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The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) derived from the CD30 specific murine antibody, HRS-3, has produced promising clinical efficacy with a favorable safety profile in the treatment of relapsed or refractory CD30-positive lymphomas. However, persistence of the autologous CAR-T cells was brief, and many patients relapsed a year after treatment. The lack of persistence may be attributed to the use of a wild-type immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 spacer that can associate with Fc receptors. We first identified the cysteine-rich domain (CRD) 5 of CD30 as the primary binding epitope of HRS-3 and armed with this insight, attempted to improve the HRS-3 CAR functionality with a panel of novel spacer designs. We demonstrate that HRS-3 CARs with OX40 and 4-1BB derived spacers exhibited similar anti-tumor efficacy, circumvented interactions with Fc receptors, and secreted lower levels of cytokines in vitrothan a CAR employing the IgG1 spacer. Humanization of the HRS-3 scFv coupled with the 4-1BB spacer preserved potent on-target, on-tumor efficacy, and on-target, off-tumor safety. In a lymphoma mouse model of high tumor burden, T cells expressing humanized HRS-3 CD30.CARs with the 4-1BB spacer potently killed tumors with low levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, providing a promising candidate for future clinical development in the treatment of CD30-positive malignancies.

The design and preparation of anode materials with structural stability, fast ion transmission, and low open-circuit voltage are critical to the development of magnesium ion batteries (MIBs). The feasibility of the unique phase Haeckelite MoS2(Hae-MoS2) monolayer with Haeckelite structure as a potential anode material for MIBs was investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The Hae-MoS2monolayer exhibits excellent structural stability and semimetallic characteristics with a Dirac cone located at the Gamma point of band structure. Mg ion is easily adsorbed on the Hae-MoS2monolayer surface with an adsorption energy of −2.06 eV and can diffuse rapidly with a low diffusion energy barrier (0.3 eV), indicating excellent charge and discharge rates. Most importantly, the Hae-MoS2monolayer exhibits a suitable open-circuit voltage, which falls within the desired voltage range and ensures the safety of battery performance. These exceptional properties indicate that the Hae-MoS2monolayer can be proposed as a candidate for anode material for MIBs.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of brain relies on inducing and measuring shear waves in the brain. However, studies have shown vibration could induce changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF), which has a modulation effect and can affect the biomechanical properties measured. Objective: This work demonstrates the initial prototype of the indirect excitation method, which can generate shear waves in the brain with minimal changes in CBF. Methods: A simple system was designed to produce stable vibrations underneath the neck. Instead of directly stimulating the skull, shear waves were indirectly transmitted to the brain through the spine and brainstem. Results: Phantom results showed that the proposed actuator did not interfere with the routine imaging sequence and successfully generated multifrequency shear waves. When compared with the conventional direct head stimulation method, brain MRE results from the proposed actuator showed no significant differences in terms of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficients of variation (CV). Moreover, the octahedral shear strain (OSS) generated by the indirect excitation in the frontal and parietal lobes decreased by 25.96% and 16.73% respectively. Evaluation of CBF in healthy volunteers revealed no significant changes for the indirect excitation method, whereas significant decreases in CBF were observed in four subregions when employing direct excitation. Conclusion: The proposed actuator offers a more accurate and comfortable approach to MRE measurements while causing minimal CBF alterations. Significance: This work presents the first demonstration of an indirect excitation brain MRE system that minimizes CBF changes, thus holding potential for future applications of brain MRE.

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with an unclear pathogenesis, and there is currently no approved drug for the treatment of this disease. Iguratimod, as a novel clinical anti-rheumatic drug in China and Japan, has shown remarkable efficacy in improving the symptoms of patients with pSS in clinical studies. In this study we investigated the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of iguratimod in the treatment of pSS. Experimental Sjögren’s syndrome (ESS) model was established in female mice by immunizing with salivary gland protein. After immunization, ESS mice were orally treated with iguratimod (10, 30, 100 mg·kg−1·d−1) or hydroxychloroquine (50 mg·kg−1·d−1) for 70 days. We showed that iguratimod administration dose-dependently increased saliva secretion, and ameliorated ESS development by predominantly inhibiting B cells activation and plasma cell differentiation. Iguratimod (30 and 100 mg·kg−1·d−1) was more effective than hydroxychloroquine (50 mg·kg−1·d−1). When the potential target of iguratimod was searched, we found that iguratimod bound to TEC kinase and promoted its degradation through the autophagy-lysosome pathway in BAFF-activated B cells, thereby directly inhibiting TEC-regulated B cells function, suggesting that the action mode of iguratimod on TEC was different from that of conventional kinase inhibitors. In addition, we found a crucial role of TEC overexpression in plasma cells of patients with pSS. Together, we demonstrate that iguratimod effectively ameliorates ESS via its unique suppression of TEC function, which will be helpful for its clinical application. Targeting TEC kinase, a new regulatory factor for B cells, may be a promising therapeutic option.

To accelerate the development and design of magnesium (Mg) alloys, the structural and mechanical properties of important precipitates in Mg−Zn alloys were studied by experiments and density functional theory. The nano-indentation tests revealed that the hardness of the precipitates initially increased and then decreased with increasing Zn content, and was significantly higher than that of pure Mg and Zn. The calculation results revealed that the precipitates stability initially increased and then decreased with increasing Zn concentration. The bulk moduli of the precipitates increased, whereas their shear and Young’s moduli initially increased and then decreased with increasing Zn content. The decreasing order of ductility for these compounds is MgZn2> Mg21Zn25> Mg2Zn11> Mg4Zn7. The surface profiles of the compounds revealed that they are obvious anisotropy. Both the degree of covalency and bond length of covalent bonds initially increased and then decreased with increasing Zn content.

This paper proposes a new concept of single-direction water-blocking for waterproof membranes in silt subgrades to meet the demands of inhibiting capillary rising and allowing subgrade water downward through the waterproof membrane. Furthermore, a new approach to determine the total pore area in water-repellent soil is proposed using a contact angle test. The relationship between the water repellence of the waterproof membrane and the consumption of Sodium Methyl Silicate per unit Area (SMSA) is obtained for different levels of compactness. When SMSA consumption is less than 4 g/m2, the water repellence of the waterproof membrane is extremely poor, whereas, in the range of 4–10 g/m2, its water repellence is greatly enhanced. When the SMSA consumption is more than 10 g/m2, the water repellence becomes stable. The total pore area of the waterproof membrane decreases when the SMSA consumption is increased.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most prevalent clinical hair loss, lacks safe and effective treatments due to downregulated angiogenic genes and insufficient vascularization in the perifollicular microenvironment of the bald scalp in AGA patients. In this study, a hyaluronic acid (HA) based hydrogel-formed microneedle (MN) was designed, referred to as V-R-MNs, which was simultaneously loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the novel hair loss drug Ritlecitinib, the latter is encapsulated in slowly biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) nanoparticles (R-PHA NPs) for minimally invasive AGA treatment. The integration of HA based hydrogel alongside PHA nanoparticles significantly bolstered the mechanical characteristics of microneedles and enhanced skin penetration efficiency. Due to the biosafety, mechanical strength, and controlled degradation properties of HA hydrogel formed microneedles, V-R-MNs can effectively penetrate the skin's stratum corneum, facilitating the direct delivery of VEGF and Ritlecitinib in a minimally invasive, painless and long-term sustained release manner. V-R-MNs not only promoted angiogenesis and improve the immune microenvironment around the hair follicle to promote the proliferation and development of hair follicle cells, but also the application of MNs to the skin to produce certain mechanical stimulation could also promote angiogenesis. In comparison to the clinical drug minoxidil for AGA treatment, the hair regeneration effect of V-R-MN in AGA model mice is characterized by a rapid onset of the anagen phase, improved hair quality, and greater coverage. This introduces a new, clinically safer, and more efficient strategy for AGA treatment, and serving as a reference for the treatment of other related diseases.

The immunological mechanisms underlying chronic colitis are poorly understood. T follicular helper (TFH) cells are critical in helping B cells during germinal center reactions. In a T cell transfer colitis model, a lymphoid structure composed of mature dendritic cells (DCs) and TFHcells was found within T cell zones of colonic lymphoid follicles. TFHcells were required for mature DC accumulation, the formation of DC–T cell clusters and colitis development. Moreover, DCs promoted TFHcell differentiation, contributing to colitis development. A lineage-tracing analysis showed that, following migration to the lamina propria, TFHcells transdifferentiated into long-lived pathogenic TH1 cells, promoting colitis development. Our findings have therefore demonstrated the reciprocal regulation of TFHcells and DCs in colonic lymphoid follicles, which is critical in chronic colitis pathogenesis.

High-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with high single-mode (SM) output power and strong immunity to optical feedback play a vital role in further improving the package density in co-packaged optics (CPO) systems. Here, by optimizing the structure of VCSEL cavities with Zn-diffusion apertures inside, we can simultaneously improve the SM output power and speed of 850 nm VCSELs. With this novel structure we can achieve a record-high SM output power of 16 mW and a wide 3-dB electrical-to-optical (E-O) bandwidth of 18 GHz. Furthermore, excellent VCSEL performance can be obtained by varying the aperture size for high-speed operations, such as wide E-O bandwidth (27 GHz), high SM power (6.7 mW), low-RIN (−137 dB/Hz), and invariant 56 Gbps eye patterns under strong optical feedback (−6 dB). Error-free transmission can be achieved at around 48 Gbit/sec through 500 and 200 m multi-mode and single-mode fibers, respectively, without the use of equalizers in the transmission channels.

This work presents a sixth-order partially time-interleaved bandpass delta-sigma modulator (BP DSM) for direct intermediate-frequency (IF) digitization. There are three resonators, and each of them is built with a passive N-path filter; while two open-loop operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) are inserted in between to realize the loop filter. The partially time-interleaved implementation enables a wide IF tuning range from 125 to 600 MHz. Besides, the OTAs are free of bandwidth limitation by deploying their equivalent large output resistors as the input resistors of the load N-path filters. Therefore, the BP DSM is power-efficient without compromising its performance. As a validation on the design, a prototype is fabricated in a 65-nm general-purpose (GP) CMOS technology. For a fixed 2-MHz bandwidth, the prototype achieves over 70-dB signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) from 150- to 250-MHz IF; and it achieves over 60-dB SNDR from 125- to 550-MHz IF. The prototype achieves a peak SNDR of 72.0 dB and a maximal dynamic range (DR) of 75.1 dB at 150-MHz IF, while dissipating only 0.42 mW (including the clock generator) from a 1-V supply. This results in a Walden’s figure of merits (FoM) of 32.3 fJ/conversion-step and a Schreier’s FoM of 168.8 dB.

Although pulse compression optical time domain reflectometry (PC-OTDR) exhibits high performance in spatial resolution and dynamic range, it inevitably introduces auto-correlation sidelobes, potentially impacting measurement accuracy. In this letter, an improved CLEAN algorithm is proposed to efficiently suppress sidelobes and enhance the peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSLR) of signals in PC-OTDR. The proposed method introduces an adaptive step factor instead of the traditional fixed factor to reduce the number of iterations. Compared to the traditional method, the proposed method achieves a 2.87 dB improvement of PSLR from a 10 km sensing fiber. In addition, the computation time cost is significantly reduced, which is 1.92 s less than that of the traditional CLEAN algorithm.

We report a mid-infrared (MIR) photothermal laser spectroscopy system for multi-component gas sensing with a single broadband anti-resonant hollow-core fiber gas cell. Three MIR pump lasers are used as the excitation sources to generate photothermal phase modulation and a near-infrared probe laser is employed to detect the photothermal phase modulation by using a Fabry-Perot interferometer configuration. Simultaneous detection of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), ethylene (C2H4), and ethane (C2H6) are experimentally demonstrated using time-division multiplexing. A noise-equivalent concentration (NEC) of 57 parts-per-billion (ppb) for CO, 300 ppb for CO2, 430 ppb for C2H4 and 73 ppb for C2H6 are achieved with 1 s lock-in time constant. Allan deviation analysis reveals that the NEC can be reduced to 35, 120, 310, and 49 ppb for CO, CO2, C2H4 and C2H6, respectively, with an averaging time of 280 s. The dynamic range of the system is measured to be more than 4 orders of magnitude for all of the four gas components.

Wood modification can be broadly categorized into chemical and physical processes, with acetylation and heat treatment being two of the most common methods in each category, respectively. This study, for the first time, combines these two modification methods and investigates the effects of high-temperature vapour-phase acetylation (HTVPA) on the physicomechanical properties of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) wood in the temperature range of 145 to 220 °C for 2 to 16 h. Additionally, the acetylation variations within the wood were evaluated. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) spectral analysis showed that the hydroxyl group of Japanese cedar wood reacted with acetic anhydride to form an acetyl group by HTVPA process. When the HTVPA temperature was 220 °C, dehydration and deacetylation of wood occurred. Furthermore, based on the weight percent gain (WPG) and physicomechanical properties of the treated wood, the 200 °C/8h was considered the optimal HTVPA treatment condition. The profiling analysis results showed that the acetylation depth in the longitudinal direction was 40 mm, while the depth in the tangential and radial directions was 3–4 mm. However, the theoretical WPG of the surface of HTVPA treated Japanese cedar wood was 30.0–31.6 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weaning is a critical transitional point in the life cycle of piglets. Early weaning can lead to post-weaning syndrome, destroy the intestinal barrier function and microbiota homeostasis, cause diarrhea and threaten the health of piglets. The nutritional components of milk and solid foods consumed by newborn animals can affect the diversity and structure of their intestinal microbiota, and regulate post-weaning diarrhea in piglets. Therefore, this paper reviews the effects and mechanisms of different nutrients, including protein, dietary fiber, dietary fatty acids and dietary electrolyte balance, on diarrhea and health of piglets by regulating intestinal function. Protein is an essential nutrient for the growth of piglets; however, excessive intake will cause many harmful effects, such as allergic reactions, intestinal barrier dysfunction and pathogenic growth, eventually aggravating piglet diarrhea. Dietary fiber is a nutrient that alleviates post-weaning diarrhea in piglets, which is related to its promotion of intestinal epithelial integrity, microbial homeostasis and the production of short-chain fatty acids. In addition, dietary fatty acids and dietary electrolyte balance can also facilitate the growth, function and health of piglets by regulating intestinal epithelial function, immune system and microbiota. Thus, a targeted control of dietary components to promote the establishment of a healthy bacterial community is a significant method for preventing nutritional diarrhea in weaned piglets.

Towards realizing the future quantum internet1,2, a pivotal milestone entails the transition from two-node proof-of-principle experiments conducted in laboratories to comprehensive multi-node set-ups on large scales. Here we report the creation of memory–memory entanglement in a multi-node quantum network over a metropolitan area. We use three independent memory nodes, each of which is equipped with an atomic ensemble quantum memory3that has telecom conversion, together with a photonic server where detection of a single photon heralds the success of entanglement generation. The memory nodes are maximally separated apart for 12.5 kilometres. We actively stabilize the phase variance owing to fibre links and control lasers. We demonstrate concurrent entanglement generation between any two memory nodes. The memory lifetime is longer than the round-trip communication time. Our work provides a metropolitan-scale testbed for the evaluation and exploration of multi-node quantum network protocols and starts a stage of quantum internet research.

The expedited synthesis of advanced bifunctional catalysts from waste resources is promising for improving the application of Zn–air batteries (ZAB). In this study, a self-vulcanization strategy was developed to directly transform industrial organic cobalt dimethyldithiocarbamate (CDC) residue into bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts with an N,S-codoped carbon skeleton and a Co1–xS/Co9S8heterogeneous interface. The catalytic activity of the CDC-derived catalysts depended on the self-vulcanization temperature. CDC-800 exhibited bifunctional catalytic activity for oxygen evolution (η = 371 mV at 10 mA cm–2) and oxygen reduction (E1/2= 0.76 V) reactions. The assembled rechargeable ZAB with a CDC-800 air cathode exhibited an excellent peak power density (75.2 mW cm–2), specific capacity (873 mA h gZn–1), and cycle stability (over 670 h), respectively. This superior catalytic performance mainly resulted from the self-vulcanized Co1–xS/Co9S8heterogeneous interface. Therefore, direct self-vulcanization of organic cobalt residues can contribute to the reduction of the pollution caused by hazardous wastes and sustainable preparation of high-performance bifunctional catalysts.

Polyimides (PI) are considered as one of the most used materials for flexible printed circuit board substrates because of their excellent thermal stabilities, outstanding mechanical properties, and great dielectric properties. Dielectric constants (Dk) of common commercial PIs, however, are still above 3.0 (at 10 GHz), which is still substandard for high‐frequency applications. In this study, we develop thermally stable PIs with enhanced dielectric properties by structural design and crosslinking. Stiff aromatic 2,2′‐bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine (TFMB) and soft aliphatic dimer diamines (DDA, priamine), including priamine 1074 (DDA‐1) and priamine 1071 (DDA‐2), are used as the diamines, and cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (CBDA) is used as the dianhydride. By adjusting the ratio of the diamines, a series of PIs (PI‐1–PI‐5) with high thermal stabilities and low‐Dkvalues are synthesized. Among these PIs, PI‐4 synthesized by diamines with the ratio of TFMB:DDA‐1:DDA‐2 = 85:10:5, possesses relatively good performances. Therefore, PI‐4 is further chosen to be thermally crosslinked. By changing the contents of the crosslinker, triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC), crosslinked PIs (CPIs) are synthesized. The resulting CPIs have a significant improvement in thermal properties, dielectric properties, and mechanical strengths. Especially, for the CPI‐4‐30, in which 30% of TAIC is used, the glass transition temperature (Tg) increases by 20°C, the Dkdecreases from 2.62 to 2.41, and the ultimate tensile strength boosts from 91.65 to 115.16 MPa. The CPIs with low Dkand high Tgvalues may have great potential as substrate materials for broad applications, such as microelectronics and integrated circuit packages.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer with poor prognosis due to the lack of therapeutic targets. Although immunotherapy brings survival benefits to patients diagnosed with TNBC, it remains limited and treatment resistance is widespread. Here we demonstrate that IFI35 is highly expressed in tumor tissues and can be induced by Interferon-γ in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner in breast cancer cells. In xenograft models, we reveal that IFI35 dramatically increases myeloid-derived suppressor cells infiltration in tumors, along with depletion and anergy of CD8+T cells. IFI35 ablation leads to prolonged survival of the mice. Mechanistically, RNA-sequencing reveals that IFI35 promotes CCL2 secretion, resulting in the remodeling of TNBC immune microenvironment. Ablation of IFI35 promotes the infiltration of effector CD8+T cells, and thereby sensitizes TNBC to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Our data suggest that IFI35 limits antitumor immunity and may be expected to become a new immunotherapy target in TNBC.

Electromagnetic chirality transfer represents an effective means of the nanoscale manipulation of optical chirality. While most of the previous reports have exclusively focused on the circular dichroism (CD) transfer from UV-responsive chiral molecules toward visible-resonant achiral colloidal nanoparticles, here we demonstrate a reverse process in which plasmonic chirality can be transferred to achiral molecules, either upward from visible to UV or downward from visible to near infrared (NIR). By hybridizing achiral UV- or NIR-responsive dye molecules with chiral metal nanoparticles in solution, we observe a chiral-plasmon-induced CD (CPICD) signal at the intrinsically achiral molecular absorption bands. Full-wave electromagnetic modeling reveals that both near-field Coulomb interaction and far-field radiative coupling contribute to the observed CPICD, indicating that the mechanism considered here is universal for different material systems and types of optical resonances. Our study provides a set of design guidelines for broadband nanophotonic chiral sensing from the UV to NIR spectral regime.

The mortality of patients with severe pneumonia caused by H1N1 infection is closely related to viral replication and cytokine storm. However, the specific mechanisms triggering virus replication and cytokine storm are still not fully elucidated. Here, we identified hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) as one of the major host molecules that facilitates H1N1 virus replication followed by cytokine storm in alveolar epithelial cells. Specifically, HIF-1α protein expression is upregulated after H1N1 infection. Deficiency of HIF-1α attenuates pulmonary injury, viral replication and cytokine storm in vivo. In addition, viral replication and cytokine storm were inhibited after HIF-1α knockdown in vitro. Mechanistically, the invasion of H1N1 virus into alveolar epithelial cells leads to a shift in glucose metabolism to glycolysis, with rapid production of ATP and lactate. Inhibition of glycolysis significantly suppresses viral replication and inflammatory responses. Further analysis revealed that H1N1-induced HIF-1α can promote the expression of hexokinase 2 (HK2), the key enzyme of glycolysis, and then not only provide energy for the rapid replication of H1N1 virus but also produce lactate, which reduces the accumulation of the MAVS/RIG-I complex and inhibits IFN-α/β production. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the upregulation of HIF-1α by H1N1 infection augments viral replication and cytokine storm by cellular metabolic reprogramming toward glycolysis mainly through upregulation of HK2, providing a theoretical basis for finding potential targets for the treatment of severe pneumonia caused by H1N1 infection.

Accurate lightsource location or direction is important in shape from shading (SFS) and photometric stereo (PS). Tracking interested object by the lightsources on it is also a widely used positioning scheme. However, existing methods for lightsource localization are primarily designed for calibration. They are usually inferior in speed and accuracy, because of the intermedium geometry they introduced. Specifically, they must recover the camera–intermedium geometry before gaining the desired intermedium–lightsource or camera–lightsource geometries. In this article, we propose a lightsource localization method that can directly recover the camera–lightsource geometry. A sphere and its shadow are used as the intermediums, but their roles stay in the images. The parallax geometry of sphere is investigated to transfer the lightsource localization problem into solving the outer bitangents’ intersection of two visible conics. The solution cases, degenerated cases, error distributions, and other details are discussed and tested. The experiment has demonstrated that our method has significantly better accuracy and robustness than the state-of-the-art, while it is obviously low-cost and lightweight.

Under static conditions, at present, mature technologies for long-distance and high-precision time synchronisation include satellite common view (CV) and two-way satellite time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT) and so on. However, under dynamic conditions, research on high-precision time synchronisation technology is relatively lacking such as mobile platforms on the sea. Considering the dynamic conditions of mobile platforms on the sea, a method of position's smooth filtering with velocity is proposed to improve the accuracy of position measurement, reducing the time measurement error introduced by position error. The proposed method ultimately improves the CV comparison accuracy between sea surface mobile platforms. The simulation and actual test results show that by using the method of position's smooth filtering with velocity, the CV comparison accuracy between mobile platforms on the sea can reach 10 ns.

Porthole die extrusion experiments were carried out on 6005A aluminum alloy under the billet heating temperatures of 420–570 °C and ram speeds of 1–120 mm/min. The effects of extrusion parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties in the longitudinal weld of profiles were investigated. It was found that the crystal orientation of longitudinal weld region showed the characteristics of gradient arrangement with different oriented grains wrapped in layers and symmetric along the welding line. The Copper{112}<111> grains are formed at the welding line under the combined effect of shear and compression, and the Goss{110}<100> grains are formed on their both sides due to dynamic recrystallization. A shear band is formed when part of metals flow through the 45° inclination angle of port bridge due to a sudden change in velocity, causing the Goss{110}<100> texture in local region to rotate to Brass{110}<112> texture. The 6005A aluminum alloy profiles mainly contain β (Mg2Si) phase, Q (Al3Mg9Si7Cu2) phase, AlCrMnSi phase and AlFeMnCrSi phase. Appropriately increasing billet heating temperature and ram speed can promote dynamic recrystallization and the dissolution of β-phase and Q-phase, thus improving the strength and hardness of the profile. However, when the billet heating temperature is too high, the strength and hardness are reduced instead due to grain coarsening. The profile extruded at billet heating temperature of 510 °C and ram speed of 120 mm/min has the best mechanical properties, with the tensile strength in 0° direction and hardness at the welding line of 179.93 MPa and 52.2 HV, respectively.

We demonstrate a novel ultra-fast photodiode structure that fundamentally relaxes the trade-offs between the speed, responsivity, and saturation power at sub-THz regime. Our device, with its 3 μm wide undercut collector profile, exhibits a DC responsivity (0.11 A/W) which is close in value to that reported for uni-traveling-carrier photodiodes (UTC-PDs) with similar sized active diameters (∼10 μm), but has a much larger 3-dB optical-to-electrical (O-E) bandwidth (220 GHz vs. around 75 GHz). This leads to much less optical power being required to deliver a close value of THz output power at the same operating frequency. Furthermore, the responsivity (0.11 vs. 0.1 A/W) and output power (0.4 vs. −2.4 dBm@165 GHz) are higher than those of reference devices without the undercut collector layer but with a miniaturized active diameter as small as 3 μm.

Research of capture mechanisms with strong capture adaptability and stable grasp is important to solve the problem of launch and recovery of torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). A multi-loop coupling capture mechanism with strong adaptability and high retraction rate has been proposed for the launch and recovery of torpedo-shaped AUVs with different morphological features. Firstly, the principle of capturing motion retraction is described based on the appearance characteristics of torpedo-shaped AUVs, and the configuration synthesis of the capture mechanism is carried out using the method of constrained chain synthesis. Secondly, the screw theory is employed to analyze the degree of freedom (DoF) of the capture mechanism. Then, the 3D model of the capture mechanism is established, and the kinematics and dynamics simulations are carried out. Combined with the capture orientation requirements of the capture mechanism, the statics and vibration characteristics analyses are carried out. Furthermore, considering the capture process and the underwater working environment, the motion characteristics and hydraulics characteristics of the capture mechanism are analyzed. Finally, a principle prototype is developed and the torpedo-shaped AUVs capture experiment is completed. The work provides technical reserves for the research and development of AUV capture special equipment.

This study proposes a coaxial structure atmospheric pressure microwave cold plasma device that utilizes argon as the main working gas. It achieves stable formation of atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet at low power (<50 W) with a jet length ranging from 1 mm to 32 mm. The paper analyzes the composition of the cold plasma using spectroscopy and investigates its composition changes at different positions along the jet. It also studies the appearance and reaction composition of the plasma filament under different shielding gases. Furthermore, it explores the effects of continuous and modulated microwave power on the length, appearance, and composition of the plasma filament. Finally, it examines the bactericidal effect of the plasma filament on Escherichia coliunder various gas conditions, providing a foundation for further application research.

BackgroundLight chain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA) is associated with a high incidence of mortality. Big endothelin-1 (ET-1), the precursor of endothelial-vasoconstrictive ET-1, is closely related to the concentration of bioactive ET-1. Association between big ET-1 and prognosis of AL-CA has not yet been documented. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of big ET-1 for poor outcomes in moderate to severe AL-CA.MethodsBig ET-1 levels were determined on admission in patients with newly diagnosed AL-CA with modified Mayo 2004 stage II or III. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The secondary outcomes included death from cardiac cause and the composite of the primary outcome or hospitalisations due to worsening heart failure.ResultsOverall, 141 patients were retrospectively included (57 stage II, 34 stage IIIa, 50 stage IIIb). During a median follow-up time of 25.7 months, 84 (59.6%) patients died. Patients with big ET-1 levels of ≤0.88 pmol/L had longer survival than those with >0.88 pmol/L (median survival time: 34.1 months vs 15.3 months, log-rank p<0.001), which was also observed in the validation cohort (log-rank p=0.026). Higher big ET-1 levels were predictive for all-cause mortality after multivariable adjustment (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.49, p=0.035). Big ET-1 levels added an incremental prognostic value over modified Mayo 2004 stage (C-index: from 0.671 to 0.696, p=0.025; integrated discrimination improvement 0.168, p=0.047).ConclusionsBig ET-1 is a strong and independent predictor of mortality in patients with moderate to severe AL-CA, which may indicate a possible role for risk stratification in patients with this disease.

Spatiotemporal mode-locking (STML) in fiber lasers has attracted significant attention due to its wide scientific and industrial applications, and achieved great progress in the near-infrared wavelength range. Here, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally a mid-infrared (MIR) STML laser based on a step-index multimode Er:ZBLAN fiber. The laser adopts a short linear cavity mode-locked by a large-relaxation-time saturable absorber, and generates stable 78.6 ps pulses at 2.79 μm with a repetition rate of 79.8 MHz. Through adjustment of the coupling condition, a wide variety of STML states are observed. Numerical simulations show that the modal dispersion is counteracted by the spatial filtering effect alone. This work provides a simple scheme for MIR fiber lasers to achieve STML, and helps to understand the underlying nonlinear dynamics.

We report a miniature optical fiber photothermal (PT) gas sensor with high sensitivity, fast response and large dynamic range. The sensing region is an air gap formed between the cleaved ends of two single mode fibers (SMFs). Theoretical formulations of photothermal phase modulation and interferometric phase detection are presented. Numerical simulation and experimental investigation are carried out to optimize the system parameters to maximize the photothermal signal. A gas sensor with an air gap of 130 µm demonstrates a noise equivalent concentration of 45 parts per billion and dynamic range of $\text{2} \times \text{10}^7$ for acetylene detection, with a response time of 0.9 s. The sensor is simple to construct and may be used for real-time gas detection in a confined space.

Transition metal phosphides are ideal inexpensive electrocatalysts for water-splitting, but the catalytic activity still falls behind that of noble metal catalysts. Therefore, developing valid strategies to boost the electrocatalytic activity is urgent to promote large-scale applications. Herein, a microwave combustion strategy (20 s) is applied to synthesize N-doped CoP/Ni2P heterojunctions (N-CoP/Ni2P) with porous structure. The porous structure expands the specific surface area and accelerates the mass transport efficiency. Importantly, the pyrrolic N/pyridinic N content is adjusted by changing the amount of urea during the synthesis process and then optimizing the adsorption/desorption capacity for H*/OH* to enhance the catalyst activity. Then, the synthesized N-CoP/Ni2P exhibits small overpotentials of 111 and 133 mV for HER in acidic and alkaline electrolytes and 290 mV for OER in alkaline electrolytes. This work provides an original and efficient approach to the synthesis of porous metal phosphides.

The spatiotemporal motion characteristics of the kilowatt argon microwave plasma torch with the air carrier gas (kW-AC-ArMPT) and the behavior of the plasma filaments are investigated with a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera and a high-speed camera. Along with the introduction of the air, both the volume of the central channel and the rotational frequency of the plasma filament are increased. Besides, the excitation temperature (Texc), rotational temperature (Trot), and density of electron number (ne) of the kW-AC-ArMPT are measured with optical diagnosis. It is clearly shown that the introduction of air contributed to the rise of Trotand neof the plasma, which is beneficial to improving the analytical performance of the plasma. Then the detection limits of some heavy metal elements are measured by kW-AC-ArMPT, which are in the ppb range. The experimental results show that the kW-ArMPT has a high tolerance to air injection at least 1.0 L/min, which allows the direct extraction of air from the environment for analysis and therefore has the potential for online and in-situdetection of ambient air quality and industrial exhaust gases.

Jellyfish are one of the underwater creatures that have been imitated by underwater bionic robots, but a current challenge to create a bionic jellyfish is with the use of piezoelectric ceramic sheets as the driving element, due to their small output displacement. Here, a bionic robotic jellyfish with three tentacles is presented that is driven by three piezoelectric beams, and to transmit power, a large deformation composite flexure hinge is created which employs fishing line embedded in a 3-D-printed structure. In addition, the structure design and fabrication of the drive system are described. A dynamic model of the drive system is established to solve for the working mode, forced displacement responses, and swimming lift. A series of experiments are carried out to verify the theoretical analysis and validate the design of the robotic jellyfish. The proposed robotic jellyfish has a total mass of 29.4 g, tentacle spread of about 150 mm, and an overall height of 100 mm. The robotic jellyfish can exhibit swimming performance with drive frequencies of 0.7–1.1 Hz, and the best achieved swimming speed was 10 mm/s. These design, modeling, and fabrication methods may be beneficial and inspiring for the future development of the micro soft robot.

Objective: Adult cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ACALD) with initial frontal lobe involvement is a rare genetic disease that is easily misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. We sought to improve the early identification of such diseases. Methods: We present three cases of adult X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) with initial frontal lobe involvement and identify an additional 13 cases from the database. The clinical and imaging characteristics of the overall sixteen cases were analyzed. Results: The average age of onset was 37 years, with 15 male and 1 female patient. A total of 12 patients (75%) developed a decline in cerebral executive and cognitive functions. Brain trauma is the possible trigger for the onset of ALD in five patients (31%). An elevated level of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) was observed in all 15 patients on whom a plasma VLCFA was performed.10 patients with gene tests showed different mutation sites in the ABCD1gene. Brain MRI of six patients (46%) were characterized by frontal lobe “butterfly wings"-like lesions with peripheral rim enhancement. Four patients underwent brain biopsies (patients 1, 3, 15, and 13), and five patients (31%) were initially misdiagnosed (patients 1, 2, 3, 11, and 15). Nine of the patients with follow-up records experienced poor prognoses, and five of them, unfortunately, died (56%). Conclusion: ACALD patients with anterior patterns tend to be misdiagnosed. The early clinical manifestation is a decline in cerebral executive and cognitive function. Brain trauma may be a trigger for this pattern. Brain MRI findings are characterized by frontal lobe “butterfly wing”-like lesions with peripheral rim enhancement. The determination of the VLCFA levels and the genetic detection of the causative mutations are required to confirm the diagnosis.