Search

7 novel objects which do not belong to any category in NOCS dataset

As the final metabolite of purine metabolism, uric acid is critically associated with human health. The serum uric acid level is regulated by diet and the metabolic capacity of the human body. The impaired control of uric acid metabolism and excretion is associated with the increased level of serum uric acid, which ultimately results in hyperuricemia. Hyperuricemia is the “fourth-highest” after hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia. With progress made in the relationship between diet and hyperuricemia, different dietary patterns and lifestyles have been discussed, such as exercise, the amount intake of meat, seafood, supplements with omega-3 fatty acids, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and energy drinks, and lower-fat-containing foods as well as drinking beer, wine, and spirits in the present article. This study demonstrated that a lower risk of hyperuricemia is substantially correlated with higher baseline adherence to MeDiet, and plant polyphenols can combat hyperuricemia by blocking xanthine oxidase.

Magnetic materials with noncolinear spin configurations have engendered significant interest in condensed matter physics due to their intriguing physical properties. In this study, we direct our attention towards the magnetic properties and critical behavior of single-crystal SmMn$_{2}$Ge$_{2}$, an itinerant magnet with numerous temperature-dependent magnetic phase transitions. Notably, SmMn$_{2}$Ge$_{2}$ displays significant magnetic anisotropy with easy magnetization direction switching from the $ c $ axis to the $ab$ plane as temperature decreases. The critical behavior of the ferromagnetic transition occurring above room temperature is thoroughly examined. Reliable and self-consistent critical exponents, including $ \beta = 0.292(2) $, $ \gamma=0.924(8) $, and $ \delta = 4.164(6)$, along with the Curie temperature, $T_{\rm c}=347$ K, are extracted through various methods, which provide evidence for the coexistence of multiple magnetic interactions in SmMn$_{2}$Ge$_{2}$. Further analysis reveals that the magnetic interaction of SmMn$_{2}$Ge$_{2}$ is a long-range type with the interaction distance decaying as $ J(r)\sim r^{-4.35} $.

Optical microscopy image plays an important role in scientific research through the direct visualization of the nanoworld, where the imaging mechanism is described as the convolution of the point spread function (PSF) and emitters. Based on a priori knowledge of the PSF or equivalent PSF, it is possible to achieve more precise exploration of the nanoworld. However, it is an outstanding challenge to directly extract the PSF from microscopy images. Here, with the help of self-supervised learning, we propose a physics-informed masked autoencoder (PiMAE) that enables a learnable estimation of the PSF and emitters directly from the raw microscopy images. We demonstrate our method in synthetic data and real-world experiments with significant accuracy and noise robustness. PiMAE outperforms DeepSTORM and the Richardson-Lucy algorithm in synthetic data tasks with an average improvement of 19.6\% and 50.7\% (35 tasks), respectively, as measured by the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) metric. This is achieved without prior knowledge of the PSF, in contrast to the supervised approach used by DeepSTORM and the known PSF assumption in the Richardson-Lucy algorithm. Our method, PiMAE, provides a feasible scheme for achieving the hidden imaging mechanism in optical microscopy and has the potential to learn hidden mechanisms in many more systems.

For many years, metamaterial absorbers have received much attention in a wide range of application fields. There is an increasing need to search for new design approaches that fulfill more and more complex tasks. According to the specific application requirements, design strategy can vary from structure configurations to material selections. A new combination of a dielectric cavity array, dielectric spacer, and gold reflector as a metamaterial absorber is proposed and theoretically studied in this work. The complexity of the dielectric cavities leads to a more flexible optical response than traditional metamaterial absorbers. It gives a new dimension of freedom for a real three-dimensional metamaterial absorber design.

Mumps is a seasonal infectious disease, always occurring in winter and spring. In this study, we aim to analyze its epidemiological characteristics, transmissibility, and its correlation with meteorological variables.A seasonalThe seasonal double peak of annual incidence was mainly in May to July and November to December. There was high transmission at the median ofA relatively high level of transmissibility has been found in Xiamen City, leading to a continuous epidemic of mumps. Meteorological factors, especially air temperature and relative humidity, may be more closely associated with mumps than other factors.

It is a critical impact on the processing of biological cells to protein–protein interactions (PPIs) in nature. Traditional PPIs predictive biological experiments consume a lot of human and material costs and time. Therefore, there is a great need to use computational methods to forecast PPIs. Most of the existing calculation methods are based on the sequence characteristics or internal structural characteristics of proteins, and most of them have the singleness of features. Therefore, we propose a novel method to predict PPIs base on multiple information fusion through graph representation learning. Specifically, firstly, the known protein sequences are calculated, and the properties of each protein are obtained by k-mer. Then, the known protein relationship pairs were constructed into an adjacency graph, and the graph representation learning method–graph convolution network was used to fuse the attributes of each protein with the graph structure information to obtain the features containing a variety of information. Finally, we put the multi-information features into the random forest classifier species for prediction and classification. Experimental results indicate that our method has high accuracy and AUC of 78.83% and 86.10%, respectively. In conclusion, our method has an excellent application prospect for predicting unknown PPIs.

Biological particles, e.g., viruses, lipid particles, and extracellular vesicles, are attracting significant research interest due to their role in biological processes and potential in practical applications, such as vaccines, diagnostics, and therapies. Their surface and interior contain many different molecules including lipids, nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates. In this Letter, we show how distance-controlled surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising method to extract essential information from the spatial origin of the signal. This is a highly important parameter in the analysis of these biological particles. The principle of the method is demonstrated by using polystyrene (PS) beads as a biological particle model conjugated with gold nanospheres (AuNSs) functioning as distance-controlled SERS probes via biotin–streptavidin binding. By tuning the size of AuNSs, the Raman signal from the PS beads can be weakened while the signal from the biotin–streptavidin complex is enhanced.

Thanks to the increasing availability of technologies for thin film deposition, all-dielectric structures are becoming more and more attractive for integrated photonics. As light–matter interactions are involved, Bloch Surface Waves (BSWs) may represent a viable alternative to plasmonic platforms, allowing easy wavelength and polarization manipulation and reduced absorption losses. However, plasmon-based devices operating at an optical and near-infrared frequency have been demonstrated to reach extraordinary field confinement capabilities, with localized mode volumes of down to a few nanometers. Although such levels of energy localization are substantially unattainable with dielectrics, it is possible to operate subwavelength field confinement by employing high-refractive index materials with proper patterning such as, e.g., photonic crystals and metasurfaces. Here, we propose a computational study on the transverse localization of BSWs by means of quasi-flat Fabry–Perot microcavities, which have the advantage of being fully exposed toward the outer environment. These structures are constituted by defected periodic corrugations of a dielectric multilayer top surface. The dispersion and spatial distribution of BSWs’ cavity mode are presented. In addition, the hybridization of BSWs with an A exciton in a 2D flake of tungsten disulfide (WS2) is also addressed. We show evidence of strong coupling involving not only propagating BSWs but also localized BSWs, namely, band-edge and cavity modes.

experimental details and theoretical analysis

Revealing the ultrafast dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) Dirac fermions upon photoexcitation is critical for both fundamental science and device applications. So far, how the cooling of 3D Dirac fermions differs from that of two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions and whether there is population inversion are fundamental questions that remain to be answered. Here we reveal the ultrafast dynamics of Dirac fermions in a model 3D Dirac semimetal Cd$_3$As$_2$ by ultrafast time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TrARPES) with a tunable probe photon energy from 5.3 - 6.9 eV. The energy- and momentum-resolved relaxation rate shows a linear dependence on the energy, suggesting Dirac fermion cooling through intraband relaxation. Moreover, a population inversion is reported based on the observation of accumulated photoexcited carriers in the conduction band with a lifetime of $\tau_n$ = 3.0 ps. Our work provides direct experimental evidence for a long-lived population inversion in a 3D Dirac semimetal, which is in contrast to 2D graphene where the interband relaxation occurs on a much faster timescale.

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are well-established knowledge acquisition systems with proven capacity for learning and generalisation. Therefore, ANNs are widely applied to solve engineering problems and are often used in laser-based manufacturing applications. There are different pattern recognition and control problems where ANNs can be effectively applied, and one of them is laser structuring/texturing for surface functionalisation, e.g. in generating Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS). They are a particular type of sub-micron structures that are very sensitive to changes in laser processing conditions due to processing disturbances like varying Focal Offset Distance (FOD) and/or Beam Incident Angle (BIA) during the laser processing of 3D surfaces. As a result, the functional response of LIPSS-treated surfaces might be affected, too, and typically needs to be analysed with time-consuming experimental tests. Also, there is a lack of sufficient process monitoring and quality control tools available for LIPSS-treated surfaces that could identify processing patterns and interdependences. These tools are needed to determine whether the LIPSS generation process is in control and consequently whether the surface’s functional performance is still retained. In this research, an ANN-based approach is proposed for predicting the functional response of ultrafast laser structured/textured surfaces. It was demonstrated that the processing disturbances affecting the LIPSS treatments can be classified, and then, the surface response, namely wettability, of processed surfaces can be predicted with a very high accuracy using the developed ANN tools for pre- and post-processing of LIPSS topography data, i.e. their areal surface roughness parameters. A Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) was applied as a pre-processing tool to significantly reduce the number of required experimental data. The number of areal surface roughness parameters needed to fully characterise the functional response of a surface was minimised using a combination of feature selection methods. Based on statistical analysis and evolutionary optimisation, these methods narrowed down the initial set of 21 elements to a group of 10 and 6 elements, according to redundancy and relevance criteria, respectively. The validation of ANN tools, using the salient surface parameters, yielded accuracy close to 85% when applied for identification of processing disturbances, while the wettability was predicted within an r.m.s. error of 11 degrees, equivalent to the static water contact angle (CA) measurement uncertainty.

This paper proposes to integrate power fluctuation suppression and active filtering control into the centralized photovoltaic (PV) inverter based on superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES). The superconducting coil (SC) is interfaced to the DC-link of the PV inverter through a DC/DC converter. The PV-SMES-based system performs the dual demands of transferring maximum power from PV array apart from suppressing power fluctuations and harmonics existing in microgrid. An improved sliding mode controller (SMC) was developed for the DC/DC converter to stabilize the DC-link voltage of PV inverter. The stability of the proposed controller is demonstrated using Lyapunov stability theory. The comprehensive performance of the PV-SMES-based system is verified through a series of simulation comparisons based on a lead-acid battery scheme.

Voltage stability is one of the critical factors for the stable operation of DC microgrids (MG). For the communication free DC MG, the DC voltage is more vulnerable due to the DC voltage deviation caused by the droop characteristics. When facing the transient power fluctuation caused by multiple electric vehicles (EVs) connected to the grid, PV shedding, etc., the DC bus will have a large voltage sag. The voltage quality degradation will bring adverse effects to the DC MG. However, most energy storage systems like battery energy storage systems (BESS) are not suitable for suppressing transient large power fluctuation. In this paper, the SMES is introduced to a DC MG to form a power regulation system. A voltage-based segmented (VBS) control is designed for the SMES-based power regulation system to suppress transient large power fluctuation in the DC MG. The voltage deviation caused by power distribution can be tolerant by VBS controlled SMES. Meanwhile, the dynamic recovery capability of the DC voltage is improved. The control method of SMES is independent of other devices in DC MGs, hence it is not dependent on communication. The control strategy of the SMES is further verified by simulation results.

Recent optical stimulation suggests a vital non-contact pathway to manipulate both macroscopic and microscopic ferroelectric properties and paves the foundation for optoelectronics devices. However, up to date, most optical-related manipulation of ferroelectric properties is restricted due to their intrinsic bandgap and limited visible light spectrum absorption. Here, we reveal non-oxide Sn2P2S6 single crystal possesses full-visible-spectrum absorption (from 300 to 800 nm) with a unique disproportionation mechanism of photoexcited Sn ions and Urbach tail, which is not contradicting to the intrinsic band gap. Interestingly, we observed the existence of conductive domain walls (c-DW) and the light illumination induced significant enhancement of the domain wall conductivity caused by such disproportionation reaction. In addition, the domains separated by c-DW also exhibited noticeable electrical conductivity difference in the presence of optical illumination owing to the interfacial polarization charge with opposite signs. The result provides a novel opportunity for understanding the electrical conductivity behavior of the domains and domain walls in ferroelectrics with full-visible-spectrum absorption and achieving greatly enhanced performances for optoelectronics.

Zinc (Zn)-regulated and iron (Fe)-regulated transporter-like proteins (ZIP) are key players involved in the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) and Zn in plants.

Paratesticular liposarcoma is a sporadic urological tumor. We report the clinical presentation, treatment course, and prognosis of 2 cases of primary paratesticular liposarcoma with different pathological types, with the aim of further understanding the diagnosis and treatment of this rare disease. Case 1 was a 53-years-old male patient who presented with left scrotal enlargement with swelling 3 years ago and was considered to have a testicular malignancy on preoperative CT scan and enhanced MRI. The patient underwent resection of the left scrotal mass and left orchiectomy under general anaesthesia. Histopathological study confirmed the diagnosis of dedifferentiated liposarcoma. At the 4-months follow-up, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was observed. Case 2 is a 42-years-old male patient with a left scrotal mass which was discovered six months ago. Preoperatively, he underwent CT plain and enhanced MRI examinations suggesting an intra-scrotal occupancy. The patient underwent scrotoscopic excision of the left scrotal mass under general anesthesia. Histopathological studies confirmed the diagnosis of highly differentiated liposarcoma. At the 10-months follow-up, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was observed. Preoperative differential diagnosis of paratesticular liposarcoma should be noted with testicular tumor and extra-abdominal hernia. Extensive local excision and, if necessary, concomitant radical testicular resection is the treatment of choice. If the tumor in the scrotum spreads to the inguinal region, surgical removal with the aid of a scrotoscope may be attempted. This procedure avoids the formation of a large incision in the inguinal region compared to traditional open surgery. Patients commonly experience local recurrence and less distant metastases after surgery, so long-term follow-up is recommended.

Few-shot classification aims to learn a classifier to recognize unseen classes during training, where the learned model can easily become over-fitted based on the biased distribution formed by only a few training examples. A recent solution to this problem is calibrating the distribution of these few sample classes by transferring statistics from the base classes with sufficient examples, where how to decide the transfer weights from base classes to novel classes is the key. However, principled approaches for learning the transfer weights have not been carefully studied. To this end, we propose a novel distribution calibration method by learning the adaptive weight matrix between novel samples and base classes, which is built upon a hierarchical Optimal Transport (H-OT) framework. By minimizing the high-level OT distance between novel samples and base classes, we can view the learned transport plan as the adaptive weight information for transferring the statistics of base classes. The learning of the cost function between a base class and novel class in the high-level OT leads to the introduction of the low-level OT, which considers the weights of all the data samples in the base class. Experimental results on standard benchmarks demonstrate that our proposed plug-and-play model outperforms competing approaches and owns desired cross-domain generalization ability, indicating the effectiveness of the learned adaptive weights.

The study investigated the effect of fibre laser processing (1060 nm, 240 ns pulse duration) on tungsten carbide (WC). Fluence, frequency, and the interaction effect of these were the most influential factors on the surface integrity and crack formation. In this paper, a crack classification system was developed, and a crack density variable was introduced to estimate the number of cracks and crack type within a 1 mm2 area size. ANOVA was used to analyse how fluence (0.05–0.20 J/cm2) and frequency (5–100 kHz) altered the crack density. The crack density increased between 0.050–0.099 J/cm2 across all frequency settings then decreased as the fluence increased to 0.20 J/cm2. Superficial cracks were present in all frequency settings but particularly with lower fluence settings. Micro-cracks were more likely to form between 0.050–0.135 J/cm2. Deep cracks did not present until 40 kHz or above 0.099 J/cm2 across the frequency settings and were situated around balling and splatter defects. The crack density was minimised at 0.149 J/cm2 fluence and 52.5 kHz. To the author’s knowledge for the first time a quantitative analysis of the crack formation mechanism for brittle materials is proposed (post laser processing). In addition, a linear model generated to predict surface roughness performed best at moderate to medium level of processing (fluences in the region of 0.050–0.099 J/cm2) with an error between 1 % to 10 %. The model failed to predict the material response as accurately at higher fluences with percentage errors between 15 % to 36 %.

The removal of alkali and alkaline-earth metallic (AAEM) species from biomass and/or its pyrolysis-derived char is often required to mitigate ash-related issues during their combustion. Leaching of biomass with an acidic aqueous phase (AP) produced from its pyrolysis is a promising strategy but encounters several issues, including high moisture content in wet biomass after dewatering and loss of organic carbon from biomass. Here, we propose a new process that leaches char with pyrolytic AP for the removal of AAEM species from and the uptakes of water-soluble organics by char. The char and pyrolytic AP produced from the pyrolysis of wheat straw at 450 °C in an auger reactor were subjected to time-dependent leaching at a liquid-to-solid mass ratio of 20. The results demonstrate that the majority of K, Mg, and Ca are leached within the first hour. Nonacidic compounds in the pyrolytic AP slightly hinder the leaching of K but have no impacts on that of Mg and Ca. Except for acetol, the uptakes of other organic compounds (e.g., furfural and phenolic compounds) by char are rapid in the first hour, become slower in 1–2 h, and then reach equilibrium. The results from density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest the presence of chemisorption for the interactions between these organic compounds and char. Repeated leaching runs at the optimized leaching time (1 h) suggest that the pyrolytic AP is sufficient for leaching the char from the same run, achieving removal rates of ∼63.7 wt % for K, ∼43.7 wt % for Mg, and ∼60.7 wt % for Ca. After repeated leaching, there are only four organic compounds, including 2,3-butanedione, acetol, 2(5H)-furanone, and the remaining acetic acid, left in the leachate, simplifying the compositions of the pyrolytic AP. Leaching the char, instead of wheat straw, with the pyrolytic AP offers significant advantages, including the reduced moisture content in the wet solid after dewatering, negligible loss of organic carbon, and enhanced capture of phenolic compounds.

MnBi$_8$Te$_{13}$ is an intrinsic ferromagnetic (FM) topological insulator with different complex surface terminations. Resolving the electronic structures of different termination surfaces and manipulation of the electronic state are important. Here, by using micrometer spot time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy ($\mu$-TrARPES), we resolve the electronic structures and reveal the ultrafast dynamics upon photoexcitation. Photoinduced filling of the surface state hybridization gap is observed for the Bi$_2$Te$_3$ quintuple layer directly above MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ accompanied by a nontrivial shift of the surface state, suggesting light-tunable interlayer interaction. Relaxation of photoexcited electrons and holes is observed within 1-2 ps. Our work reveals photoexcitation as a potential control knob for tailoring the interlayer interaction and surface state of MnBi$_8$Te$_{13}$.

Endoscopes are ubiquitous in minimally invasive or keyhole surgeries globally. However, frequent removal of endoscopes from the patient's body due to the lens contaminations results in undesirable consequences. Therefore, a cost-effective process chain to fabricate thermoplastic-based endoscope lenses with superior antifouling and optical properties is proposed in this research. Such multifunctional surface response was achieved by lubricant impregnation of nanostructures. Two types of topographies were produced by femtosecond laser processing of metallic molds, especially to produce single-tier laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) and two-tier multiscale structures (MS). Then, these two LIPSS and MS masters were used to replicate them onto two thermoplastic substrates, namely polycarbonate and cyclic olefin copolymer, by using hot embossing. Finally, the LIPSS and MS surfaces of the replicas were infiltrated by silicone oils to prepare lubricant-impregnated surfaces (LIS). Droplet sliding tests revealed that the durability of the as-prepared LIS improved with the increase of the lubricant viscosity. Moreover, the single-tier LIPSS replicas exhibited longer-lasting lubricant conservation properties than the MS ones. Also, LIPSS-LIS replicas demonstrated an excellent optical transparency, better than the MS-LIS ones, and almost match the performance of the reference polished ones. Furthermore, the LIPSS-LIS treatment led to superior antifouling characteristics, i.e., regarding fogging, blood adhesion, protein adsorption, and microalgae attachment, and thus demonstrated its high suitability for treating endoscopic lenses. Finally, a proof-of-concept LIPSS-LIS treatment of endoscope lenses was conducted that confirmed their superior multifunctional response.

Introduction Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus (CSF) is widely used as a food ingredient and a traditional Chinese medicine. In China, CSF is cultivated in many places, including Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces. The types and chemical contents of CSF from different origins may vary greatly due to the difference in climate and environmental conditions. Therefore, comparing the chemical composition of CSF from various places is vital. Objective To rapidly select potential characteristic compounds for differentiating CSF from different origins. Material and methods Thirty-one batches of CSF samples from different regions were analysed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. Thereafter, chemometric methods, including principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA), were employed to find differential metabolites among the CSF samples from various origins. Results PCA revealed 77.9% of the total variance and divided all CSF samples into three categories corresponding to their origins. OPLS-DA displayed better discrimination of CSF from different sources, with R2 X, R2 Y, and Q2 of 0.801, 0.985, and 0.849, respectively. Finally, 203 differential metabolites were obtained from CSF from different origins using the variable importance in projection of the OPLS-DA model, 30 of which were identified, and five coumarin compounds were selected as marker compounds discriminating CSF from different origins. Conclusion This work provides a practical strategy for classifying CSF from different origins and offers a research foundation for the quality control of CSF.

A couple of enantiomers of 2, 6-diaminotriptycene ( R, R - 1 and S, S - 1 ) are split by chiral HPLC and their absolute configurations are identified by single-crystal X-ray diffraction technology. Using the enantiomers as monomers, a couple of chiral porous polyimides ( R - FTPI and S - FTPI ) are prepared by polycondensation reactions and display good heat stability, high BET surface area and good solubility in organic solvents. Moreover, both of R - FTPI and S - FTPI can be cast into robust, free-standing films suitable for enantioselective separation with symmetrical chiral selectivity.

Li, Xiao-lin, Wei-gang Wang, Mao-xing Li, Tian-long Liu, Xiu-yu Tian, and Lan Wu. Effects of altitude and duration of differing levels of hypoxic exposure on hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in rat tissues.

Superconductivity becomes more interesting when it encounters dimensional constraint or topology, because it is of importance for exploring exotic quantum phenomena or developing superconducting electronics. Here we report the coexistence of naturally formed surface superconducting state and three-dimensional topological Dirac state in single crystals of BaMg$_2$Bi$_2$. The electronic structure obtained from the first-principles calculations demonstrates that BaMg$_2$Bi$_2$ is an ideal Dirac material, in which the Dirac point is very close to the Fermi level and no other energy band crosses the Fermi level. Superconductivity up to 4.77 K can be observed under ambient pressure in the measurements of resistivity. The angle dependent magnetoresistance reveals the two-dimensional characteristic of superconductivity, indicating that superconductivity occurs on the surface of the sample and is absent in the bulk state. Our study not only provides BaMg$_2$Bi$_2$ as a suitable platform to study the interplay between superconductivity and topological Dirac state, but also indicates that MgBi-based materials may be a promising system for exploring new superconductors.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the first-line and guideline-recommended treatment for large renal calculi. Multimodal analgesia (MMA) comprising a combination of different analgesics is an increasingly popular method for pain control as it has been shown to reduce postoperative pain and reduce opioid use and the risk of opioid misuse, with a shorter recovery time in various procedures and patient populations.In this study, we tested the hypothesis that MMA with propofol and sevoflurane (PS) can decrease pain intensity during surgery and used IoC2 as a real-time index of the analgesic effect of sevoflurane.Prospective, single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial.Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University.Patients scheduled for elective percutaneous nephrolithotomy from January 2020 to July 2020 were randomized into 2 groups, standard multimodal analgesia (propofol + sevoflurane group) and control (propofol [P] group). The PS group received propofol 2.5 mg/kg/h along with 1% sevoflurane after induction for 30 minutes during the main anesthetic procedure, and the P group received propofol 5 mg/kg/h by intravenous infusion during the operation. Index of consciousness 2 (IoC2), namely nociception index, intraoperative hemodynamic fluctuation, bispectral index (BIS), electromyography, postanesthesia care unit (PACU) length of stay, visual analog scale (VAS) score, and Aldrete and Steward scores were recorded.A total of 153 patients undergoing PCNL were enrolled. The demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. IoC2 was reduced in the PS group compared to the P group at T10, T11, T12, T13, T14, and T15 time points, indicating that analgesia was more effective in the former. The BIS of the PS group did not differ significantly from that of the P group except at T12, T13, T14, and T15. PACU length of stay was shorter in the PS group than in the P group (mean [SD]: 54.35 [16.61] vs 47.39 [13.15], P = 0.04). VAS pain scores did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.MMA with propofol and sevoflurane provided better analgesia than propofol alone and may be an effective method to reduce stress and the intraoperative nociceptive stimulus response in patients undergoing PCNL, thereby promoting rapid postoperative recovery.

Semiconductor photocatalysis technology is a promising method to solve the antibiotics pollution in water. Herein, a series of Sn-doped In2.77S4 (Sn-In2.77S4) hybrid photocatalysts for tetracycline degradation have been fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal process. The analytic results exhibit that doping Sn can improve the photocatalytic performance of In2.77S4 nanosheets under the visible light illumination and the doping amount obviously affects the photocatalytic performance of the samples. When the theoretical molar ratio of Sn4+ to In3+ is 0.04:1 (4%), the photocatalytic efficiency of the Sn-In2.77S4 photocatalyst exhibits the highest of 87.4% in comparison with 39.2% of pure In2.77S4 in 20 min. Moreover, its band gap energy has been reduced to 1.56 eV from 1.75 eV and the light absorption range has been broadened. The transfer rate and separation efficiency of photo-generated electron and hole pairs of the samples have also been enhanced. In addition, the holes play a leading role in the photocatalytic degradation process.

Surface friction plays a significant role in the machining performance and life of cutting tools. This investigation examines the influences of laser produced periodic textures on lubrication across the tool’s rake face and the influence on cutting forces when orthogonal turning steels exhibiting ductile chip behaviour. Laboratory tribology and orthogonal turning experiments on TiCN/Al2O3/TiN CVD coated tool inserts enhance understanding of the role of textures in the reduction of cutting forces and coolant film behavior in the sliding pairs by showingshifts in lubrication regimes from boundary to mixed and hydrodynamic, depending on operating parameters, texture design and coverage.

In the present work, machining performance of a new solid carbide end mill has been investigated during side milling of Ti-6Al-4V. It is observed that adding cooling grooves on the clearance side of the cutting tool improves the tool performance by decreasing tool wear. Tool temperature measurements by infrared camera showed that these grooves decreased the tool temperature during the machining process. In order to understand the mechanisms behind this improvement, simulations of the coolant flow around the tool with and without these grooves are performed. Modelling and simulation results showed that these cooling grooves lead to an increase in the velocity of fluid at the head of the tool, which results in more efficient cooling and consequently the temperature along the cutting edge is decreased.

The luminescent performances of near-infrared (NIR) lanthanide (Ln) complexes were restricted greatly by vibration quenching of X-H (X = C, N, O) oscillators, which are usually contained in ligands and solvents. Encapsulating Ln3+ into a cavity of coordination atoms is a feasible method of alleviating this quenching effect. In this work, a novel ytterbium complex [Yb(DPPDA)2](DIPEA) coordinated with 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (DPPDA) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, ESI-MS and elemental analysis. Under the excitation of 335 nm light, [Yb(DPPDA)2](DIPEA) showed two emission peaks at 975 and 1011 nm, respectively, which were assigned to the characteristic 2F5/2 → 2F7/2 transition of Yb3+. Meanwhile, this ytterbium complex exhibited a plausible absolute quantum yield of 0.46% and a luminescent lifetime of 105 μs in CD3OD solution. In particular, its intrinsic quantum yield was calculated to be 12.5%, and this considerably high value was attributed to the near-zero solvent molecules bound to Yb3+ and the absence of X-H oscillators in the first coordination sphere. Based on experimental results, we further proposed that the sensitized luminescence of [Yb(DPPDA)2](DIPEA) occurred via an internal redox mechanism instead of an energy transfer process.