAPDH, accumulated significantly during variable temperature treatment. In summary, variable temperature treatment facilitates the accumulation of energy substances and signal molecules, thereby meeting the "chilling requirement". These findings provide new insights into carbohydrate biosynthesis, metabolic pathways, and the mechanisms of related protein enzymes during dormancy release and bud development in edible Lilium bulbs exposed to variable temperatures. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3DGPR slice images can preliminarily evaluate the grouting effect. • The quantitative evaluation index is obtained by the time–frequency domain signal. • Based on the measured data, a comprehensive grading evaluation method was obtained. • The core sampling results verify accuracy of the comprehensive evaluation method. This study aims to address the deficiency of rapid, comprehensive, and non-destructive methods for evaluating the effectiveness of grouting treatment on semi-rigid pavement base layer cracks. By integrating radar simulation with empirical measurements, we establish a comprehensive evaluation method for the grouting treatment effectiveness of pavement base layer cracks. Initially, we propose a GprMax simulation of crack models with varying grout-filled volumes, analyzing the time–frequency domain signal characteristics before and after grouting. Based on data sensitivity, thirteen time–frequency domain signal characteristics are selected as grading evaluation indicators. Subsequently, relying on an engineering case study, we conduct a graded evaluation of the grouting effect on base layer cracks, analyzing the correlation and weight of evaluation indicators to derive a comprehensive evaluation method. Field coring results confirm the accuracy of the comprehensive graded evaluation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflection cracks represent the predominant internal distress in semi-rigid base asphalt pavements and often accompanied by additional secondary issues that detrimentally affect the pavement structural bearing capacity. The propagation and deterioration of reflective cracks are affected by many factors, for example the interlayer bonding conditions. It is crucial to identify the propagation and deterioration of reflective cracks to prolong the life of pavement structure. The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of interlayer bonding conditions on the propagation laws of reflective cracks. This work employs the discrete element method(DEM) to explore the propagation patterns of reflection cracks accompanied different bonding conditions between the surface layer and base layer subjected to moving load. The results of discrete element simulation reveal a three-phase progression laws when the reflective cracks expand from the base layer to the pavement surface，involving rapid propagation, stable propagation, and failure process. With the interlayer bond strength decreases, expansion of reflective crack is significantly accelerated. Meanwhile, once the critical bond strength threshold is reached, complete debonding will occur between the surface and base layers. The results are ultimately verified through the core sampling from practical engineering using three-dimensional (3D) ground penetrating radar(GPR) detection, along with the radar image recognition of reflective cracks and poor interlayer bonding. The results will serve as a foundation for researching the mechanism and treatment measures for two internal pavement distress, namely reflection cracks and poor interlayer bonding. • 2D convex hull and external circle collision detection is applied in DEM modeling. • Propagation of reflective cracks accompanied poor interlayer bonding is simulated. • Reflective cracks propagation law in semi-rigid base asphalt pavement is clarified. • 3DGPR reliably detects reflective cracks and poor interlayer bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Carry out wax deposit dissolution experiments under different conditions. • Propose five stages of wax deposit dissolution process. • Construct an empirical relationship calculating wax deposit dissolution rate. During the sequential transportation of waxy crude oil and light oil, the previous formed wax deposits on the pipe wall will dissolve by light oil, which brings risks to the flow safety of the pipeline. This paper adopted a Couette wax deposit dissolution experimental device to systematically study the effects of dissolution duration, oil temperature, rotation speed and wax deposit properties on the dissolution characteristics of wax deposits. It is found that the dissolution of wax deposits is a process that starts quickly and then slows down. Moreover, the wax content of wax deposit also decreased during the dissolution process. The wax deposit dissolution process is mainly divided into five stages such as diffusion of wax molecules from wax deposit to the light oil and from bottom layer deposit to the wax deposit-oil interface, dissolution of wax crystal particles, weakening of wax deposit structural strength, and shear stripping of wax deposits. Finally, an empirical model of wax deposit dissolution was established and the undetermined parameters were fitted based on experimental data. The prediction results have good prediction accuracy with the experimental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitroarenes are readily available compounds that are commonly utilized in reductive processes to form C–NAr bonds via reactive nitrogen intermediates. Recent advances in the development of reductive reactions of nitroarenes using organomagnesium, organozinc, and single-electron transfer reagents are discussed within this short review. 1 Introduction 2 Organomagnesium-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 3 Organozinc- and Zinc-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 4 Iodine-Catalyzed Redox Cyclizations of Nitroarenes 5 Titanium(III)-Mediated Reductive Cyclizations 6 Sulfur-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 7 Alkoxide-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 8 4,4′-Bipyridine-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 9 Visible-Light-Driven Reductive Amination Reactions 10 Electrochemical Reductive Reactions 11 Conclusion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitroarenes are readily available compounds that are commonly utilized in reductive processes to form C–NAr bonds via reactive nitrogen intermediates. Recent advances in the development of reductive reactions of nitroarenes using organomagnesium, organozinc, and single-electron transfer reagents are discussed within this short review. 1 Introduction 2 Organomagnesium-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 3 Organozinc- and Zinc-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 4 Iodine-Catalyzed Redox Cyclizations of Nitroarenes 5 Titanium(III)-Mediated Reductive Cyclizations 6 Sulfur-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 7 Alkoxide-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 8 4,4′-Bipyridine-Mediated Reductive Reactions of Nitroarenes 9 Visible-Light-Driven Reductive Amination Reactions 10 Electrochemical Reductive Reactions 11 Conclusion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text Classification (TC) is the process of assigning several different categories to a set of texts. This study aims to evaluate the state of the arts of TC studies. Firstly, TC-related publications indexed in Web of Science were selected as data. In total, 3,121 TC-related publications were published in 760 journals between 2000 and 2020. Then, the bibliographic information was mined to identify the publication trends, important contributors, publication venues, and involved disciplines. Besides, a thematic analysis was performed to extract topics with increasing/decreasing popularity. The findings showed that TC has become a fast-growing interdisciplinary area, and that emerging research powers such as China are playing increasingly important roles in TC research. Moreover, the thematic analysis showed increased interest in topics concerning advanced classification algorithms, performance evaluation methods, and the practical applications of TC. This study will help researchers recognize the recent trends in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we provide a quantitative analysis of prose and verse in the classical Chinese novel, Dream of the Red Chamber (DRC), and discuss the implications for the disputed authorship of the novel. Firstly, we examine the amount of verse in across the chapters of DRC, and compare the style of the verse and prose portions of DRC. Secondly, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of DRC is performed based on the prose portions of the novel. Lastly, we discuss the implications of our experimental results for authorship attribution as well as descriptive stylistic analysis of DRC. Our authorial analysis largely confirms the findings of some previous studies that the novel has two authors. Meanwhile, stylistic analyses of the prose portions of the novel yield new and interesting results, which demonstrates that stylometric tools can be used to facilitate descriptive studies of classical Chinese literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by a high rate of both incidence and mortality, and its treatment outcomes are often affected by recurrence and drug resistance. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent programmed cell death mechanism triggered by lipid peroxidation, has recently gained attention as a potential therapeutic target. Graphene oxide (GO), known for its oxygen-containing functional groups, biocompatibility, and potential for functionalization, holds promise in cancer treatment. However, its role in ferroptosis induction in CRC remains underexplored. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of High Carbonyl Graphene Oxide (HC-GO) on ferroptosis in CRC and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: In vitro assays were conducted to evaluate the impact of HC-GO on CRC cell proliferation, mitochondrial function, iron accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 was used to confirm the role of ferroptosis in HC-GO's anti-tumor effects. In vivo, the anti-tumor activity of HC-GO was assessed in a CRC xenograft model, with organ toxicity evaluated. Results: HC-GO significantly inhibited CRC cell proliferation, induced mitochondrial damage, and enhanced iron accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and ROS production. It also downregulated the ferroptosis-inhibiting proteins GPX4 and SLC7A11, which were reversed by Fer-1, confirming the involvement of ferroptosis in HC-GO's anti-cancer effects. In vivo, HC-GO significantly suppressed tumor growth without noticeable toxicity to vital organs. Conclusions: HC-GO triggered ferroptosis in CRC cells by suppressing the System Xc−/GSH/GPX4 pathway, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment. These findings suggest HC-GO as a promising nanomedicine for clinical application, warranting further investigation to explore its potential in CRC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese migrant workers have contributed greatly to the industrialization and urbanization of China and have thus long been a popular topic in news reports. Most previous studies on the news about this group have been qualitative or quantitative analyses based on small-scale datasets, with few based on large-scale corpus data. This study combined topic modeling and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyze 186,180 reports of migrant workers published by 906 Chinese newspapers between 2001 and 2021. We identified seventeen topics in the news that fell into five categories: "work and labor," "support and care," "rights and interests," "homecoming," and "social emergencies." Overall, news reports on the group have become increasingly diverse, with various diachronic changes in the proportions of topic categories and specific topics. In addition, we found three major types of representation of migrant workers: as a disadvantaged group, as outsiders, and as a group vulnerable to risks. These negative representations might be closely related to government policies, ideology, media stance, and social reality (the broader societal context in which these individuals are situated). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the impact of magnesium on the inclusions, carbides, and microstructure of the 21‐4N valve steel, the magnesium modification industrial experiment is carried out. Optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope with an energy‐dispersive spectrometer, thermodynamic calculation, and a 3D etching method are used. In the results, it is shown that the oxide inclusions in steel modifies from Al2O3–MnO to MgO–MnO–SiO2 after magnesium modification, which presents a more dispersed size distribution. The primary precipitates in the steel remain as massive carbide M23C6 and lamellar precipitate γ + M23C6, and the maximum size of large carbides and lamellar precipitates in the magnesium‐modified steel decreases from 15.1 to 13.4 μm and from 98.8 to 68.8 μm, respectively. Furthermore, Mg‐containing inclusions act as more heterogeneous nucleation cores for austenite precipitation, resulting in the refinement of austenite grain and a reduction in the last‐to‐solidify region. The reduction in the last‐to‐solidify region limits the growth space of carbides and contributes to their size refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

tert‐Butoxide unlocks new reactivity patterns embedded in nitroarenes. Exposure of nitrostilbenes to sodium tert‐butoxide was found to produce N‐hydroxyindoles at room temperature without an additive. Changing the counterion to potassium changed the reaction outcome to yield solely oxindoles through an unprecedented dioxygen‐transfer reaction followed by a 1,2‐phenyl migration. Mechanistic experiments established that these reactions proceed via radical intermediates and suggest that counterion coordination controls whether an oxindole or N‐hydroxyindole product is formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

tert‐Butoxide unlocks new reactivity patterns embedded in nitroarenes. Exposure of nitrostilbenes to sodium tert‐butoxide was found to produce N‐hydroxyindoles at room temperature without an additive. Changing the counterion to potassium changed the reaction outcome to yield solely oxindoles through an unprecedented dioxygen‐transfer reaction followed by a 1,2‐phenyl migration. Mechanistic experiments established that these reactions proceed via radical intermediates and suggest that counterion coordination controls whether an oxindole or N‐hydroxyindole product is formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-radiative carrier captures of point defects associated with proton generation in both crystalline (α-quartz) and amorphous silica (a-SiO2) have been investigated by using first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. Major point defects related to proton generation are considered, including the dimer and puckered configuration of oxygen vacancy, doubly hydrogenated oxygen vacancy, and hydroxyl E′ center. The carrier capture cross sections of the defects are calculated in terms of a one-dimensional static coupling method. The neutral dimer and doubly hydrogenated oxygen vacancies show a large hole capture cross section, and the positively charged puckered oxygen vacancy and the hydroxyl E′ center show a large electron capture cross section. These results further support that dissociation of molecular hydrogen at a positively charged dimer oxygen vacancy and that of a positively charged doubly hydrogenated oxygen vacancy are the main reactions in silica to generate protons that play a key role in ionization damage of silicon devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) has been widely investigated and employed as polymeric wax inhibitor (PWI). In this paper, the wax deposition characteristics of synthetic oils with different concentrations of EVA PWI were investigated. The obtained surface and bottom wax deposits were analyzed through differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), polarizing microscope, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC). It is found that the EVA PWI could obviously decrease the wax deposition rate and accelerate the aging of wax deposits. Adding the EVA PWI can trigger a novel heterogeneous wax deposit structure, in which the wax appearance temperature and wax content increases continuously from the bottom to the surface layer. Compared to the bottom wax deposit, the surface wax deposit has higher concentrations of both EVA and high carbon number wax molecules (Cn > C25). The formation mechanism of the novel heterogeneous wax deposit structure was explained from two aspects. Firstly, the wax crystal morphology of surface layer is significantly changed from needlelike to diamond-like due to higher temperature and the accumulation of EVA and high carbon number wax molecules in the surface wax deposit, therefore, higher solid wax content is needed for the building of a continuous three-dimensional network structure to resist shearing of pipe flow. Secondly, the lower temperature and larger aspect ratio of wax crystals in the bottom wax deposit are adverse for the diffusion of wax molecules into the bottom wax deposit, thus the aging rate of bottom wax deposit is lower than that of surface layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-warning plays an important role in emergency handling, especially in urban areas with high population density like Beijing. Knowing the information dissemination mechanisms clearly could help us reduce losses and ensure the safety of human beings during emergencies. In this paper, we propose the models of pre-warning information dissemination via five classical media based on actual pre-warning issue processes, including television, radio, short message service (SMS), electronic screens, and online social networks. The population coverage ability and dissemination efficiency at different issue time of these five issue channels are analyzed by simulation methods, and their advantages and disadvantages are compared by radar graphs. Results show that SMS is the most appropriate way to issue long-term pre-warning for its large population coverage, but it is not suitable for issuing urgent warnings to large population because of the limitation of telecom company's issue ability. TV shows the best performance to combine the dissemination speed and range, and the performance of radio and electronic screens are not as satisfactory as the others. In addition, online social networks might become one of the most promising communication method for its potential in further diffusion. These models and results could help us make pre-warning issue plans and provide guidance for future construction of information diffusion systems, thus reducing injuries, deaths, and other losses under different emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complementarity knapsack problem (CKP) is a knapsack problem with real-valued variables and complementarity conditions between pairs of variables. We extend the polyhedral studies of de Farias et al. for CKP, by proposing three new families of cutting-planes that are obtained from a combinatorial concept known as pack. Sufficient conditions for these inequalities to be facet-defining, based on the new concept of a maximal switching pack , are also provided. Moreover, we answer positively a conjecture by de Farias et al. about the separation complexity of the inequalities introduced in their work, and propose efficient separation algorithms for our newly defined cutting-planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractA micro-rheological integration experiment was conducted on model oils without asphaltene and with 0.05 wt% asphaltene. The study examined the viscosity-temperature characteristics of both model oils under different cooling rates and shear rates. Significant changes were observed in the viscosity-temperature curve of the asphaltene-containing model oil. At low shear rates, a distinct wavelet peak was identified in the temperature range of 37-30 °C, where viscosity initially increased, then decreased, and subsequently increased again. This wavelet peak diminished with the increasing shear rate, eventually forming a “buffer platform”. The underlying mechanism was attributed to asphaltene altering the wax crystal behavior from “uniform precipitation network structure formation” to “formation of unstable large aggregates - dissociation into multiple small stable aggregates - growth into larger stable aggregates.” In addition, the wax precipitation rate remained constant in the model oil without asphaltene, while in the asphaltene-containing model oil, the rate significantly accelerated between 34.5 °C and 32.5 °C. And the asphaltenes promoted the formation of small wax crystal particles but inhibited the growth of wax crystal particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An indole-based porous organic polymer (PTIM) with antibacterial activity was prepared by Friedel-Crafts alkylation and supercritical drying from the self-made tri(1H-indol-3-yl)methane (TIM). The adsorption of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) by PTIM involved physisorption followed by chemisorption, and the mechanism was verified by theoretical simulation and experiment. The physisorption and chemisorption between PTIM and TNT as well as the suitable three-dimensional space size of cross-linked network in PTIM enabled PTIM to have an unprecedented adsorption capacity for TNT (399.2 mg/g). Meanwhile, the removal efficiency of PTIM for TNT was also very high, and it could reach more than 85% of the maximum adsorption capacity after only 1 h of adsorption. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity of PTIM to TNT in actual water samples was slightly less than that in the laboratory, while the adsorption equilibrium time (4 h) was much shorter than the laboratory data (13.75 h). As a result, PTIM could not only achieve primary purification of TNT wastewater from high concentration to low concentration, but also advanced purification from low concentration to standard discharge concentration. In addition, PTIM possessed excellent recycling performance, and the maximum adsorption capacity was still 97% of the initial capacity after five adsorption-desorption cycles Unexpectedly, PTIM also had good antibacterial activity, preventing bacteria from adhering to or covering the pores, and ensuring excellent adsorption capacity and recycling performance. These results showed that PTIM was a promising TNT adsorbent. [Display omitted] • PTIM adsorbed TNT by physisorption and chemisorption. • Suitable three-dimensional space size was used for TNT adsorption. • PTIM had excellent recycling performance and antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We utilize the intrinsic magnetism of CrI 3 to break the time-reversal symmetry of WTe 2 , thus inducing a giant valley splitting of up to 34.01 meV. • By modulating the interlayer exchange coupling and applying perpendicular external electric fields, a wide range of valley splitting manipulation can be achieved. • The method of magnetic ion intercalation, particularly the self-intercalated Cr ion, significantly enhances the valley splitting by an order of magnitude. • The method of magnetic ion intercalation, particularly the self-intercalated Cr ion, can significantly enhance the valley splitting of WTe 2 /CrI 3 heterostructure by an order of magnitude. Lifting the valley degeneracy is an essential condition for exploiting the valley degrees of freedom to process and store information in valleytronics. The magnetic proximity effect (MPE) has been proven to be an effective method for introducing a magnetic field via interlayer exchange interaction, which can be conveniently achieved by two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure engineering. We have investigated the electronic properties and valley physics of 2D WTe 2 /CrI 3 heterostructure using first-principles calculations. The results show that a significant valley splitting of 34.01 meV can be obtained in the WTe 2 /CrI 3 heterostructure due to the simultaneous breaking of inversion and time-reversal symmetry, which sensitively depends on the atomic overlap of the projected position in the specific stacking model. In addition, we also show that the valley splitting can be enhanced by applying a vertical external electric field (E-field) or reducing the interlayer distance. More than that, it can be boosted by an order of magnitude (∼115.25 meV) through Cr ion intercalation. This is attributed to that the self-intercalated Cr ion has ferromagnetic (FM) ordering and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy due to the exchange coupling of the CrI 3 layer. This result provides fundamental insights and valuable guidance for the application of 2D WTe 2 /CrI 3 heterostructure in novel spintronic and valleytronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroaluminate cement (FAC), a low-carbon binder with high corrosion resistance, is not commonly utilized because of its high cost. It is more affordable to partially replace FAC with supplementary cementitious material (SCM) such as granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS). However, there have been few studies on the properties of GBFS-FAC binary binder systems, in order to make a good understanding of the properties of FAC blended with GBFS, the effect of GBFS on the hydration and hardened properties of FAC was investigated from hydration heat, compressive strength, chloride penetration resistance, hydration products, pore structure, etc., and the simulated pore solutions of FAC and OPC were prepared and characterized to explore the hydration mechanism of GBFS in FAC environment. The results indicated that GBFS incorporation slowed down the hydration rate and significantly altered the hydration process of FAC such as delaying the formation of ettringite. When the GBFS content was more than 20%, the amount of hydration exotherm peaks of FAC blended with GBFS decreased due to the disappearance of the third exothermic peak. Adding GBFS did not affect the phase assemblage, but reduced the amount of hydration products and increased the porosity of the samples, resulting in the deterioration of the compressive strength and chloride penetration resistance (with the GBFS content increasing from 0% to 30%, the 28d compressive strength decreased from 44.25 MPa to 31.86 MPa). The hydration activity of GBFS in FAC pore solution was lower compared to that in OPC pore solution, due to the lower Ca and S concentrations, lower pH, and lower conductivity of FAC pore solutions. [Display omitted] • GBFS content strongly influences the hydration process of the GBFS-FAC binary system. • Low hydration activity of GBFS in FAC leads to a decrease in hardened properties. • Reason for the low hydration reactivity of GBFS in FAC environment is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reductive amination process that constructs indoles, carbazoles or benzimidazoles from nitroarenes – irrespective of their electronic or steric nature – was developed that uses CO2 as the source of CO. The process is robust, tolerating common gaseous components of flue gas (H2S, SO2, NO and H2O) without adversely affecting the reductive cyclization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hayduk-Minhas relationship underestimates wax molecular diffusion coefficient. • Develop a new diffusion laboratory apparatus coupled with differential scanning calorimeter. • Put forward a new wax molecular diffusion coefficient correlation. Wax molecular diffusion coefficient is a crucial factor determining the wax deposition rate of waxy crude oil, but the calculation accuracy of the traditional Hayduk-Minhas and Wilke-Chang relations is unclear. The Couette wax deposition experiments of Changqing crude oil under different operating conditions (oil temperature, wall temperature, rotation speed and deposition duration) were carry out and find the traditional Hayduk-Minhas relationship will underestimate the wax molecular diffusion coefficient. To increase the calculation accuracy of wax molecular diffusion coefficient, a newly-developed diffusion laboratory apparatus coupled with the Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) were utilized to evaluate the diffusion coefficient of C 16 , C 18 , C 20 , C 22 , C 24 in n -alkane solutions at different temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30,35, and 40 °C). Based on the experimental results, a novel high-precision correlation was put forward and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results, the average relative error is within 3.0 %. The applied solvent of the n-alkane solutions is mineral oil and it has a complex composition. Therefore, the developed correlation can be used to evaluate the wax molecular diffusion coefficient in the real crude oil. The application of the new relationship will lead to more accurate wax deposition calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We close three open problems on the separation complexity of valid inequalities for the knapsack polytope. Specifically, we establish that the separation problems for extended cover inequalities, (1, k)-configuration inequalities, and weight inequalities are all N P -complete. We also show that, when the number of constraints of the LP relaxation is constant and its optimal solution is an extreme point, then the separation problems of both extended cover inequalities and weight inequalities can be solved in polynomial time. Moreover, we provide a natural generalization of (1, k)-configuration inequality which is easier to separate and contains the original (1, k)-configuration inequality as a strict sub-family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Entropy is adopted to analyze the diachronic change of English inflections. • Modern English is becoming less inflectionally diversified. • The study offers empirical evidence to linguistic theories and hypotheses. Abstract Researchers have long noticed the phenomenon of inflection decay in the evolution of English, which may be driven by the Principle of Least Effort (Millward and Hayes, 2010; Zipf, 1949). However, most studies in this line of research were based on exemplar-oriented observations while few explored the phenomenon from a quantitative perspective. In addition, it remains unclear whether the trend of inflection decay has continued in Modern English. In the present study, an index named Inflectional Entropy was developed to measure the diachronic change of the inflectional trend of Modern English in the 20th century. A trend of inflection decay in Modern English was found based on experiments on several large-scale corpora. The findings provide quantitative evidence to linguistic theories such as Principle of Least Effort, Language Niche Hypothesis (Lupyan and Dale, 2010), and Principle of Entropy Minimization (Ferrer-i-Cancho, 2018). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) regulates homocysteine metabolism and contributes to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) biosynthesis through which it plays multifunctional roles in the regulation of cellular energetics, redox status, DNA methylation, and protein modification. Inactivating mutations in CBS contribute to the pathogenesis of the autosomal recessive disease CBS-deficient homocystinuria. Recent studies demonstrating that CBS promotes colon and ovarian cancer growth in preclinical models highlight a newly identified oncogenic role for CBS. On the contrary, tumor-suppressive effects of CBS have been reported in other cancer types, suggesting context-dependent roles of CBS in tumor growth and progression. Here, we review the physiological functions of CBS, summarize the complexities regarding CBS research in oncology, and discuss the potential of CBS and its key metabolites, including homocysteine and H2S, as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis or therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the complexity of British culture across the twentieth century. Different from previous studies concerning cultural complexity that used written texts as the experimental data, the present study employed a large data-set of speeches and debates from the British parliament, with the intention of examining the change of British cultural complexity from the perspective of spoken texts. Interestingly, the findings of this study were largely in accordance with those of previous studies that were based on written texts. First, this study confirmed the argument that culture is cumulative in nature. In addition, this study showed that longer N-grams generate higher entropy values. Nonetheless, discrepancies were found in this study, such as the different impacts of crises on the growth of cultural complexity in Britain and America. Furthermore, comparisons with previous studies indicated a lower complexity of British spoken culture than its written counterpart. We have provided possible explanations as well as the implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise energy requirement of swine should not only meet the static parameters of net energy but also consider the dynamic supply of glucose release. The effects of glucose release characteristics on nitrogen and energy utilization of growing pigs were conducted by the energy metabolism in vivo using open-circuit respiratory calorimetry and the hydrolysis in vitro of glucose release. Sixteen castrated boars were randomly divided into two groups (Raw maize group and Extruded maize group, RAW and EXT). Maize in the RAW diet was completely replaced by extruded-maize in the EXT diet. In vitro studies showed that extrusion treatment had a rapid and huge glucose release of maize (P < 0.05). The metabolizable energy (ME) in EXT was higher than that in RAW (P = 0.002), but no difference in net energy (NE) was observed (P = 0.864). EXT had higher crude protein (CP) apparent digestibility (P = 0.035) but lower nitrogen deposition (P < 0.001) due to higher urinary nitrogen (UN) excretion (P < 0.001). Extrusion treatment changed the proportion of heat production of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. EXT presented higher oxidation of protein (OXP, P < 0.001) and fat (OXF, P = 0.025) and lower oxidation of carbohydrates (OXCHO, P = 0.003). There was no difference in retained energy (RE) between the two groups (P = 0.803). Extrusion treatment can accelerate the glucose release of maize, and the extruded maize fully replacing raw maize in the diet can enhance ME of growing pigs, and the ratio of nutrient oxidation to energy supply was altered, resulting in lower protein deposition and energy utilization. • Extrusion treatment accelerates the glucose release of maize starch. • The glucose release kinetics of diet affects nitrogen and energy utilization of growing pigs. • The rapid glucose release changes the heat production structure of the diet in growing pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three polyimides (PI-p, PI-t, and PI-n) containing a 2,6-di(4-aminophenyl) pyridine body and different pendant groups are reported in this study. The resulting polyimide films exhibit excellent dielectric properties, with a dielectric constant of 2.91–2.62@10GHz and a dielectric loss in the range of 0.00939–0.00808@10GHz. Through computer simulation, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the polyimides are found to decrease with increasing pendant group volume. Moreover, the resulting strong and flexible polyimide films exhibit excellent thermal stability, with decomposition temperatures (at a 5% weight loss) in the range of 532.3–552 °C and glass-transition temperatures in the range of 343.7–376.4 °C. TGA/FTIR/MS experiments indicate that the thermal stability of the resin containing the methyl phenyl group is worse due to the degradation of the methyl group at low temperatures. In addition, the three polyimides also show excellent solubility and transparency. These superior properties indicate that the PI series is an ideal candidate material for future 5G communications. [Display omitted] • Polyimide resins containing 2, 6-bis (4-aminophenyl) pyridine bodies and different volume side groups are synthesized. • Computer simulation further proves that the D k and tanδ of PIs decrease with the increase of pendant group volume. • In addition to excellent dielectric properties (D k : 2.91–2.62 @10 GHz, tanδ: 9.39 × 10−3∼8.08 × 10−3 @10 GHz), the PI resin also showed high thermal stability [T d5 (N 2): 532.3–552 °C, T g : 376.4–343.7 °C], high transparency and excellent solubility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microscopic process of asphaltene aggregation was studied. • The effect of temperature on the asphaltene aggregation was revealed. • Interaction mode between asphaltenes and toluene/heptane molecules was revealed. • A mechanism was proposed whereby the toluene surrounds asphaltenes, forming a "Cage". • The "Cage" restricts the asphaltenes movement and leads to their aggregation. For many years, the asphaltene aggregation has been the research focus in the petroleum industry. However, few widely held beliefs have achieved on the microscopic process of asphaltene aggregation. To this end, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was adapted to study the asphaltene aggregation in asphaltene-heptane-toluene system, and the interaction between asphaltene molecules during this process was also revealed from the density distribution, mean square displacement (MSD), diffusion coefficient, interaction energy and cohesive energy density (CED). Three main findings were made: (1) The increase in temperature can increase the diffusion rate of asphaltene molecules. However, it has a greater effect on the diffusion rate of asphaltenes in the heptane-rich system, while it has little effect in the toluene-rich system. (2) In system with more heptane, the increase of temperature will reduce the aggregation of asphaltene molecules, while the increase of temperature will promote the aggregation of asphaltene molecules in system with more toluene. (3) Interaction energy and cohesive energy density show that the interaction between asphaltenes and toluene in the toluene-rich system restricts the movement of asphaltene molecules, and the toluene molecules tend to surround asphaltene molecules to form a "Cage", creating the illusion of increased density and aggregation of asphaltenes. The findings can help for understanding of the interaction between asphaltene molecules, and provide theoretical support for the flow assurance in asphaltene oil production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the photogenerated carrier separation and reduce the electron-hole recombination process for photocatalysts performance. In this article, hierarchically macroporous structured TiO2/SnO2 materials with controllable composition and phases have been successfully synthesized by using a typical process. This method involves several sequential preparation steps: (1) preparation of core-shell structure SnO2/PS submicrospheres by hydrothermal method; (2) preparation of TiO2/SnO2/PS submicrospheres by assembling amorphous TiO2 on surface of SnO2/PS submicrospheres; (3) direct calcination of TiO2/SnO2/PS submicrospheres to eventually produce hierarchically structured TiO2/SnO2 materials with pores-in-pores. With rutile phases TiO2, TiO2/SnO2 macroporous materials show significantly enhanced catalytic activity when used as photocatalysts for the degradation of Rhodamine B under UV irradiation. The photodegradation ratio of Rhodamine B was 96% for 25 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture damage seriously deteriorates asphalt pavement’s performance and durability and is therefore one of the major problems of asphalt pavements. Currently, researchers pay most attention to macro investigation of moisture damage in asphalt materials. However, moisture damage in asphalt materials can be attributed to the complex interactions between water, asphalt and aggregates occurring at the micro level so that macro tests cannot provide precise insight into this process and its mechanisms. To this end, two promising micromechanical tests, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation, were used in this paper to capture the micromechanical properties of asphalt binder and mixture samples before and after moisture damage. For data comparison, surface energy method and freeze-thaw splitting test were also used. Results show that AFM and nanoindentation are promising methods in investigation of asphalt materials’ moisture damage because they can quantitatively determine the loss of asphalt samples’ strength and also determine their damage types (adhesion or cohesion failure). Results of surface energy method and freeze-thaw splitting test correlate well with AFM and nanoindentation results in characterization of moisture susceptibility of asphalt binder and mixture samples respectively. It is concluded that these four testing methods can achieve a systematic and accurate evaluation of asphalt materials’ moisture resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture damage seriously deteriorates asphalt pavement’s performance and durability and is therefore one of the major problems of asphalt pavements. Currently, researchers pay most attention to macro investigation of moisture damage in asphalt materials. However, moisture damage in asphalt materials can be attributed to the complex interactions between water, asphalt and aggregates occurring at the micro level so that macro tests cannot provide precise insight into this process and its mechanisms. To this end, two promising micromechanical tests, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation, were used in this paper to capture the micromechanical properties of asphalt binder and mixture samples before and after moisture damage. For data comparison, surface energy method and freeze-thaw splitting test were also used. Results show that AFM and nanoindentation are promising methods in investigation of asphalt materials’ moisture damage because they can quantitatively determine the loss of asphalt samples’ strength and also determine their damage types (adhesion or cohesion failure). Results of surface energy method and freeze-thaw splitting test correlate well with AFM and nanoindentation results in characterization of moisture susceptibility of asphalt binder and mixture samples respectively. It is concluded that these four testing methods can achieve a systematic and accurate evaluation of asphalt materials’ moisture resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]